How to Share One Printer Between a PC & a Laptop

Take advantage of your laptop's convenience by hooking it up to a shared printer.

The most common way to share a printer between a desktop and a laptop is to hook the printer up to the desktop and share it over a wired or wireless network that the laptop can access. Sharing a printer will enable you to send print commands from your laptop directly to the shared printer. If you have more than one desktop, install the printer with the computer that is easiest to access and is in a central location; you may be able to send print commands from your laptop, but you will still have to fetch the printed document.

Instructions

1. Install the printer on a desktop computer. Plug in the printer's power cable to a wall outlet, connect the printer to the tower casing and power it up. Depending on printer model and manufacturer, the operating system may or may not recognize the device and automatically install a driver. If it does not, follow manufacturer instructions to install the printer and driver.

2. Go to the "Printers and Faxes" folder on the desktop computer. To access the folder, click on "Start" and then "Control Panel." In the subsequent screen, locate and click on the icon marked "Printers and Faxes."

3. Identify the printer you want to share. If you have more than one printer icon in the "Printers and Faxes" folder and are not sure which icon to click, physically check the name and model number from the printer and then click on the appropriate icon to highlight it.

4. Click on "Share this printer" in the tasks pane to the right of the screen. In the subsequent "Properties" dialog box for the printer, click on the tab marked "Sharing." Name the shared printer by clicking on "Share name" and giving a simple name to identify the printer, such as "kitchen printer." This will be useful if you have more than one shared printer.

5. Turn on the laptop. Wait for the operating system to load and then navigate to the "Printers and Faxes" folder by clicking on "Start" and "Control Panel." In the "Printers and Faxes" folder, click on "Add a printer" to install the printer you just shared.

6. Identify and add the shared printer. Since the printer is not physically attached to the laptop, do not click on the option to add a local printer. Click on "Printer connection" and then browse the network for the printer. When the computer displays a list of available printers (there will be only one if you have one shared printer), select the printer by double-clicking on the icon.

7. Install the driver. If your laptop has a different operating system than your desktop, you will need to install a driver for the printer. When prompted, click on the prompt messages to confirm and walk through the installation process. Check printer sharing by sending a print command from the laptop and printing a test page.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure the printer is turned on before you install it on your laptop.

• Read the manufacturer instructions carefully before installing the printer to a desktop.

References

• Microsoft: Share Your Printer Over a Home Network Using Windows XP
• Lifehacker: Share a Printer on Your Home Network