How to Set Up the HP 5550 on a Network

The HP 5550 is one of the easiest printers to network.

Setting up the HP Laser Jet 5550 on a network is much easier than it used to be because the printer drivers are already in Windows Vista and 7. All you need to do is connect it via USB and then choose to share the printer. In most cases it will show up automatically once it is shared with the other computers on the network. However, there are cases where you may have to find the shared printer on the network.

Instructions

1. Connect one end of the USB cable to the computer and the other end to the printer. Turn on the printer and the computer. Allow the drivers to be detected automatically because they are preloaded in Windows 7 and Vista. Click through the prompt screens and fill in information required for registration. Click "Finish."

2. Go to the "Start" menu and select "Control Panel." Select "Printers." Right-click on the HP Laser Jet 5550 icon and select "Properties" from the list of options.

3. Click on the "Sharing Tab" and select the "Share this Printer" button. Type in a simple name like "Home" or "Office" for the shared printer.

4. Turn on another computer where you want to share the printer. Go to "Start," "Control Panel" and select "Printers." Look for the printer, if it is there then the shared printer is automatically set up. Otherwise, Choose "A network printer or a printer attached to another computer" from the window that appears and click "Next." Click on "Browse" for a printer and allow the HP Laser Jet to be automatically detected. Click "Next" and wait for the drivers to be installed on this computer.

5. Print a test page from both computers using the HP Laserjet 5550.

6. Install the shared printer on any other computer on the network by repeating the previous steps.

References

• HP: How to install the HP 5550
• HP: How to Network the HP 5550
• PC Stats: How to Network a Printer