Make a Printer Wireless With a Wireless Router

You can easily make an older printer wireless using a wireless router or a wireless print server. This quick guide will show you how to make a printer wireless with a wireless router so that anyone on your network can print to it.

Steps

Connect a Dedicated Wireless Host Computer

1. Connect your dedicated printing computer to your wireless router with an Ethernet cable.
   • If you already have a wireless network set up, make sure your wireless router detects that network and connect your computer to it. If this computer will also host your network, make sure your wireless router is connected to your broadband Internet modem.
2. Connect your printer to your print host computer using an USB cable. Make sure that the printer is configured correctly and the drivers are installed on the host computer.
3. Turn on file and printer sharing on your printer's host computer. This is located in the Network and Sharing section in the Control Panel. You can find this either in the Networking section of the Control Panel or by doing a system search.
4. Locate your printer in the Printers and Devices window that you can access from the Start menu.
5. Right-click on the printer you want to share and select Printer Properties.
6. Click on the Sharing tab across the top of the Printer Properties window. Click to check mark the box labeled "Share this printer." The factory name of the printer will automatically be populated in the text area directly below the check mark.
   • Click on the Additional Drivers button in the Additional Drivers section at the bottom of the Sharing tab if you will be connecting computers that are using different types of operating systems. This will allow you to specify other drivers that can be installed on the other computers.
7. Leave your print host computer on so the other computers can print to the shared printer.
8. Connect other computers or devices to the host computer.
   • Navigate to Devices and Printers from the Start menu.
   • Click Add a Printer from the menu directly above the icons and below the Explorer location bar. Select Add a Network or Bluetooth Printer from the dialog window that pops up.
   • Select the network printer from the list of devices that come up by double-clicking. The printer and its drivers will be configured on your new devices and you can begin printing to it.

Connect via a Wireless Print Server

1. Consult the manual that came with your wireless print server to assure that it will work properly with your printer.
2. Connect your printer to the print server using a USB cable.
3. Connect the print server to your computer using an Ethernet cable for the initial installation. Unlike using your computer as a print server, this Ethernet connection will be just for the installation and can be disconnected afterwards.
4. Utilize any software that came with your print server. This software should guide you through the steps of connecting the print server to your existing network, configuring an IP address, installing necessary drivers and setting any necessary passwords and access issues.
5. Confirm that your wireless print server can connect to your network and has all the necessary drivers to run the printer.
6. Disconnect the Ethernet cable from your computer.
7. Connect another device to your wireless network and add the shared printer through Devices and Printers. You can also run software bundled with your print server, depending on your make and model.

Things You'll Need

• Wireless router
• Ethernet cable
• Dedicated printer host computer
• Wireless Print Server

Related Articles

• Create a Print Server
• Turn a Macbook Into a Wireless Router

Sources and Citations

• http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Share-a-printer
• http://www.techrepublic.com/article/solutionbase-quickly-set-up-a-wireless-print-server-with-the-linksys-wireless-g-printserver/5171829

See also

• Add a Password to Your Wireless Internet Connection (WiFi)
• Make Your Wireless Internet Connection Faster (Comcast)
• Create a Mobile Hotspot on a Windows 10 PC
• Create a WiFi Hotspot Using the Command Prompt
• Set Up a Wireless Router
• Create a Wireless Network
• Build Antennas
• Hook Up Roku
• Set Up a D‐Link WBR‐2310 Wireless Router
• Tell If an Outside User Is on Your Wireless Network

Read more ...

What links here

• Set Up a Wireless Printer Connection
• Choose a Wireless Router
• Configure a Laptop to a Wireless Router
• Turn a Macbook Into a Wireless Router