Have you just bought a wifi printer and you want to connect it to the network to use it with your computer but only now do you realize that you do not know how to install WiFi printer on Mac ? No problem, I’ll help you step by step to complete the printer configuration; it is not easy but I am sure that together we will be able to install the printer very quickly.
There are a few steps to install the WiFi printer on your mac; you will first have to start the printer and then configure the printer for the home wifi network, finally you will have to connect the WiFi printer to the mac by adding it in the settings of your mac.
Index
- Configure the wifi to the printer
- Install WiFi printer on Mac
Configure the wifi to the printer
First, of course, you have to connect the printer to the network and if necessary insert the toner or cartridges following the instructions provided with the printer. Once done you will need to turn on the printer using the power button (also in this case refer to the instructions supplied with the printer).
Subsequently you will have to configure the parameters of your wifi network in the printer, also in this case you will have to refer to the instruction manual. For some brands of wifi printers you will be asked to connect the printer via USB to the computer and start a specific software for configuring the network in the printer; other printer models instead will allow you to configure the wifi network directly from the printer panel. The important thing is that you enter the name of the network and the relative password of the network where your mac is connected.
To simplify the configuration of the wifi network for your printer, in case you encounter any problems, you can look at the support pages of the manufacturers:
- for HP Deskjet printers see these pages
- for Brother brand printers see these pages
- for Canon brand printers see these pages
- for Epson brand printers see these pages
If you need to find the IP address of your router and you don’t know how to do it, follow this guide .
Once the network has been correctly configured on the printer you will be ready to install it on your Mac. To install WiFi printer on Mac, contrary to what you may think, you absolutely do not have to install the software supplied with the printer on the mac but you must leave everything to the your computer as described in the next paragraph.
Install WiFi printer on Mac
Connecting the WiFi printer to the mac is extremely simple because almost always when a printer is added to the mac the AirPrint function is used to connect to the printer or alternatively, if this does not work, it automatically downloads the printer driver .
So all you have to do to connect the WiFi printer to the mac on your mac is to open the System Preferences (by clicking on the icon with the gear symbol or from the apple menu) and from here select the item Printers and Scanners .
In this window all available printers are shown on the left, if yours still is not displayed you will need to click on the button at the bottom left “+” . A window will open with all the printers detected on your local network and you will have to select the name of the wifi printer you want to connect (if you don’t see it, wait a few seconds for it to be detected) and then click on Add . The software will automatically download and the printer will be ready for use.
If the printer does not appear in the list then you will need to install WiFi printer on Mac via its IP address by adding it as an IP Printer .
To connect it with the IP from the Printers and Scanners window you will have to press the “+” button again and then click on the IP button and then enter the IP address of the printer and click on the Add button .
Once you have finished installing WiFi printer on Mac you will need to set it as the default printer on your mac; then from the Printers and Scanners window click on the name of the printer in the left menu and in the window that opens select the item Set default printer.