You bought a new printer and, after taking it out of the box and connecting it to the power supply and computer, you tried to print a test page. Unfortunately, you were unable to do this as, after sending the input from the computer, the printer did not respond and nothing happened. Do not despair: probably preventing the correct operation of the printer is a trivial software problem, which can be solved in a few clicks. If you want to know more, read on.
In fact, in this guide of mine, I will show you how to print from the computer to the printer whether you have a PC with a Windows operating system or a Mac. I will first show you how to install a printer correctly and then how to configure it to print your documents. without any inconvenience. Can’t wait to move on to fix the situation?
So what are you waiting for? Don’t waste any more precious time: sit comfortably in front of your computer, take a few minutes of free time to carefully read the tips I wrote for you in this tutorial and put them into practice. I am convinced that they will be of great help to you. All that remains for me is to wish you a good reading and, above all, a good job!
Index
- How to print from PC to WiFi printer
- How to print from computer to HP printer
- How to print from computer to Brother printer
- How to print from your computer to the Epson printer
- Concluding operations
- How to print from computer to printer with cable
How to print from PC to WiFi printer
To print from your computer to a printer with wireless connectivity , you must first connect it to the network managed by your router, so that it can be detected by computers (and, in general, by all devices) that use the same connection.
If your printing device is equipped with an LCD or touch-screen , first press the button dedicated to the configuration area or to the main menu of the printer, go to the Settings area and access the section dedicated to network configuration / wireless configuration . As you can easily imagine, each printer has different menus and buttons from the others and, for this reason, the names you see on your screen may change slightly from those I mentioned earlier.
In any case, once you have reached the section dedicated to network configuration, specify that you want to perform the automatic configuration (if necessary), indicate that you want to use the Wi-Fi connection and wait a few moments for the printer to detect the available networks nearby .
When this happens, select the name of your wireless network from those listed, enter the password in the appropriate field (using the physical keypad of the printer or the on-screen keyboard) and click OK : within a few seconds, the connection it should be established. Immediately thereafter, you may be prompted to accept the device’s terms of use and privacy and to complete any system updates if necessary.
For printers without a screen or access functions to the integrated operating system, the situation is quite different: the simplest way to establish the connection to the router, in this case, is to use WPS technology , i.e. a data exchange system that allows you to connect devices to the Wi-Fi network by pressing just one button, avoiding manual insertion of the network key . It must be said, however, that the WPS technology is disabled on most modern routers, for security reasons, so you may have to activate it manually by entering the administrative area of the network device .
Having clarified this, to connect the printer to the Wi-Fi network via WPS , locate the homonymous button on the router (usually it depicts two opposite circular arrows or the + symbol ), press it and repeat the same operation also on the printer, within a maximum of 2 minutes . If everything went smoothly, after a few seconds, the wireless connection status LED on the printer should turn solid and, at the same time, a summary page of the network status should be printed .
Where the printer is not compatible with WPS technology, or if you are unable to activate the latter on the router, you must instead connect it to the Internet using a smart device connected to the same network (e.g. smartphone or tablet), together with the official app . of the manufacturer , generally available at no cost on the Google Play Store, on the alternative stores for Android and on the iPhone and iPad App Store.
Once the suitable application has been identified, simply download it, open it and follow the instructions that appear on the screen, in order to complete the connection; in order for everything to proceed smoothly, it is essential that the device from which you are working is connected to the same Wi-Fi network to which the printer is connected and that the latter is already switched on and correctly started . In case of doubts or problems, take a look at my guide on how to set up a Wi-Fi printer , in which I have given you precise instructions on what to do.
I also point out that, on most printing devices equipped with a wireless module, there is support for Wi-Fi Direct technology , i.e. the possibility of using the printer wirelessly without the aid of intermediate devices (eg . the router): to activate this function, you must act on the dedicated physical button on the printer or from the menu accessible from the integrated screen.
Once Wi-Fi Direct connectivity is enabled, you must then connect the computer to the wireless network managed by the printer and enter, when requested, the network key provided at the time of configuration. For more information on how Wi-Fi Direct works , take a look at my guide dedicated to the subject.
In any case, once the printer is connected to the Wi-Fi network (or after enabling Wi-Fi Direct), it is sufficient to configure it on the computer, using the procedure that best suits the operating system in use. I remind you, once again, that computer and printer must be on the same network .
- Windows 11and Windows 10 : press the Win + I key combination on the keyboard (the Win key is the one depicting the Windows flag), in order to open the System Settings panel , click on the Bluetooth and devices item (on the side) or on the Bluetooth and devices iconthen on the wording Printers and Scanners . Now, press the Add Device button , wait for the printer name to appear on the screen and click on it. Then finalize the procedure by pressing the Add device buttonand wait for the necessary driver installation to complete.
- Windows 8.x and earlier: open the Control Panel by recalling it from the Start menu or from the Start Screen and then click on the items Hardware and Sound> Devices and Printers . If you don’t see them, set the View by drop-down menu, located at the top of the Control Panel home page, to the Category option . Now, click on the Add a printer or scanner button , wait for the printer name to appear on the screen, click on it and hit the Add Device button. Finally, wait for the necessary drivers to be downloaded from the Internet and, at the end of the procedure, print a test page by pressing the dedicated button, in order to verify the successful connection.
- macOS: open System Preferences (by clicking on the gear symbol located on the Dock or using the appropriate item available in the Apple menu ), click on the Printers and Scanners icon and then on the [+] button , located at the bottom to the left. Now, open the Default tab (by pressing the printer icon located at the top) and click on the name of the network printer which, in the meantime, should appear on the screen. At this point, wait a few moments for the printer drivers to be recognized and finalize everything by pressing the Add button.
The setup procedure I’ve listed should be valid for most existing Wi-Fi printers out there. However, if you need it, you can complete the connection phase between the printer and the computer also using the official software provided by the device manufacturer: in the following sections of this chapter you will find explained how to proceed on the printing devices produced by some well-known big names in the industry.
How to print from computer to HP printer
For example, if you are using an HP printer , you can configure the device using the HP Smart application , available on the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 / Windows 11 and on the Mac App Store on macOS. To get the application, follow the links I gave you a little while ago, click on the button to open the store (if necessary) and click on the Install / Download / Get button . If necessary, verify your identity by authenticating with the access system configured on your computer.
At this point, open the HP Smart application downloaded earlier, choose whether or not to share the app usage data with HP and click on the Add printer button , or on the symbol (+) . Now, wait for the program to locate the active printer (which must be turned on), click on its name and press the Continue and Yes buttons to connect it to the network.
Finally, complete the software configuration by following the instructions that appear on the screen (creation of an HP profile, Instant Ink supply and possible installation of the app on smartphones and tablets) and press the button to Finish the configuration. If everything went smoothly, the printer should be set up and usable. For more information, check out my tutorial on how to connect your HP printer to Wi-Fi .
How to print from computer to Brother printer
The print drivers dedicated to Brother brand devices , on the other hand, are available on this page ; to get the one that best suits your needs, enter the model of your printer in the box corresponding to the item I know my model , click on the name of the device and then indicate the operating system and the architecture of the computer.
Once this procedure is complete, click on the link for the download of the complete Driver & software package , accept the program license and, once the download is complete, follow the instructions that appear on the screen, to proceed with the configuration and connection of the printer.
Generally, all you have to do is choose the program language , accept the license agreement , choose to proceed using a Wireless Network Connection (Wi-Fi) and then select the network to use for the connection. and the name of the network printer . If this has not yet been connected to the router, click instead on the option relating to the wireless network configuration and indicate that you want to connect the machine to the aforementioned network .
Finally, click on the name of the configured printer, go ahead and proceed with the installation of the standard print drivers , selecting the appropriate box; if necessary, skip the installation of additional programs and complete the procedure by pressing the Finish button . You can find more information about the subject in my tutorial on how to connect Brother printer to Wi-Fi .
How to print from your computer to the Epson printer
If you then use an Epson printer , you can get the official software from the manufacturer’s website by typing, where required, the exact model of the printer and then clicking on the most relevant result. Once you have reached the download page, expand the section dedicated to Drivers , click on the item relating to the latest drivers and then on the Download button , in order to obtain the setup file.
When the download is complete, open the file obtained and follow the instructions you see on the screen, to proceed: generally, you must confirm the printer series, press the OK button , and then proceed with the download of the EPSON Printer Utility . Next, indicate that you want to proceed with the manual configuration , choose do you want to search for a printer connected to the network and, when you find the name of your device, press on it and click on the OK button . For more details, check out my guide on how to install an Epson printer on your computer .
Concluding operations
Once you have finished connecting and configuring the printer, you are finally ready to start your print jobs from your computer. So, first of all, open the document or image to print, look for the Print button in the program screen that opened and click on it; generally, the button in question is at the top or side and is marked with a printer symbol .
If you can’t find it, try searching for the Print … item in the program’s File menu or, again, press the Sharing button and locate the Print item ; alternatively, try pressing the key combination Ctrl + P (for Windows ) or cmd + p (for macOS ) on your keyboard. Regardless of the procedure followed, if everything went smoothly, you should now see the print window appear on the screen.
Depending on the operating system and the program in use, the position of the items, menus and buttons may change, however the applicable settings are almost always the same: Printer (the drop-down menu from which to choose the printer to use), Options color (print in color, black and white or grayscale), Number of copies , Print on both sides (if available), Pages to print and Print layout (horizontally or vertically).
On some programs, additional options may also be available (accessible by pressing on the words Other settings or similar) relating to the printing margins on the sheet, the zoom , the resolution and the possibility of printing multiple pages of the document / photo on the same side . If you want to intervene in even more detail on the printing options, defining the quality (e.g. photographic or draft), the type of paper used , the ink / toner saving options and other similar adjustments, click on the Properties item. Printer / Advanced Settingsand act appropriately on the further panel that opens.
When you are finished, click on the OK button (if necessary) and start printing the document by pressing the Print button or the symbol depicting a printer .
How to print from computer to printer with cable
If your printing device does not have Internet connectivity, you may need to connect it directly to your computer via a USB or Ethernet cable , using the appropriate cable supplied. If there are no “standard” USB ports or Ethernet ports on your computer, you can deal with this by using a suitable adapter to use for the purpose.
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Once you have the necessary items, if you use Windows , you need to download the specific drivers for your printer model, directly from the Support / Downloads section of the manufacturer’s website. If necessary, refer to my tutorials dedicated to Epson drivers , Canon drivers , HP drivers or Samsung drivers , in which you will find out how to get the correct software; alternatively, try to Google phrases such as [printer brand and model] driver , taking care to install only drivers from the manufacturer’s official website.
Once you have obtained the specific program for your printer, start it and follow the instructions you receive on the screen, to proceed with the installation of the print drivers: generally, what you have to do is click several times on the Next button and, when prompted , turn on the printer and connect it to the computer via cable , to ensure that the device is recognized and correctly installed. At the end of the procedure, you may be asked to print a test page and specify the printing result, to proceed, if necessary, with the resolution of any connection problems.
For example, if you use an HP branded printer , open the driver file previously downloaded from the manufacturer’s website, click on the Continue and Next buttons and accept the license conditions and installation settings by clicking on the dedicated box.
Then, go forward again , select the type of connection to use (eg USB or Ethernet ), click again on the Next button and, when necessary, turn on the printer and connect it to the computer . Then proceed with printing the test page and that’s it. For more details, check out my guide on how to connect an HP printer via USB cable .
On Mac , on the other hand, manual installation of drivers is generally not required, as long as the computer is connected to the Internet; having said that, to install a USB printer, connect the device to the Mac via cable, open the System Preferences and click on the Printers and Scanners icon .
Then, click on the [+] button at the bottom left, open the Default tab (the one depicting a printer , located at the top), click on the name of the previously connected printer and click on the Add button , to complete the driver installation. In case of doubts or problems, I refer you to reading my guide on how to add a printer to your Mac .
