If you have recently purchased a new printer and are looking to connect it to your computer through WIndows 10 then this guide will assist you in doing so. Installing your printer using Windows 10 is a simple and quick task and once completed will enable you to begin printing right away.
There is more than one way to connect your printer using Windows 10, in this article we are going to be looking at the two most common ways which are to connect with a USB cable and connecting your printer using an internet connection.
Adding a printer using a USB cable
This method of connection is otherwise known as adding a local printer. By following the following, simple steps your printer will become locally connected quickly and easily.
- Use the USB cable to connect the printer to the computer and power both devices on.
- Select the settings option in the Windows 10 start menu.
- Several icons will appear, you need to choose the one titled 'devices.'
- You will now see a list of options, you should select 'printers and scanners' and then the sub-option 'add a printer or scanner.'
- Most often, Windows 10 will recognise that a device has been physically connected and you will be able to click on your printers name in a list.
- In some cases, however, your computer might not recognise that a printer has been connected and if this occurs you should select the option which says 'the printer I want isn't listed.'
- You will be presented with a troubleshooting menu which will guide you through what to do in a step by step fashion. The troubleshooter will download the required drivers for your printer, enabling it to be recognised by Windows.
- If you are still having trouble. you can manually download the drivers and installation software from the printer manufacturers website.
Adding a wireless printer
Depending on the brand of your printer, the installation process for connecting the device wirelessly may vary. However, in most cases a printer will pick up on your WiFi and this will initiate the installation. Once this has happened, you can follow these steps to get fully connected.
- On your printer, you will notice an LCD display panel, you can use this to complete the installation.
- Begin by using the display to input the details of your wireless network, this is likely found under the settings menu and an option which will be the same or similar to 'wireless LAN settings.'
- You can now select your wireless network, for this you will need to be aware of your SSID which is unique to your network. If you do not know this, it can be found by hovering your mouse over the WiFI icon which can be located in the task bar on your computer screen.
- You should now enter your network password.
- Check that your printer is now listed in the settings - printer and scanners menu on your computer.
This should complete the connection process and you are now ready to use your printer. However, if there is any additional software that requires installing, you may need to use a USB connection in order to do this.
Other forms of printer connection
Whilst the above two methods are the most common ways to connect a printer, there are some other things which are worth mentioning. The main one of these is detailed below.
Adding a shared printer
If there are multiple people using multiple devices within the home, you have the option to add a shared printer. This is easily done by following the steps below;
- Begin by setting up a Home Group on your computer, although if this is already in place, you can ignore this step.
- If you need to set up a Home Group you can do this by clicking on the wireless icon and then selecting 'open network and sharing center.'
- Next you should choose the option which reads 'ready to create' which appears next to the HomeGroup option.
- After this, you will see an option called 'create a HomeGroup', click this.
- You will then be able to select what you wish to share within the group, you should select 'shared' next to the printer option.
- Windows 10 will generate a password for your group, you should keep this safe. You can then select 'finish.'
The following steps will show you how to connect to a shared printer within the HomeGroup.
- You will need to access the other computers on the network and connect them to the printer.
- In the settings option, select HomeGroup and then select the option to join.
- Make your selections as to what you wish to share, ensure that printers has been selected.
- Enter the HomeGroup password which was generated in the previous process.
- You can now click finish and double check that the printer is connected.
Conclusion
As you can see, connecting your printer using Windows 10 is simple and quick when you know how. Following the steps that we have detailed here will have you printing in no time at all.
