How to Install and Configure a Network Printer on a Local Area Network for Shared Use

Sharing printers on the network provides access to one or more printers connected to both the file server and workstations from the workstations.

If you have an expensive laser printer or one printer for several users, then Novell NetWare will allow all users to use it as if this printer was connected to their workstations.

To work with network printers, you need a so-called print server. The print server is a program that is supplied as an NLM module for working directly on the file server and as a regular EXE program for workstation.

You can dedicate one workstation to the print server by running the program on it pserver.exe. In this case, the workstation will turn into a dedicated print server.

If you cannot allocate a computer for the print server, run the program on the file server pserver.nlm. In this case, the print server task will be executed along with other file server tasks in multitasking mode. This will reduce the performance of the file server somewhat, but you will not need a separate computer to connect network printers.

The print server can serve up to 16 printers, which is quite enough in many cases. The printers themselves can connect to both the file server and workstations.

You must create one or more print queues for the print server. When users print to a network printer, their print jobs are queued to the print server, organized as a file on the server. The data from the queue is then printed on the printer.

You can set the priority of the queue and also allow access to only certain users. Print queues, in their purpose, resemble output classes in operating systems for IBM-370 computers (analogous to the ES series of computers).

8.1. Print server and print queues

First you need to create a print queue and start the print server. To do this, log into the network with the name SUPERVISOR and run the utility pconsole.exe from the SYS:PUBLIC directory.

8.1.1. Creating a Print Queue

After launching the pconsole.exe program, select the line "Change Current File Server" from the menu that appears. Specify the file server for which you are going to create a print queue. Then select the "Print Queue Information" line. Then press the key and enter the name of the print queue to be created. You can create several print queues, and to simplify the work, it is better to create one queue for each network printer.

By default, a newly created print queue is managed by the SUPERVISOR user, and users in the EVERYONE group have access to the queue.

Select a queue from the "Print Queues" menu and press the key . The "Print Queue Information" menu appears.

Using the "Queue Operators" line from the "Print Queue Information" menu, you can add (or remove) individual users or groups of users who can manage a given print queue. Adding and removing users and groups is done using the keys And .

If you need to add or remove print queue users, select the "Queue Users" line. After making all the changes, press the key to return to the "Print Queue Information" menu. Click Once again, you will be taken to the initial menu of the pconsole.exe utility, which is called "Available Option". If you click again, the utility will complete its work.

However, before you finish using the pconsole.exe utility, you need to use it to create a print server.

8.1.2. Creating a Print Server

From the "Available Option" menu, select the "Print Server Information" line. Press the key and enter a name the server being created print, for example PSERV1.

Select the print server you just created from the "Print Servers" menu and press . The "Print Server Information" menu appears. By selecting lines from this menu, you can set various options for the print server.

You can restrict access to the print server by defining a password using the "Change Password" menu bar. Additionally, similar to a print queue, you can define print server users and operators. To do this, use the lines "Print Server Users" and "Print Server Operators".

If the print server you are creating needs to work with multiple file servers, select the “Print Server Configuration” line from the “Print Server Information” menu. In the menu that appears, select the line "File Server To Be Serviced" and use the key add to the list of file servers serviced by this print server.

8.2. Creating network printers

After creating a print server, you need to define the network printers it uses. To do this, from the "Print Server Information" menu, select the "Printer Configuration" line. Select the number of the printer to be defined (at first only one printer with number 0 will appear) and fill out the form that appears on the screen.

You will need to provide the printer name.

Specify the printer type by clicking the button in the "Type" field .

If the printer is connected to a file server or a workstation dedicated to the print server, then select the “Parallel” or “Serial” type.

If you are using a workstation printer as a network printer, specify the type as "Parallel" or "Serial".

If you specify the printer type as "Remote Other/Unknown", you can specify the port that the printer uses when you run rprinter.exe on your workstation.

The "Defined elsewhere" type is used for printers located on other, additional, file servers.

To save changes made press the key and select the line "Yes". Then press the key again to return to the Print Server Configuration Menu.

8.3. Assigning queues to printers

After creating network printers, they need to be connected to print queues. To do this, select the line "Queues Serviced by Printer" from the "Print Server Configuration Menu".

Select the printer to connect and press the key . The "Available Queues" menu will appear, from which you can select the desired queue using the cursor keys. You can also specify a number from 1 to 10, which will indicate the priority of the queue. A value of 1 corresponds to maximum (highest) priority.

When finished, exit the pconsole.exe utility by pressing the key several times before leaving the program.

8.4. Starting the print server

If your print server will run as an NLM program on a file server, to launch it from the file server console, enter the command:

load pserver PSERV1

In this example, we have assumed that the print server is named PSERV1.

It makes sense to write the print server startup command in the autoexec.ncf file (located in the SYS:SYSTEM directory) so that the print server starts automatically when the file server is loaded.

After starting the print server, eight windows appear on the screen, displaying the current status of network printers. Information about eight printers with numbers from 0 to 7 is displayed simultaneously, but you can use the keys AND See the status of printers with numbers from 0 to 15.

If you decide to dedicate a separate workstation for the print server, run the pserver.exe program located in the SYS:PUBLIC directory on that station. When starting, specify the parameters - file server name and print server name, for example:

pserver myserver/pserv1

Additionally, add the following line to the net.cfg file (located in the C:\NET directory on your workstation):

SPX CONNECTIONS = 50

8.5. Connecting a remote network printer

To use a printer connected to a workstation as a network printer, you must run the program on this station rprinter.exe. This resident program, usually launched through the autoexec.bat file, gives the workstation’s printer for shared use. By the way, if you change your mind about using your printer as a network printer, simply do not run the rprinter.exe program.

To run the rprinter.exe program, you need to make sure that the SYS:PUBLIC directory is in the search path through the PATH variable. In addition, you must write the following line to the net.cfg file, which is located in the C:\NET directory of the workstation:

SPX CONNECTIONS = 50

The rprinter.exe program can be run without parameters or with parameters.
In the first case, you need to select from the menu the name of the print server you need and the printer number. The same information can be passed to the program through parameters.

When running the rprinter.exe program with parameters, you must specify the name of the print server as the first parameter, and the number of the network printer as the second parameter, for example:

rprinter netlabps 0

Additionally, you can specify two switches: "-r" and "-s". The "-r" switch is used to disconnect the printer from the print server. The "-s" switch allows you to view the current state of the rprinter.exe program.

8.6. Printing to a network printer

If your program is specifically designed to work with network printers, you just need to tell it that the printer you are using is a network printer. Read how to do this in the program documentation.

If your program knows nothing about networks or network printers, use utilities capture And endcap.

Utility capture will redirect printing from the local printer port to a network printer (to the appropriate print queue). Utility endcap cancels the reassignment.

The capture utility has many parameters, they are listed in table. 12. Parameters can be abbreviated to one or more letters. Possible abbreviations are shown in the table in capital letters. For example, instead of "NoAutoendcap" you can specify "NA".

Table 12. Capture utility parameters

Here is an example of setting parameters for the capture program:

capture NoB q=hetlabpq s=netlab

8.7. Defining Print Forms

If you are having problems printing to your network printer (problems with downloading fonts, problems printing graphics, etc.), you should try defining the configuration and print forms for your network printer.

To do this, log into the network as the SUPERVISOR user and run the utility printdef.exe from the SYS:PUBLIC directory (make this directory current before starting). Select "Print Devices" from the "PrintDef Options" menu. Then select the line "Import Print Devices". The Source Directory window must contain the path SYS:PUBLIC.

From the "Available .PDFs" menu, select the file (.PDF extension) that matches your printer. For example, for a Hewlett Packard LaserJet III printer, select HP3.PDF. To save changes, click .

Then in the main menu of the printdef utility, select the line "Forms" and click .

Enter name new form, it must start with a letter and be no more than 12 characters long. Enter a number that will be the form number, use values ​​in the range from 0 to 255. Then specify the length of the form in lines (from 1 to 255) and the width of the form in characters (from 1 to 999). Click to save the changes and select “Yes” in the “Save Changes” dialog box that appears.

A previously entered form can be edited by selecting it in the "Forms" menu and pressing the key . To delete a form, use the key .

After making all changes, click until you reach the "Exit Options" menu. Here you need to select the line "Save Data Base, then EXIT".

8.8. Print job configuration file

Each user on the network has its own print job configuration file, which is named printcon.dat in the user's personal subdirectory in the SYS:MAIL directory.

To create and edit a print job configuration file, run the utility printcon.exe, which is located in the SYS:PUBLIC directory. In the menu that appears on the screen, select the line "Edit Print Job Configurations". Next press the key and enter a name for the print job configuration you are creating.

The "Edit Print Job Configuration" form will appear on the screen.

Here you can change the number of copies to be printed (in the "Number of copies" field), the contents of the printed file - text or binary data ("File contents" field) - and other parameters.

Pay attention to the "Device" field. In this field, you must enter the name of the printer you created earlier, for example, "HP Laserjet III."

After you have created print job configurations, exit printcon.exe and run it again. This is necessary to save the created print job configuration. Then you need to copy your print job configuration to other users (this operation is only available to users with supervisor rights). To copy, select "Copy Print Job Configurations" from the "Available Options" menu. In the "Source User" dialog box, select the name of the user whose configuration file you are going to copy. Then, in the Target User dialog box, select the user who will receive the new configuration file and press .

When designing a local computer network in the SOHO (Small Office Home Office) segment, the question always arises of how to install and configure a printer on a computer running the Windows 7 operating system. There is more than one solution to this issue:

Network printer

Modern printing device(or MFP - a multifunctional device that combines printer, scanner and even Xerox), as a rule, provides for inclusion in a local network via UTP cable and supports TCP/IP protocol. Such devices are usually called network. The built-in software of such devices allows you to distribute the load between all users, organize queues for sending data for printing, maintain statistics, set printing priorities between users, and much more.

This solution is the most technologically advanced, allowing rational use of its resources by all network users, but such printing equipment, with all other characteristics being equal, is more expensive. An additional cost will be need to lay additional cable between the MFP and Wi-Fi router. Portable devices - a laptop or netbook can be connected either via cable or via a Wi-Fi interface. The topology of such a network is shown in the figure:

Local printer

The available complex does not provide for connection using TCP/IP, but only via USB or even older connection options, such as (LPT/COM). Such a printer must be connected to any of the local computers , and then use the services provided by the Windows 7 operating system and provide access to this equipment to everyone who needs it. Portable devices - a laptop or netbook can be connected either via cable or via a Wi-Fi interface. The topology of such a network is shown in the figure:

Print Server

Solution used in large offices and large computer networks. Printing device(usually MFP) connects to a separate computer on which specialized software is deployed, collectively called a print server.

Industrially produced individual devices , where the print server is implemented at the microsoftware level. Physically, it is a small box that is connected to a local network and receives information from printing devices via its existing connection interfaces. Portable devices: a laptop or netbook can be connected either via cable or via a Wi-Fi interface. The topology of such a network is shown in the figure:

Local installation

How to install a local printer on Windows 7 is described in detail in the accompanying documentation supplied with the equipment. But since reading documentation is considered bad form, we will describe a typical situation.

Network printer and print server

Installing a network printer in Windows environment 7 from the point of view of the user of any computer (whether stationary - desktop, or laptop) local network looks exactly the same and is produced through " Control Panel», « Devices and Printers", but the difference is that you need to add new printer(we assume that the network device is already installed on the local network):

The system will independently scan the network and detect installed network servers, or server print, and will tell you their names. All that remains is to select the ones you need from those found.

Unlike a local printer, for which drivers are searched on the Internet, Manufacturers of network devices store them in the device itself. Installation necessary drivers occurs automatically, which the system informs about with messages similar to those displayed when installing a local printer.

In case of unforeseen situations, it is described in detail how to install a network printer in the operating room. Windows system 7on the supplier's website software . Configuring an already installed network Windows printer 7 is done in the same way as setting up a local printer via “ Control Panel», « Devices and Printers», « Properties» This configuration of a remote printing device is carried out on a PC network with Windows 7, regardless of the territorial remoteness of the printer itself. For this, any computer with access to the network can be used: desktop, laptop and even tablet.

If you have a question about how to install a printer on a laptop or Windows netbook 7, then we are guided by the same techniques as when installing device drivers on a regular computer.

We install local printing equipment according to the method of installing a local printer, and a network printing device - as a network one.

If the printer is connected locally via Bluetooth or infrared port, then its installation is carried out in the same way as in the network version. Such a device must first be turned on so that when scanning nearby devices, the operating system can recognize it.

Drivers are installed automatically from the Internet, or from the installation disk supplied by the device supplier. The network administrator can allow or deny the connection of existing network printing devices, or devices included in the workgroup as local ones (via wireless interface) for specific laptops under Windows control 7.

Video on the topic

Question from a user

Good afternoon.

Can you help me with one problem... I have 3 computers at home: one PC and 2 laptops. They are all connected to Wi-Fi router. A printer is connected to the PC.

How can I set up my PCs, laptops and network so that I can send documents to the printer from my laptops? I tried to configure it, but nothing... Now I write the files onto a flash drive, and then print them from a PC, it’s inconvenient...

Good day!

In fact, both at home and in small offices, one printer is usually enough (of course, if you can print to it from any computer on the local network).

Actually, myself Windows setup to make a printer available to the public for a local network is not particularly difficult and any “average” user can handle it. In this article I will show you an example of how this is done...

We open access to the printer for the local network

Before describing the settings, I think important to report a few points:

1. you must include a PC, printer, and laptops (other PCs) that will be configured;
2. On the PC to which the printer is directly connected (to a USB port, for example), drivers must be installed (that is, printing should work normally on the PC itself). To find and install a printer driver - ;
3. The local network must be configured: computers have the same workgroups (you can see if you go to properties of my computer ), and different computer names (in general, if your local network is working, then this is so...).

Here, by the way, is a relatively good (because it’s mine) article on setting up a local network, I recommend that you read it if you have problems with your local network. Link below.

Setting up a local network -

Note: all settings below are shown and are relevant for Windows 7, 8, 10.

Now let's start setting up. The first thing you need to do is set up the computer to which the printer is directly connected (i.e., “share” the printer: we give access and permission to use it to another PC on the local network).

1) First we open Control Panel/Network and Internet/Network and Sharing Center . Next, click on the link on the left - "Change additional options public access" .

2) Next we will have three tabs: private, guest or public , And all networks. Now you need to open them one by one and check the boxes in the right places. More on this below.

Note: in some cases there will be not 3 tabs, but 2. Then open those tabs that exist and do according to the screenshots below.

3) Expand the tab , and set the sliders to the following positions (according to the screenshot below):

• enable network discovery (enable automatic setup on network devices);
• enable file and printer sharing;
• Allow Windows to manage homegroup connections.

4) Then open the next tab - "Guest or public" . We exhibit:

• enable network discovery;
• enable file and printer sharing.

5) Last tab , here we display:

• disable sharing;
• Use 128-bit encryption to secure shared connections;
• disable password protected sharing.

Important!

A similar setting in these three tabs (private, guest, all networks) must be done on all computers on the local network (and not just on the one to which the printer is connected)! Otherwise, you will subsequently not be able to connect to the local printer.

Allowing access to the printer

First you need to go to: control panel/hardware and sound/devices and printers . If you have the drivers installed and everything is OK with the printer, here you should see it in the tab "Printers" .

Right-click on the printer you want to make network (public) and go to it properties. In properties, open the tab "Access" and check a couple of boxes:

1. Sharing to this printer;
2. rendering print jobs on client computers.

Save your settings.

Printer sharing (clickable!)

To check whether your printer has become local, open a regular Explorer (you can open any folder). On the left in the menu you should see your computer name . In my case - the computer name is "Desktop-UGHM5R" - click on it and see that ours is present in the window that opens "shared" printer.

Now you can begin setting up other computers to enable them to print to the printer.

Note: Please note that next to the name of your PC, the names of computers that are on the same local network with you will be displayed.

How to connect a network printer and start printing

Important! Before you start connecting the printer, you must configure three network tabs: private, guest, all networks (I wrote about this just above). If you do not give permission to use shared folders, printers, etc. - you won’t see or connect the printer!

1) Turn on the computer from which we want to print (note: the PC is connected to a local network in which there is a computer with a connected printer).

Open File Explorer and click on the tab "Net"(on the left in the menu). Next, you should see a list of computers that are on the same local network as you: open the one that has a public printer (which we made network in the previous step).

3) 1-2 minutes (usually) will be required to install and configure the driver. At this time, it is better not to touch the PC or close this window (example in the screenshot below).

4) Next, if everything went well, the printer appears in the tab "Printers" and it can be used. Try opening some Word document, press the Ctrl+P button combination and send the document for printing (don’t forget to select the default printer; usually the printer installed is not the one you added).

Printer connected // task completed

Actually, that’s all there is to setting up Windows to create a public local printer. As you can see, in this regard, in Windows (7, 8, 10) everything is organized quite simply - you can figure it out yourself.

An even more convenient and versatile option would be to connect the printer directly to a Wi-Fi router. This way there will be no need to keep the PC connected to the printer turned on. In principle, there is nothing complicated there either - usually a special one goes to the router. Software that performs similar settings in automatic mode.

So, what is the difference between a network printer and a simple local one? A local printer can only connect to one computer, while a network printer can be accessed by any computer on the network. And here we will look at how to connect a network printer on Windows 7, how to set up a network printer (using the epson model as an example), and also how to make regular printer network, and what problems arise when self-installation device.

How to connect a network printer?

The printer can be networked from the factory (that is, have an RJ45 network card connector) - such a printer is directly connected to the network and only requires setting up a network card and installing software on the target computer.

Modern network printers support two types of network connections: wireless connection and wired.

In order to configure wireless connection network printer, you need to go to the printer settings.

Let's look at installing a network printer using the HP model as an example.

To do this, find the “Setup” tab on the printer’s LCD display.

Then select "Wi-Fi Settings"

A new window will open in which you need to select the “Wi-Fi setup wizard” tab, which means the wireless network setup wizard.

Now you need to select the name of your wireless network and enter the password.

If you did everything correctly, the printer panel will light up wifi icon(which means successful connection to the network).

If you have a wired connection, then you need to find a socket for connecting to network interface LAN:

And connect one end of the network cable to the printer, and the other, respectively, to the modem or computer.

How to set up a network printer in Windows 7?

Having figured out how to connect a network printer, now you should go directly to setting it up in operating system Windows.

To do this, go to the “Start” menu and click on the “Devices and Printers” tab

In the window that opens, select the “Printer Installation” tab

Then you will need to select the “Add a network, wireless printer” tab and click next.

After a short search, the system will ask you to choose a printer - to which you will have to agree. The drivers will be installed from the Internet, and then a message will appear indicating that the printer was installed successfully.

You can also use installation disk, which is included with the printer (if, of course, you have one).

How to make a printer networked?

A printer that does not have direct access to the network (not equipped network card) can be made network by connecting it with a USB or LPT cable to network computer or .

In this case, you will need to configure the device to which you can organize direct connection printer, and installing a printer on computers end users.

How to set up a network printer on the computer it is connected to?

Setting up a network printer in Windows 7 and Windows XP will be the same. To make a printer network-ready, you first need to install the driver for this printer from the disk included with the printer’s basic package (or download the software from the manufacturer’s website).

After installing the driver, you need to share the installed printer:

• - Start -> Control Panel -> Devices and Printers;
• - Right-click on the desired printer and go to “Printer Properties”;
• - In the “Access” tab, check the “Share this printer” checkbox.

But setting up a network printer on Windows 8 and Windows 10 will be slightly different. But only in that the “Control Panel” is accessed through side menu(move the mouse all the way to the right and select “Options” and then “Control Panel”) or through the address bar open folder.

How to connect a network printer through a router?

The main condition for creating a network printer through a router is that your router must support the Print Server function (network printing).

In addition, you should check on the router manufacturer’s website (or in the instructions attached to it) whether it supports working with this printer model.

If the conditions are met, then you need to turn off the router and printer.

Then connect the printer to the router and turn on the power first to the router, and then to the printer.

How to find out the IP address of a printer on a network?

This information can be found either from the settings of the network printer (if it is directly connected to the network), or it will coincide with the one through which it is connected to the network (computer or router).

How to connect to a printer over a local network?

After all the above procedures, you only need to install a network printer on the end users' computers.

To do this:

• - IN address bar of any open folder we write “\\x.x.x.x” where “x.x.x.x” is the IP address of your printer.
• - Next in the window that opens double click left mouse button select the printer you need.
• - Most likely, when installing a printer, you will need a disk with drivers for your printer.
• - After installation is complete, you can set it to be the default.

The network printer does not print: possible problems.

If you have followed the instructions above exactly, then here probable reasons that the printer does not print over the local network:

• - there is no connection to the local network of either your computer or network printer;
• - the intermediary device (router or computer) is disabled;
• - in addition, a “standard set” of printer malfunctions may occur (paper jams, lack of paper, lack of cartridge, low level ink or toner).