How can you connect two computers to one printer?

Answer 1

create a network with the pc's and the printer on 1 router/switch

Answer 2

Connect the primary, or first, computer to the printer. This is done traditionally with a printer cable linking the primary computer to the printer. If this is the first time the computer is hooked up to the printer, be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions for installation and setup.

Change the settings on the primary computer to allow sharing of the printer. Go through the control panel menu option, and select printers. Right-click on the printer selection and choose "Share printer." You are now able to share the printer with any other computers on your network.

Connect the secondary computer to the printer. Access the shared printer option from the secondary computer. Select "network neighborhood" and locate the primary computer. Double-click on the primary computer, and the shared resources will become available. Double-click on the printer. You can now utilize the printer from both computers.

or

Print sharing has become popular in many home networks primarily because it reduces the cost in implementing networking environments as well as maximizing the potential uses of network resources. The process of hooking two computers to a single printer is very much different from connecting two printers to a single computer because unlike computer systems, printing devices normally only have one communication port that can host a connection. To achieve the task of connecting two computers to a single printer, other devices would have to come into the picture to serve as the host for the printer and provide the underlying communication layer for all devices trying to make use of its printing functionality. The Operating System running on both machines that want to make use of the printing device must also support networking and printer sharing features in order to make this task feasible.

Materials Needed:

- Router

- Ethernet cable

- USB switch

- crossover cable

- network card

- print server

- Operating System that supports printer sharing

Step 1

One of the easiest options to share a printer on networked machines is to connect and install it in one of the machines. Simply click on the 'Start' button and choose the 'Control Panel' category.

Step 2

Select the 'Printer and Faxes' option and click on the 'Add a Printer' task. This will bring up the printer installation page. Make sure to install the printer hardware as a local printer. Follow the prompts to complete the installation process.

Step 3

When completely installed, click on the 'Start' button and select the 'Printer and Faxes' category. The icon for the newly installed printer should be there already. Right click on the icon and select sharing.

Step 4

Provide a shared name for the printing device and click on the 'OK' button.

Step 5

On the other computer, repeat Step 1 to Step 2 but this time, choose the network printer option. Type in the name of the printer and follow the prompts. Install the device driver when prompted to do so.

Step 6

A variation of this method which eliminates the use of a router device is to connect the two machines using a crossover cable. Simply insert one end into the NIC of the machine and repeat the process for the other computer.

Step 7

Both machines must be running at least Microsoft Windows XP to allow for the automatic detection of the network connection. This procedure basically functions the same way as a network environment but is limited to two machines and does not require a router.

Step 8

An alternative to this setup is to install a Print Server which will host the printer hardware and connect directly to the network router. In this method, simply connect the printer to the printer server.

Step 9

Proceed by connecting the print server to the network router which will allow the printer hardware to be detected in the network environment as a standalone device. To print using this method, simply use the IP address assigned to the printing device.

Step 10

Another possible solution is to use switching devices. These types of hardware became popular when printers were hosted using parallel and serial cable connections. For USB-based machines, a USB Switch box may be used. Connect the printer directly to the box using the USB cable.

Step 11

Connect the USB cable from each computer to the respective USB ports on the switching device. To use the printer for computer A, simply set the switch to A and do the same for B. In this method, no additional installation is required. All data switching and handling activities are done by the hardware switch.

Answer 3

If the two computers are connected to a network, then connect both printers to the same network. Use "add new printer" on both computers, so installing the printer driver for each printer, and both printers will show in the list of devices in My computer (if you are using MS Windows).

Or, if there is not a network, connect a separate printer to each computer.

Answer 4

There are a few ways of doing this.

First is to network the two computers and use a network print server (if the printer doesn't already have a network port).

Second would be to plug the printer into one computer, and share it (assuming once again that the two computers are networked together).

Third would be to use some sort of switch (they used to be made for parallel printers) that would allow you to switch between the two computers.

Answer 5

You can use something as simple as a two-way switch. Basically, both computers connect to the switch by a cable, and the switch is connected by cable to the printer. Each user turns the switch to their connection when they want to send something to the printer.

Answer 6

by making both computers in lan system