How To Connect A Wireless Printer

A printer is a handy device to keep at home for personal use or at the office for work. There are several types of printers available in the market today, and you are set to enjoy great and satisfying features when you choose the right option.

This is especially if you know how to operate it. In this article, you will learn how to connect your printer to the device you want to print from; wirelessly.

Connecting your printer via a wire for printing is so effortless. You simply plug one end of the cable into your printer and the other into the computer from which you would like to make a print.

Why then should you bother about wireless printing? Well, because it opens up an exciting basket of possibilities. There is so much you can do when you embrace wireless printing.

Does it all sound exciting to you? Are you curious to find out how you can go about this?

Then you are reading the right article. Read on to find out how wireless printing works and how it can help change your view about printing.

Why You Should Consider Wireless Printing

The case to be made for wireless printing is an easy one, and its complexity can be overlooked for its benefits. If you’ve ever felt irked because you had to leave your room for the part of the house, the printer sits, being able to print wirelessly will excite you.

One other fantastic advantage of wireless printing is that it will allow you to print from your smartphone. You no longer have to transfer the files from your phone over to your computer to print anymore. You can just print directly from your smartphone.

Exciting right? Of course, it is! But how do you connect your computer or smartphone to your printer for wireless printing? You’ll find the answers below.

How Does It All Work?

There are several ways you can wirelessly print, and all of them can be referred to by their mode of connection.

For example, there are Bluetooth-enabled printers that connect to your computer or phone via Bluetooth technology. Others are via infrared and Wifi. Using Wifi is the most durable, and it is what this article will focus on.

Connecting Via WiFi

Wireless networks created using Wifi are powerful and superior to the other three options mentioned earlier.

The basic breakdown of this connection’s workings consists of using a router to connect the printer and your computer or smartphone for printing. The router will be responsible for providing the access point so that all the devices may connect.

There are a few things you should know and have before setting up this connection. They include your Wifi’s network name (SSID), the password, and the type of security protocol it uses. It’s the same details you usually need to connect your phone to Wifi that isn’t free.

The security protocol refers to the type of lock used. A door uses a lock to stay locked, and a door can be locked with a padlock. Both mechanisms require a key to unlock them, but both types of locks are different in design.

This is a vague description of a security protocol. You would also need to either turn on the DHCP function or assign the printer an IP address manually. The DHCP takes the hassle off you and automatically helps you give an IP address.

Finally, suppose you do not have your router set to allow only specific MAC addresses. In that case, you don’t need to enter your printer’s MAC address manually.

Access Point Connection

You have to install the printer's driver on the computer you would be printing from, and the computer should be connected to the WIFI router already. It would help if you established a Wifi connection between the printer and the router also.

To establish a Wifi connection between the printer and the router, you have to follow the printer’s specific instructions.

Some printers have setup wizards that walk you through the steps of connecting your printer to the network. Others do it for you while installing the driver and may ask you to connect a USB cable to the printer to receive the settings it needs.

Once you have made the connection, you can test it out by sending it a print job. If you’ve done everything correctly, you should get that satisfying noise the printer makes when it is doing as asked.

Connecting Through Wifi Direct

There are other methods other than these, which are the Ad Hoc option and the Wifi direct. They both allow you to connect without access points.

The Ad Hoc method is quite old, and the Wifi direct is new, and most printers do not support it. You will have to check your printer’s manuals to learn if the options are available and how you would use them.

Wifi direct is the most comfortable choice for connecting your printer with a computer. You would only have to install a driver for the printer, turn on the Wifi direct for the printer, pick the printer on your computer’s network panel, enter its password, and print. It is that simple.

Smartphones And Similar Devices

Connecting your smartphone or tablet device to a printer is quite tricky because printer manufacturers don’t really bother with smartphone printing.

You don’t get a printing app to help you connect your device for printing. Installing drivers is not an activity you hear associated with these devices. You would also have to communicate through an access point, even if there is a printing app for the printer.

iOS devices have an AirPrint feature that lets supported apps print using their iPhone or iPad alongside a compatible printer (about a thousand models).

For Android, an app is built by a third-party that allows android devices to set up a wireless connection with select printers for printing. The app was created and maintained by the Morpia Alliance, whose aim is to make printing easier via mobile devices.

Conclusion

Wireless printing is a neat and comfortable way of printing. It is a bit more technical than using a wired connection, but it is not overly complicated.

There is a technology called NFC on the mobile side of things that gives you another option to print through your phone.

It lets you print by merely touching your device with a compatible printer to begin printing. Wireless printing will only get easier, so you might as well hop onto the train now.