How to Share a Printer on a Home Network

Knowing how to share a printer on a home network can save you from buying multiple printers for every device in your house. Whether you have a Windows PC, Mac, Chromebook, or smartphone, a single shared printer can serve everyone. This guide walks you through every method — from built-in OS sharing to dedicated print servers — so you can pick the approach that fits your setup. If you're still choosing a printer, browse our printer reviews for recommendations across every budget.

Home printer sharing works over your existing Wi-Fi or wired network. The core idea is simple: one device acts as the host or the printer connects directly to the router, and all other devices send print jobs to it. Let's break down how to make that happen.

Printer Sharing Methods Overview

There are four practical ways to share a printer on a home network. Each has trade-offs in cost, complexity, and reliability:

If your printer already has Wi-Fi built in, that is almost always the easiest path. For USB-only printers, OS-level sharing or a print server fills the gap. According to Wikipedia's overview of network printing, shared printing has been a standard feature of home and office networks for decades, relying on protocols like IPP, LPD, and SMB.

How to Share a Printer on Windows

Windows makes it straightforward to share a USB printer connected to one PC with every other Windows machine on the same network. The host PC must be on and awake whenever another device wants to print.

Enable Sharing on the Host PC

1. Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners.
2. Select your printer and click Printer properties.
3. Go to the Sharing tab and check Share this printer.
4. Give it a short, recognisable share name (e.g., HomeHP).
5. Click OK. Windows may prompt you to turn on network discovery — allow it.

Also confirm that File and Printer Sharing is enabled: go to Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Advanced sharing settings and turn on file and printer sharing for your current profile.

If you run into issues after setup, our guide on how to fix the printer offline error on Windows covers the most common causes and fixes.

Connect Other Windows PCs

1. On the second PC, open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners.
2. Click Add a printer or scanner.
3. If the shared printer appears in the list, select it and click Add device.
4. If it does not appear, click The printer I want isn't listed, then choose Select a shared printer by name and enter \\HostPCName\ShareName.
5. Follow the driver installation prompts.

Windows 11 users who need a full walkthrough from scratch should read our separate guide on how to set up a printer on Windows 11 before starting the sharing process.

How to Share a Printer on Mac

macOS has built-in printer sharing through System Settings. The setup is similar to Windows — one Mac hosts the printer and others connect to it over the local network.

Enable Printer Sharing on macOS

1. Connect the printer to the host Mac via USB and ensure it prints locally.
2. Go to System Settings → General → Sharing.
3. Turn on Printer Sharing.
4. In the Printers list that appears, tick the checkbox next to your printer.
5. Under Users, decide who can print — Everyone is fine for a home network.

Add the Shared Printer on Another Mac

1. On the second Mac, open System Settings → Printers & Scanners.
2. Click the + button to add a printer.
3. Select the Default tab. The shared printer should appear listed under the host Mac's name.
4. Select it and click Add. macOS downloads the appropriate driver automatically via AirPrint or Bonjour if available.

Windows PCs on the same network can also print to a Mac-shared printer by adding it via the Windows Network tab in the Add Printer wizard, as long as SMB sharing is enabled on the Mac.

Using a Wi-Fi or Network-Ready Printer

A printer with built-in Wi-Fi is the cleanest way to share a printer on a home network — no host PC needed, and any device on your network can reach it at any time.

Connecting the Printer to Your Router

1. Use the printer's control panel to find the Wireless Setup Wizard (location varies by brand).
2. Select your Wi-Fi network (SSID) and enter the password.
3. Print a network configuration page to confirm the IP address was assigned.

Adding the Network Printer to Each Device

Once the printer is on your Wi-Fi, add it to each device:

• Windows: Printers & Scanners → Add a printer. Windows usually detects it automatically.
• Mac: Printers & Scanners → +. The printer appears under the Default tab.
• iPhone/iPad: No setup needed — AirPrint-compatible printers appear automatically in any app's print menu.
• Android: Use the manufacturer's app (HP Smart, Canon PRINT, etc.) or Android's built-in Print service under Settings.
• Chromebook: Settings → Advanced → Printing → Printers → Add Printer. For more detail, see our guide on how to print from a Chromebook.

Assigning a Static IP Address

To prevent the printer's IP from changing after a router restart, log in to your router's admin panel and assign a DHCP reservation (also called a static lease) for the printer's MAC address. This keeps the IP consistent without configuring the printer itself.

Print Servers and Router USB Ports

If your printer is USB-only and you cannot leave a PC on all day, a dedicated print server or a router with a USB port solves the problem at low cost.

Dedicated Print Server

A print server is a small device (roughly the size of a USB hub) that connects to your router via Ethernet or Wi-Fi and to your printer via USB. It makes the USB printer appear as a network printer to every device. Setup involves:

1. Plugging the print server into a LAN port on your router.
2. Connecting the printer's USB cable to the print server.
3. Visiting the print server's web interface (via its IP) to complete configuration.
4. Installing the provided utility on each PC to map the printer.

Router USB Sharing

Many modern routers include a USB port that supports printer sharing. Check your router's manual — if printer sharing is supported, plug the printer in, enable the feature in the router's admin panel, and install the router manufacturer's utility (e.g., ASUS Printer Sharing, TP-Link USB Printer Controller) on each PC.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Even a correctly configured shared printer can run into snags. Here are the most frequent problems and their solutions.

Printer Shows as Offline

The most common cause is a host PC that went to sleep or had its network adapter power down. Check:

• Host PC is awake and connected to the network.
• Printer is powered on and not in an error state.
• No pending jobs are stuck in the print queue — clear the queue and restart the Print Spooler service (services.msc → Print Spooler → Restart).

Driver Errors on Client PCs

When connecting to a Windows shared printer, client PCs download the driver from the host. If the driver fails, download it directly from the manufacturer's website for the client machine's OS version and install it manually before adding the printer again.

Printer Heads and Print Quality

Network sharing does not affect print quality, but a printer that sits idle can develop clogged heads. If prints come out streaky after reconnecting, follow the steps in our guide on how to clean clogged printer heads before assuming the network setup is at fault.

Firewall Blocking Connections

Windows Firewall can block incoming print connections. On the host PC, go to Windows Defender Firewall → Allow an app through the firewall and ensure File and Printer Sharing is checked for both Private and (if needed) Public networks.

Wrong Workgroup Settings

All PCs on the same network should belong to the same workgroup (default is WORKGROUP). Check via System Properties → Computer Name → Change and make sure the workgroup name matches on every machine.