Dec 23
2007Printing
Filed Under (Windows Xp) by Admin on 23-12-2007
Tagged Under : Adding A Network Printer, auto detect, configuring, Configuring A Printer, install the printer driver, Local Printer, network Printer, printer, Printers and Faxes, printing, Printing Documents And Pictures, Printing Preferences, usb, wizard
A printer can be connected to your PC via the LPT port (using a Parallel cable) or through USB (using a USB cable). If you are connecting the printer for the first time, Windows XP will auto-detect the new hardware. If it has recognized the device and has the drivers for it, it will do what’s required all by itself. This is normally the case with a local printer. Before you install a printer, you need to decide whether it’s a Local printer or a Network printer you’re installing. You also need to be aware of the type of printer, as in Dotmatrix/ Inkjet/Laser, and the manufacturer name. Once you have this information, go to the Control Panel, select ‘Printers and Faxes’, and choose ‘Add Printer’ from ‘Pick a task’.
Adding A Local Printer
On clicking ‘Add a new printer’, an installation wizard begins, and guides you through the installation process. It first tries to detect if a printer is directly connected to your PC, and then loads the necessary drivers and default settings for it. If Windows fails to detect a printer attached to your PC, you will need to guide the wizard by specifying the type of port, manufacturer name and model number—as and when it asks for these details. Finally, print a test page to confirm that everything is fine.
You may need to install the printer driver if the wizard asks for it. The CD-ROM that comes with the printer will have the necessary driver files.
Adding A Network Printer
Installing a network printer is very simple provided you know the “path” of the printer. Say your computer is on a Windows network, and a local printer is connected to a PC called “PCname”, and the name of the printer is “PrinterName”. This local printer will serve as a network printer for your PC. Start the printer Wizard as mentioned earlier. Choose ‘Network Printer’ and click ‘Next’. Now you can either browse for a printer, which is rather tedious task, or you can just enter the path in the ‘Connect to Printer’ option. In our example, the path would be \\PCname\PrinterName. A message saying “You are about to connect to a printer on PCname, which will automatically install a printer driver…” will appear when the network printer is located successfully. You will be prompted to print a test page.
If you face problems during installation, make sure the path you specified is correct—contact your network administrator for details. Problems could also arise if the PC that the network printer is connected to is turned off, or if a Firewall is disallowing connections from your machine. These problems can be addressed by a network administrator or the person handling the network printer.
Configuring A Printer
The added printer will be accessible from the Control Panel as mentioned earlier. Right-click on the printer and choose ‘Properties’. There’s a ‘Printing Preferences…’ button under the ‘General’ tab. Open it to configure the manner in which you want the printer to work. First off, change the paper size to whatever you want (usually A4); the default is ‘Letter’. If you also want to conserve ink, change the ‘Print Quality’ to ‘Draft’. To share your printer on the network, just right-click on the printer icon and choose ‘Sharing…’ Then choose the ‘Share this printer’ option and give it a share name.
Printing Documents And Pictures
For printing a simple document or HTML Web page, just click on File > Print in the application window. This will open a ‘Print’ dialog box. Use the dialog box to specify the page number you want to print and the number of copies. You can also edit the printing preferences—you can specify Normal or Draft mode, and so on. Once you have set your choices, hit ‘OK’ to start printing. Photo printing requires a photo printer, which is an inkjet printer with better color reproduction. For better output, use high-quality glossy paper specifically designed for photo printing. Windows XP has a wonderful photo printing wizard that can help you though the entire process of resizing and printing images. Select the images you want to print, right-click and choose ‘Print’. The Photo Print Wizard starts automatically, displaying a preview of all the images you selected. You can choose to de-select images now before proceeding with the next step. The Wizard displays a list of layouts—the layout offers you a number of different arrangements:
A preview of each of the above options is displayed alongside to give you an idea of what will be printed.