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Tech News Today
Home » Printer

How to Find a Printer on a Network? 4 Easy Ways

Deependra PangeniBy Deependra PangeniApril 4, 2023
how-to-find-a-printer-on-a-network

If only a few printers are connected to your network, you can easily discover them through the control panel or Windows settings. However, if you work in an environment with a lot of network or shared printers, finding the desired one can be challenging. In such cases, you can discover your desired printer using its IP address. Besides, printer manufacturers offer specific apps that help you find the printers on the network.

Table of Contents

  • Using Control Panel
  • Using Settings
  • Using Dedicated Printing Apps
  • Using IP Address of Printer

Using Control Panel

You can simply go to your computer control panel to see all the printers connected to a network. Once you find the printer, you can then add the printer to your system.

  1. Open Control Panel .
    open-control-panel-on-your-computer-2
  2. Press the View devices and printers option in the Control Panel window.
    view-devices-and-printers-1
  3. Click Add a Printer button on the menu bar.
    add-a-printer-button-in-control-panel-1
  4. You will see all the printers that are connected to a network in the new Add a device window.
    list-of-printers-shown-while-adding-wirelessly-1
  5. Select the desired printer.
  6. Follow the instructions to add that printer to your PC.
    installing-process-of-wireless-printer-1

Using Settings

If you are trying to find a shared printer over a network, you can do it easily from the settings of your computer.

Since Windows computers can not find the shared printer automatically, you need to know the name of the host computer to find it. If you don’t know which is the host computer exactly, you can check for all the computers on the network.

  1. Open Settings on your computer.
    open settings on your computer
  2. Open Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
    printers-and-scanners-in-settings
  3. Tap the Add device button.
    add-device-button-on-settings
  4. Click Add manually.
    add-printer-manually-from-settings
  5. Check the box next to the second option.
    select-a-shared-printer-by-name-and-browse
  6. Click Browse.
  7. Double-click to select the computer to which the printer is connected. As mentioned earlier, check for other computers too if you don’t know the host computer.
    double-click-name-of-host-computer
  8. Select the printer and press the Next button.
    double-click-shared-printer-name
  9. It will add printer to your system.
    click-next-after-selecting-printer

Using Dedicated Printing Apps

There are also manufacturer-specific apps that will help you find the printers on a network. All you need to do is download the mobile apps for the printers like HP, Canon, Epson, and Brother. Then, go through the steps to add a printer.

printer-manufacturer-specific-apps

The app will find all the printers of that particular manufacturer on the network and display them to you. You can then select your desired printer and start printing.

Printer ManufacturerMobile Apps
HPHP Smart
CanonCanon PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY
EpsonEpson iPrint
BrotherBrother iPrint&Scan
Printer manufacturers and their respective mobile apps

Using IP Address of Printer

If you know the exact name of the printer, you can easily find it using the method discussed earlier. However, if you work in an environment with multiple printers connected to a network, it may be a tedious task to search for a particular printer in a list of thousands of printers.

In such cases, you should first find the IP address of a printer, then add it to your PC using that IP.

You can get the IP address through the host computer to which the printer is connected. Otherwise, you need to contact the system admin.

  1. Open Windows Settings.
    open settings on your computer
  2. Click Bluetooth & devices on the left pane and select Printers & scanners.
    printers-and-scanners-in-settings
  3. Click the printer name whose IP you want to view.
    choose-your-printer
  4. Choose Printer properties.
    printer-properties-in-settings
  5. Grab the IP address from the Properties window.
    ip-address-in-windows-settings-1
  6. Now come to your system where you want to add the printer.
  7. Open Settings.
  8. Go to Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
  9. Tap Add device.
    add-device-button-on-settings
  10. Tap Add manually.
    add-printer-manually-from-settings
  11. Select the third option and click Next.
    add-printer-using-ip-address-option
  12. Type the IP address and click Next.
    enter-ip-address-while-adding-printer
  13. Then follow the instructions on the screen to add the printer.
    searching-for-printer-with-ip-address
how-to
Deependra Pangeni
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Meet Deependra Pangeni, A professional Computer Engineer who has been writing about technology for many years. He is also involved in different robotic projects and loves tinkering with circuit boards. He is always researching new ways to improve the website's user experience and make it easy for people to find the information they need. At TechNewsToday he mainly deals with how-to and fixes contents for a range of TV and TV products like remotes, cables and streaming devices. Along with the TV, he also specializes in hardware and software troubleshooting for printers and Windows. Deependra's passion for simplifying complex technical information for non-technical audiences is evident in his work and he is dedicated to producing high-quality content that is easy to understand. When he is not working, he enjoys gathering with his friends, partying and traveling. He is also an active member of the technical community groups and regularly participates in tech meetups. You can contact him at deepen@technewstoday.com

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