If you only have a wired printer on a particular PC around you, and you want to share that printer with other users on the network. Even if you have a wireless printer that can connect to a network and also connect to different PCs on the same network, you may still need to set up printer sharing on a specific PC. This article will show you how to share a printer from Windows 11.
Enable file and printer sharing on Windows 11
To share a printer, you must first turn on file and printer sharing options in the Network and Sharing Center. Please refer to the following steps to turn on file and printer sharing options on Windows 11:
Search for Control Panel in the start menu. Select Control Panel.
Set the View by option to Category, then click the View Network Status and Tasks link.
Click the Change advanced sharing settings link.
Expand the Network discovery section, then enable network discovery and turn on file and printer sharing. Click the Save Changes button.
Ways to share a printer in Windows 11
There are many ways to share a printer from Windows 11.
1 Share the printer in Windows 11 by setting:
Click Start to open the Settings application.
Click Bluetooth & Devices, then select the Printers & Scanners option on the right.
Click the printer you want to share. Click the Printer Properties option on the following screen.
Click the Sharing tab in the Printer Properties window.
Check the box in front of Share this printer and give the printer a name. Then click the Apply and OK buttons.
2 Share a printer in Windows 11 via Control Panel:
In addition to via the Settings app, you can also share printers in Windows 11 via the Control Panel:
Press the Windows key and enter cpl to open the Control Panel.
In Control Panel, set View by to Category, and then click the View devices and printers link.
Right-click the printer and select Printer Properties.
Select the Sharing tab at the top, check the Share this printer box, and enter a share name. Click Apply and OK to share the printer.
The printer can be shared in both of the above ways, and once set up successfully, you can connect to it from other PCs on the network. Via File Explorer and selecting the network folder, right-click the shared printer and select Connect from the menu.
Print Sharing on Windows 11
For PDFs, shared documents, and emails, it’s more fun to share your New Year’s Eve with a shared printer than print copies of the past. Windows 11 has printing built in, but you can still share printers too.
