Sharing a printer is when rights or permissions are given to users to print across a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), the Internet or an Intranet to the printer which is local to the workstation or Network computer. If you are not sure you have rights to share a printer on your workstation, contact an Information Systems (IS) representative.
Note: The printer is actually shared by the operating system, not Loftware Label Manager.
Some of the benefits of sharing a printer are:
· Each printer may be set for a specific label type (dimension, specialty stock, etc.) and allow multiple personnel to print a range of print jobs without the need to change the media (label stock) or ribbon.
· Eliminate specialty equipment: Communication boards (multi-port parallel, USB and serial), print servers, connectivity modules, etc. by connecting the printers locally to workstations then sharing them.
· Fewer printers: Multiple personnel can print to the same printer by spooling jobs to a shared printer.
Note: Printer sharing is available only to printers that are added locally.
Sharing a Local Generic/Text Printer Driver
1. Add a Local Generic/Text Printer Driver as described in the previous section if you have not already done so.
2. Double-click the My Computer icon on the desktop; double-click on the Printers directory icon; double-click on the icon of the printer to be shared.
3. Select the Properties... command from the Printer menu.
4. Select the Sharing tab; choose the Shared As: option. If desired, the Share name may be changed.
5. Click OK when finished
The printer is now successfully shared. If desired, leave the Printer dialog box up to monitor files as they are spooled to the printer.
Sharing a Network Device
A Shared Network Device is a device that resides on a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), the Internet or an Intranet, and has been made available for users on the network to print to. (See “Sharing a Local Printer.”) If you are not sure if you have rights to Shared Network Devices, contact an Information Systems (IS) representative.
The benefits of connecting to a network/shared device are the combination of Spooling and Sharing.
*Note: Printer sharing is available only to printers that are added locally.
Connecting to a Shared Network Device
To connect to a shared network device:
1. From Printers and Faxes, select Add Printer.
The Add Printer Wizard dialog box is displayed; click on Next from its Welcome screen.
2. Select the Network printer option; click Next.
3. Specify the printer either by browsing for it or by entering its name.
4. Complete instructions in the dialog boxes.
*Note: A Network Printer is a printer that is either connected to a server, to a workstation, to a network as a node, or to a print server.
You may be required to insert the floppy disk with the appropriate driver(s) on it or point to the drive or directory where the driver(s) is located.