There are many 10 minutes tasks that you can do to increase your productivity using your system. And adding printers to your system is one among them. Have you tried adding a printer to your Mac and confused about how to do that? Most of us think it is a tough task, but it is not as hard as you think. Still, if you feel you will get lost while trying to add printer to your Mac, Don’t worry.
In this article by Techmumma, I will briefly explain to you the step by step process of adding a printer to your Mac. There are many ways to do it. I will tell you the best three ways that are easy and handy to find the process simple. Stick with the blog to know all the ways you can use what you find comfortable. Let us get started.
How to add a printer to Mac:
Connecting wireless printer to your Mac:
You can connect a wireless printer to your Mac by connecting Bluetooth or using the Wi-Fi-protected setup (WPS). Once you set up the WPS, follow the below process to add the printer to your MacBook. Although the process is the same, the steps may vary based on different routers and printers, so check the printer and the router you are using before starting the setup process. But the basic way of adding printers would be clicking on the Wi-Fi or the wireless button on your printer.
Step By Step Process:
- Set up your WPS, and then on the top left corner of your Mac screen, you will see an apple symbol, click on the Apple icon.
- There, under the icon you will see a list of many options available below, such as About this Mac, App Store, Force Quit, etc. Among those options, you will see System Preferences. Select the option.
- This will take you to a screen where you can see different icons and programs like Mission Control, Security and Privacy, Internet Accounts, Trackpad etc., besides the trackpad, you will see an icon that says Printers and Scanners. Click on that. On older Macs, you can find this option under hardware.
- When you select the printers and scanners, you will see a blank box with the default printer and default paper size. On the bottom left of the blank box, you will see a + symbol. Click on that to add a new printer.
- Now your Mac will display all the available printers nearby. Choose your printer from the options. In use, field select the driver or printer’s software. You will have the options like AirPrint Auto-print etc., choose accordingly.
- Apple’s native printing technology, AirPrint, allows you to print from AirPrint-compatible printers over Wi-Fi on AirPrint-compatible printers. If your printer isn’t AirPrint compatible, you’ll have to download the driver from Apple’s servers or the manufacturer’s website.
- You can also use your own printer’s driver if you have installed it.
- If you don’t have the print driver and want your computer to get the correct one when it updates, choose Auto Select.
- Select the Add button available on the bottom right corner of your screen. Now the printer will be added, which you can see on the blank box on the screen.
Adding a printer to your Mac using IP Address:
You’ll need to know your Printer’s IP address if you use this method to install a printer. Here’s how to figure out what your Printer’s IP address is. Once you have this information, go to System Preferences and select Printers & scanners from the Printers & Scanners option to add the printer.
Step by step process:
- Open your Mac and click on the Apple icon that is viable on the left top corner of the screen.
- Go to the System preference option, which is visible under the drop-down list when you select the Apple icon.
- After selecting the System preferences, click on the Printers and scanners option.
- Now click on the + symbol, and from the different options, you get to choose the IP address icon which is on the top left corner of the screen. It will be a symbol of the globe in blue color.
- Now, it will ask you to give your printer’s IP address, enter it and click on add. You can also rename your printer here.
- In the use field, choose the printer type you want and click on add to add the printer to your MacBook.
Adding using USB:
Only a USB or cable connection can be used to connect printers that do not have networking capabilities. Even though a printer can wireless print, it may still require a USB connection throughout the setup process.
Step by step process to connect printer using USB:
- As mentioned above, open your Mac and click on the Apple icon in the top left corner.
- Select system preferences for the options below the icon
- Select the printers and scanners options under hardware or system preferences.
- Click on the + symbol that is available on the bottom of the blank box screen.
- When you click on the printer option that is + symbol, your MacBook will automatically populate a list of network printers under the default tab. Look for a printer name that includes USB in the Kind column.
- Now select the add option on the bottom right corner of the screen, and your printer will be added to your MacBook.
Conclusion:
These are the best three ways you can follow to add the printer to your Mac. As I have mentioned, the process is so easy, but all you need to do is be aware of the following step. I hope by now you might have got a clear picture of different methods you can follow based on the types of printers you are using. Let me know in the comments about how this blog was helpful to you.