In Windows 10, you can share your printer with many PCs on your network. To share a printer from the PC that the printer is connected to (the primary PC) with secondary PCs that the printer is not connected to, you must set up sharing settings for the printer, connect the printer to the primary PC (either wirelessly or by using a USB cable), and then turn on the printer. Also make sure the primary PC is turned on, connected to the printer, and connected to the network.
Note: When sharing a printer, make sure that sharing settings are set up on the primary and secondary PCs. Also, make sure you know the name of the primary PC. For more info, see the Set up Sharing settings and Find your PC name sections at the end of this topic.
Share the printer on the primary PC
There are two ways to share your printer: using Settings or Control Panel.
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Select the Start button, then select Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
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Choose the printer you want to share, then select Manage.
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Select Printer Properties, then choose the Sharing tab.
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On the Sharing tab, select Share this printer.
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If you want, edit the Share name of the printer. You'll use this name to connect to the printer from a secondary PC. When you are done, select OK.
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In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and then select Control Panel.
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Under Hardware and Sound, select View devices and printers, or select Devices and Printers.
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Select and hold (or right-click) the printer you want to share, select Printer properties, and then choose the Sharing tab.
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On the Sharing tab, select Share this printer.
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If you want, edit the share name of the printer. You'll use this name to connect to the printer from a secondary PC. When you are done, select OK.
Connect the shared printer to another PC
There are two ways to connect a shared printer to another PC: using Settings or Control Panel.
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Select the Start button, then select Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
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Under Add printers & scanners, select Add a printer or scanner.
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Choose the printer you want, and then select Add Device.
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If you don’t see the printer you want, select The printer that I want isn’t listed.
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In the Add printer dialog box, select Select a shared printer by name, and then enter the computer or device name of the primary PC and the share name of the printer using one of these formats:
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\\computername\printername
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http://computername/printername/.printer
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When prompted to install the printer driver, select Next to complete the installation.
For more info about the computer or device name, see the Find your PC name section in this topic. By default, you need the user name and password of the primary PC to access the printer.
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In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and then select Control Panel.
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Under Hardware and Sound, select View devices and printers, and then select Add a printer.
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Select the printer you want, select Next. When prompted, install the printer driver.
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If you don’t see the printer you want, select The printer that I want isn’t listed.
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In the Add a device dialog box, select Select a shared printer by name, and then enter the computer or device name of the primary PC and the share name of the printer using one of these formats:
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\\computername\printername
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http://computername/printername/.printer
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When prompted to install the printer driver, select Next to complete the installation.
For more info about the computer or device name, see the Find your PC name section in this topic. By default, you need the user name and password of the primary PC to access the printer.
Set up Sharing settings
The settings you use to share devices is often turned on by default. If not, follow the steps in this section to turn settings on using settings or Control Panel.
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Select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
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Under Related settings, select Change advanced sharing options.
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In the Advanced sharing settings dialog box, expand the Private section. Next, under Network discovery, select Turn on network discovery.
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Under File and printer sharing, select Turn on file and printer sharing.
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In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and then select Control Panel.
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Select Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center > Change advanced sharing settings.
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In the Advanced sharing settings dialog box, expand the Private section. Next, under Network discovery, select Turn on network discovery.
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Under File and printer sharing, select Turn on file and printer sharing.
Find your PC name
You’ll need the name of your primary PC, also called the computer name or device name, to connect the secondary PC to the printer.
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In the search box on the taskbar, type computer name.
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Select View your PC name.
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Under Device name, you’ll see the PC (computer) name.
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In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and then select Control Panel.
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Select System and Security , then, under System, select See the name of this computer.
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Under Device name, you’ll see the PC (computer) name.
