There
are a number of indirect ways that you can trick Windows 7 and Windows 8
into printing from a shared printer attached to a Mac, but the best way
to do it is through
Bonjour. That’s because with every version
change - either between Windows or OS X - the process gets muddled and a
new solution has to be devised. But
Bonjour has been fairly
reliable even as both operating systems have evolved. In this tutorial,
you’ll learn how to set up OS X so that its shared printers are
available to Windows computers and devices.
NOTE: This guide has been updated for Mac OS X Mountain Lion (version 10.8).
How to Enable Print Sharing in Mac OS X
In Mac OS X, first open
System Preferences. In the
Internet & Wireless section, look for the
Sharing button. Click on it.
The
Sharing window opens. Enable the checkbox near
Printer Sharing. OS X then lists the printers installed on your Mac.
You can go ahead and share them from here. Check the box near the printer you want to share. Then, in the
Users section, configure the sharing permissions. Select the users you allow to print and the permissions level assigned.
When done, close the
Sharing window, and the
System Preferences window.
How to Share a Printer Connected to a Mac OS X
Even though enabling printer sharing provides the options required to
share a printer, there’s another way to share printers. First, printer
sharing needs to be turned on.
Open
System Preferences. In the
Hardware section, look for the
Print & Scan button and click on it.
The
Print & Scan window opens. Here, you see the
printers installed on your Mac. Select the printer you want to share.
Then, check the box that says
"Share this printer on the network".
If you want to customize how the printer is shared, click the
Sharing Preferences button.
How to Add a Mac OS X Shared Printer to Windows 7 or Windows 8
Download
Bonjour Print Services for Windows from the Apple Support website. As of this writing, the current version is
Bonjour 2.0.2,
which supports Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later. It also works in
Windows 8. Installation is straightforward: run the setup file, agree to
the terms (read them, if you’d like) and keep clicking
Next until it’s finished.
Now, run the
"Bonjour Printer Wizard". Make sure your Mac is up and running, connected to the network and the printer is connected and turned on. If all is well,
Bonjour will automatically detect the shared printers. They’ll be listed as
"PRINTER NAME @ COMPUTER NAME". Choose the printer you’d like to install and click
Next.
If prompted, install the printer drivers. If you have the printer
drivers installed on your computer already, you can choose them from the
list. If not, you’ll have to locate them manually by clicking
Have Disk.
Make sure that you install the proper drivers for your specific printer
model, otherwise you may have limited or no printer function.
After choosing the drivers, you’ll have an opportunity to verify the settings before finishing the printer setup. Click
Finish if all looks good.
Now, the OS X shared printer will be available in the
Devices and Printers panel of Windows. You can print to your Mac OS X shared printer as you would on a local printer, from the
Print dialogue of the program you are using.