How to share printer with a Mac and PC laptop?

[Otilio]

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Hello friends, I have a desktop and a HP laptop both running on Windows XP operating sytem. I share a common Canon printer between these two computers using a Wired router. I am going to get a New Mac desktop which will be replacing the Old desktop. The Mac desktop is gonna have Mac OS X 10.6 operating system installed on it. I wanted to know if it is possible to share the same printer with the Mac desktop and the laptop and if it is possible then I would like to know How to share printer with a Mac and PC laptop? I need your guidance as I am not used to the Mac systems as I am to the Windows operating system. Any help is highly appreciated.

[Milton.J]

No it is not possible to share the printer between Mac system and the Windows based system. The operating system of both the computers will not allow to share the resources with each other. The operating system of both the computers are very much different to each other which creates problems while sharing any resources between them. You will have to buy a new printer so that you will be able to print from the Mac desktop which you are buying or you can connect the printer only to the Mac desktop, leaving the PC laptop without the Printer.

[Big Fish]

It is possible to share the printer between the two system if the printer is shared on the network. Whenever any device is shared on the Network it is possible to share the same device by using computers which are running on different operating system. You can visit the official sites of Canon or Apple to see how the printer can be shared between two computers which are running on different operating systems.

[Steve123]

To be able to use the printer on the Mac system, you will have to install the appropriate drivers for the printer for the version of the operating system you are using. You can get the updated drivers for the Canon printer for the Mac OS 10.6 at the Canon site or at the official Apple website. Once the proper drivers are installed on the system there wont be any problem in sharing the printer between the Windows based laptop and the Mac desktop. You will just have to sure that the Firewall on the both systems are turned off and the printer is visible from both the Computers.

[Spyrus]

To share the printer between the Mac desktop and the PC laptop you will have to connect the Printer to Mac desktop. Install the drivers which are required by the printer to run properly. Then do the following settings in the operating system to share the printer. Open the Apple Menu and then Select System Preferences from the List. Now Go to sharing Tab. Search for the Option saying "Printer Sharing" and check mark the box next to it. Once the box is checked marked assign the permissions to the printer so that the remote computer is restricted to access some of the Functions of the Printers. The permission assigned should be according to your need. Once the configuration is done, you will be able to share the printer with the Mac desktop and the PC laptop.

[Zachary]

Windows operating system will not be able to see the printer connected to the Mac system and Mac system wont be able to see the printer connected to the Windows system. Hence you will have to connect the printer to the Mac system and then download the third party application called Bonjour which is provided by apple on the Windows based computer. Once Bonjour is installed on the Windows based computer, the computer will be able to see the printer connected to the Mac system. Enable the Sharing option on the Mac system and the printer will be shared successfully between the two systems.