How to Add a Network Printer from Another Computer or Server in Windows XP

My co-worker has a printer attached to their computer — is there a way I can add the printer to my computer over the network?

Yes, you can add network printers to your computer through the Control Panel. If the printer is hooked up to a server, it is probably ready to go. If it is hooked up to someone else’s computer, you just need to modify its Printer Sharing settings.

Share the Printer

Have your colleague open up the Control Panel, click on “Printers and Faxes”, right-click on their printer, and choose “Properties”. Go to the “Sharing” tab, check off “Share this Printer”, and take note of the printer’s name in the text field.

Add the Printer

Back on your computer, go to the Control Panel, double-click “Printers and Faxes”, and click “Add A Printer”. The “Add Printer Wizard” will start up. Select “A network printer, or printer attached to another computer”, and press “Next”.

Select “Connect to this printer (or browse for a printer…”, then type the name of the printer into the text box labeled “name”. The format of this name is: \\[computer name]\[printer name].

The next screen asks “Do you want to use this printer as the default printer?”. The answer to this questions is up to you — just choose “Yes” or “No” and press “Next”.

Congrats, you’re done. Hit “Finish” on the next screen, and start printing.