How Do I Print Wirelessly From My PC On a Mac Home Network

I’ve had a Mac in my house since 1999 but my employer insists I use a PC for work purposes. Because I’m on the road or in meetings away from the office I have a PC laptop. I’m often at home working on my PC and find I have to print something.

In the past I had to untether my USB printer from my iMac running Tiger to plug into my Dell Latitude D510 (running Windows XP Professional) and print that way. I was also accessing the Internet by unplugging the Ethernet cable from my Mac and connecting it to the Dell. But that meant only one computer at a time on the ‘Net. So when I worked on it, the kids were unable to surf.

I am no computer genius. I knew it was possible to work wirelessly but I was intimidated by the prospect of setting up a router (a process complicated by the fact that many router manufacturers do not support the Mac platform so their installation software is PC only - even though all routers will work with a Mac). I also needed a router that would work with my PC as well as the Mac (the 802.11n speeds and configurations of Mac modems are still barely supported by most devices out there).

A few years back my ISP had a special offer to set up a wireless network. The Dell has a built in wireless card and the wireless router they installed (a SpeedStream 6520 for those who need to know) allowed me to work and surf the net on the laptop while others at home could use the Mac online.

But I was still swapping the printer back and forth when I wanted a hard copy. Or worse, saving to my USB FlashDrive on the PC an then plugging that FlashDrive into the Mac and printing it from there. Doable but oh-so-inelegant.

Building a Home Network

I heard so much about Mac OS X’s versatility and its ability to seamlessly chat with Windows machines. I knew there had to be a way to get these two computers to speak to each other and then for my PC to print wirelessly.

The first task is to set up a real network connection through the router so the two computers can speak to each other. So before you go any further you have to follow the instructions here on this site: How Do I Network My Mac and PC? (To see how to print to your printer connected to your PC from your Mac, see 1 Printer for Your Mac and PC – Can't We All Just Get Along?

Once your network is up and running (and really all we mean by that is the two computers can “see” each other and peak into each other’s files) the printing part is remarkably easy. There are countless ways you can find to set up printing once a network is established. But the Mac way is to take the shortest, least encumbered route.

Printing Made Easy

So go to your PC, connect to the Internet and download Bonjour for Windows (Bonjour is an internal communication program in all Intel Macs that allows easier connections to programs and networks). You can get Bonjour for Windows here.

Make sure you download the right version. The top right-hand of the page is for most PC users but there is another download link in the text for 64-bit users. Download the file and you should see the Bonjour setup.exe icon on your PC desktop.

Run the file and it will install Bonjour. You will know you have installed properly when the “Bonjour Printer Wizard” icon appears on your desktop. Double-click on the Bonjour Printer Wizard and follow the commands. Bonjour will easily see any printers that are active on your network. Click on the printer you wish to install.

Windows (XP and Vista) has many drivers installed already and may recognize your printer brand. If not Windows will offer some generic drivers. Choose a driver (the postscript one seemed to work for my HP printer) click install and your printer should now appear on your drop down menu whenever you “Print”.

Now when you are wirelessly working at home doing forced labor on your PC you merely go “control-P” and in the printer options your home printer on your Mac network will appear. (Note that it will not and should not be your default printer - that presumably would be your printer at your office.) Watch in amazement as from across a room (or in my case from my backyard) you hear the printer spit out your documents.

DIG DEEPER

Bonjour for Windows

Apple Wireless Printing

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