If your printer came with a disc, the installation process is pretty straightforward where you’re required to insert the disc in the optical media drive, and follow the on-screen instructions. Same is the case if you’ve already downloaded the printer driver from its vendor’s official website and initialized the setup process.
However, if none of the above conditions is true, and no wizard appeared when you connected your printer to your PC, or if it’s a wireless printer that is in the same network your computer is, here’s how you can connect your Windows 10 device to the it:
Step 1
Get to the Printers & scanners window
Click Start, click the Settings icon, click the Devices tile from the Windows Settings window, and click Printers & scanners from the left pane of the window that opens up next. This takes you to the Printers & scanners window. You can find all the printing and scanning devices listed in the right pane along with other printer or scanner management options such as settings related to the print server, how Windows should manage a default printer, etc.
Step 2
Find your printer
Click Add a printer or scanner from the Add printers & scanners section. When you do this, Windows 10 searches for your printer available in the network or connected to the device, and once found, displays it. If Windows isn’t able to find your printer, you can click the The printer that I want isn’t listed link and follow the step-by-step wizard to add your printer manually.
Step 3
Install the printer
Click the printer Windows 10 just found (HP LaserJet Pro for this example), and click Add device. Upon this, Windows searches for the printer’s compatible driver online, and downloads and installs it. Once installed, you can click the printer from the Printers & scanners list, and click Manage to further customize its settings to best fit your needs.
Note: Since Windows has to download the driver from the vendor’s driver database, and the files could be large in size, the installation process may take a while.
However, if none of the above conditions is true, and no wizard appeared when you connected your printer to your PC, or if it’s a wireless printer that is in the same network your computer is, here’s how you can connect your Windows 10 device to the it:
Step 1
Get to the Printers & scanners window
Click Start, click the Settings icon, click the Devices tile from the Windows Settings window, and click Printers & scanners from the left pane of the window that opens up next. This takes you to the Printers & scanners window. You can find all the printing and scanning devices listed in the right pane along with other printer or scanner management options such as settings related to the print server, how Windows should manage a default printer, etc.
Step 2
Find your printer
Click Add a printer or scanner from the Add printers & scanners section. When you do this, Windows 10 searches for your printer available in the network or connected to the device, and once found, displays it. If Windows isn’t able to find your printer, you can click the The printer that I want isn’t listed link and follow the step-by-step wizard to add your printer manually.
Step 3
Install the printer
Click the printer Windows 10 just found (HP LaserJet Pro for this example), and click Add device. Upon this, Windows searches for the printer’s compatible driver online, and downloads and installs it. Once installed, you can click the printer from the Printers & scanners list, and click Manage to further customize its settings to best fit your needs.
Note: Since Windows has to download the driver from the vendor’s driver database, and the files could be large in size, the installation process may take a while.