setting up printers on a home network
For businesses, network printers are a common device. For the home, not so much. For those of you who have a networked printer at home. Here’s one way to minimize connectivity problems with it.Network techs at a company will know this already, but printers shouldn’t be set to use a dynamic IP address from DHCP. Most technicians will setup a reserved address for the networked printer, so it never changes. Here’s why.
When Windows connects to a networked printer, it does so through a network address also known as an IP address. Your DSL, cable modem or network router gives out the network addresses as devices(computers, printers, etc) ask for them. These devices are not always given the same address! For home computers that doesn’t matter much, but for networked printers this fact is very important.
Imagine you are traveling to your parent’ house to deliver their groceries. You’ve been there hundreds of times, but this time when you show up, there’s no one at that house and you don’t know it, but your parents have moved two doors down. This is pretty much what happens when you allow your modem or router to assign a dynamic network address to your printer. It can change without notice.
Instead, check your printer documentation for a method of configuring a network address manually either through software, or it’s control panel. Be sure to set it outside of the range of addresses your modem or router is making available to other computers or devices.
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if you need help, contact an experienced technician to get it setup for you
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