What is printersharing?

Printer sharing is a way to let multiple computers use the same physical printer. Instead of each computer needing its own printer, one printer is connected to a network (wired or wireless) and any computer on that network can send print jobs to it.

Let's break it down

  • Printer: The actual hardware that prints paper.
  • Sharing: Making the printer available to other devices.
  • Network: The connection (Wi‑Fi, Ethernet, or even a USB cable to a host PC) that lets computers talk to each other.
  • Print job: The document you want to print, sent from a computer to the shared printer. When a computer wants to print, it looks for the shared printer on the network, sends the file, and the printer prints it just like a locally attached printer would.

Why does it matter?

  • Cost savings: One printer can serve many users, so you don’t need to buy a separate printer for each desk.
  • Space saving: Fewer devices mean less clutter on desks and in offices.
  • Convenience: Users can print from any room or device without moving cables or printers around.
  • Central management: IT can control who can print, track usage, and maintain a single device.

Where is it used?

  • Offices: Small to large businesses often have a shared printer on each floor or department.
  • Schools and libraries: Students and staff can print from any computer lab or personal laptop.
  • Home networks: A family can share one printer among phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops.
  • Co‑working spaces: Members use a common printer without each bringing their own.

Good things about it

  • Reduces hardware costs and maintenance.
  • Simplifies printing for mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) via Wi‑Fi or cloud services.
  • Allows centralized control of print settings, security, and usage monitoring.
  • Easy to set up on most modern operating systems with built‑in sharing features.

Not-so-good things

  • Speed bottlenecks: If many people print at once, the queue can get long.
  • Reliability: If the shared printer or the network goes down, everyone is affected.
  • Security risks: Unauthorized users might access the printer and see confidential documents if proper permissions aren’t set.
  • Compatibility issues: Older printers may not support modern network protocols, requiring a host computer to act as a bridge.