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Multiple Printers

Of course you expect that the list of printers on your computer will include all printers that are actually connected to your computer. But it may include much more.

• Printers currently connected to the computer and installed
  Connecting the printer usually starts an automatic installation of the drivers need. Sometimes you need a CD or a download of the drivers.
• Printers that used to be connected to the computer that have not been uninstalled
• Printers that were previously connected to a different USB port
• Printers that are shared on your network or that you can connect to wirelessly
• Virtual printers, which produce a file like a PDF or XPS file, or send data to another program like OneNote instead of printing on paper at all

Where is the list of Printers? 

 

 

Control Panel has icons for printers. A check mark means that printer is the default printer. A hand or two people symbol mean that the printer is 'shared'. Other computers on the network can use it. A grayed out icon means that the printer is not available. It is no longer connected, is turned off, or is connected to a computer that is shut down.

How to open the Control Panel page of printers:

    WinXP:  Start > Printers and Faxes
    Vista:  Start > Printers
    Windows 7:  Start> Devices & Printers
     Windows 8, 8.1: Start screen > Control Panel tile > Devices & Printers
    Windows 10: Search box on Taskbar > type Printer > Devices and Printers

If you do not see the command listed above on your own Start menu, open the Control Panel and look for it there.

Examples:

WinXP: Printers and Faxes

 

 

Windows 7:
(Shown with Large Icons)

Windows 10:

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"Printer" Icons

The list of printers may include printers that are not actually connected to the computer or the network. Some may not be actual pieces of hardware at all. This can be confusing!

Windows comes with one or more standard icons for printers, like these from Windows 7 , but some printers now install with icons that look more like the actual printer. Unhappily, there does not seem to be an easy way for a user to change the icon that the Control Panel uses. Did you notice in the illustrations earlier? PowerPoint uses the same generic icon for all printers in its drop lists.

Default printer: Marked with a check. This printer is used when you do not pick a specific printer from the list.

Shared printer:   A shared printer is available to other computers on the network but is connected to a particular computer. The icon has an additional part that indicates a shared item, which varies with the version of Windows.

Network printer: A network printer is connected directly to the network and not to a computer at all. In some situations the printer icon shows it as a printer or as a 'device' connected to a network cable. In others, the printer icon is the same as if it were connected directly to your computer.

A nice network printer name includes the location, like \\cumbsrv\cumb156p1, which is the name of printer #1 in the computer lab at Roane State Community College, Cumberland County campus, Room 156. Or, it could have a helpful name like 'History Dept workroom'. All too often you will see an unhelpful name like Bluetooth #3, a serial number, or just an IP address like 192.168.1.95.

You can search for network printers as part of the Add Printer dialog sequence or the button/command Find Printer. If you are not connected to a network, you will get an error message.

 A large network can have a LOT of printers. One day I counted the printers in the list of printers on the network at Roane State Community College. There were 188 printers on seven campuses scattered around east Tennessee! Be sure to pick a printer that is in a location you can get to!

Unconnected printer: A grayed out printer icon means that the printer is not currently connected to the computer or is turned off.

Printer that is not accessible from your computer: You may have a printer installed that cannot be connected to your system at all. (This seems to be really hard to do with WinXP.)

Why do such a thing?? Your program formats your document for a particular printer. If you are working on a document that was created and formatted on another computer, it may have been formatted for a printer that is not installed on your computer.  The document's format will be somewhat different when it is formatted for your own default printer. When you send the document back to the original computer, it will be re-formatted again. You may have unhappy results! Having the same printer installed on both systems keeps everybody happy.

Not-really-a-printer: The list of printers can also include virtual printers, which are not physical devices at all.

• Fax: The document is "printed" by sending a fax, using a fax modem, directly from the computer instead of printing a page and then faxing it on a physical fax machine.
• Publishing software: The document is formatted for the printer but the result is saved as a file instead of being sent immediately to the printer. This is useful for large documents that you want to print later when the printer is not so busy or that you want to print at a commercial print shop.
• PDF or other file printer: Nothing is printed on paper at all! The document is "printed" by saving it as a file in a PDF format or a similar format. Or, the document's data is sent directly to another program with a 'printer' instead of with an Export command.  In the Windows 7 illustration above, there are three printer icons like this: Send to OneNote 2010, Quicken PDF Printer, and CutePDF Writer. The icons look the same as for a physical printer.
   
  PDF format (Portable Document Format) is popular for sending files to people who may not have the correct software to read the file. Or, perhaps they do, but you don't WANT them to edit it at all. Product support documents are almost always PDF files these days. Office 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016 can all save documents in PDF format directly but older versions of Office and other programs cannot. They needed a separate PDF 'printer'.

Check carefully to be sure you send your print job to the right printer!

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What are you printing on?

Check what media your printer can handle BEFORE you buy greeting card stock, photo paper, transparencies, labels, etc. Find the control with the list of media.

PowerPoint 2007: Print dialog > Properties
PowerPoint 2010, 2013: Print Preview > Printer Properties

Some printers have very long lists with exact brand names while other printers have just general descriptions. Yes, it matters!

Match the media to the type of printer, too. Media marked for laser may not work well with an ink jet printer and vice versa.

Also check what sizes the printer can handle. Some can print on small sizes like envelopes and index cards, but not all.

Examples of Media Lists:

Match printer and paper: You will be happier with your printing if you are careful to use ink/toner and paper made by the same company that made your printer, especially for photos. Test carefully when printing on special media if the printer does not list that type. Transparency film, glossy paper, and card stock respond differently to ink and toner than regular paper does! The heat from a laser printer can melt the wrong transparency sheet and can make ink jet labels stick to the backing.

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