Sharing a printer across your home network is much easier than sharing files, folders and drives.
Instead of using Windows Explorer, we need to use Windows’ Printers and Faxes dialog box.
You may have Printers and Faxes on the Start Menu. Windows XP Home has this displayed by default on the right-hand side of the Start Menu, right above “Help and Support.”
If it’s not displayed there, click on Start, Control Panel, Printers and Other Hardware, Printers and Faxes — and you’ll be at the same place.
Once you’ve opened the Printers and Faxes window, you can left click on a printer and then click on “Share this printer” under the Printer Tasks menu. Or, you can right-click on a printer and select “Sharing…” from the context menu that pops up.
This will open the printer’s Properties dialog box, already set to the Sharing tab.
You have two mutually exclusive options here. The default is “Do not share this printer.” Just click in the other radio button, which is labeled “Share this printer.”
Then change the “Share name” for the printer. By default, it is a label that was set by the manufacturer. But, you can choose your own label. This is the printer name that you’ll see and use from other computers on your home network.
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