How to Connect Printer to Computer with Wire

If your printer doesn’t support Wi-Fi, or you have a spotty wireless signal, connecting with a wire is the way to go. This requires a USB cable that typically comes with your printer, or is available at most electronics stores.

This also eliminates the risk of your WiFi connection hiccuping right in the middle of a print job. Plus, cable connections are more secure.

USB Cable How to Connect Printer to Computer with Wire:

Many modern printers connect to the computer via a USB cable. If yours does, follow the manufacturer’s instructions to set it up, install software and test out your new device.

Then plug the power and USB cables into the appropriate ports – typically, the square-shaped connector on the printer goes into a USB port on the Gigabit Ethernet board (or on your computer), while the opposite end of the cable has a smaller connector that fits into the head of a USB interface cable or USB hub.

Plug each end of the USB cable into a nearby USB port on your computer and make sure it isn’t pulled taut. Windows will recognize the connection and prompt you to complete the installation of the printer driver.

If you’re connecting a Mac, click the printer icon in the System Preferences window and follow the prompts. Then download and install the full software package for your printer from its website, if necessary.

Ethernet Cable:

A printer that uses an Ethernet connection can be share among multiple systems on the same network. It’s a bit more involved than connecting via USB but it typically has better performance and is less prone to hiccups, especially when working with large print jobs.

If your printer supports an Ethernet connection, follow the instructions for setting it up on the manufacturer’s website.

Once that’s done, connect the printer to your router using an Ethernet cable. Plug the non-prong end of the cable into your router and the prong end into your printer.

If your laptop doesn’t have a USB port or you prefer to use an ethernet connector, grab a USB A-to-B adapter from AUKEY.

They have a four-star rating on Amazon with hundreds of reviews and cost about $15 for two. You can also try this cable from C2G, which has a USB-A male end and a CN36 female end that works with your wired printer.

Parallel Cable:

The parallel data cable is the most common way to connect an older printer to a computer. This type of interface requires a special cable with 36 pins on one end (Centronics) and 25 pins on the other end (DB-25).

Before installing the printer, make sure that no other parallel devices connect to the computer as they may interfere with the printer being automatically detect.

The parallel port on a PC was originally designed to be bidirectional, but manufacturers only implemented this for some systems and printers.

To achieve full two-way communication, the software reading the data has to convert five error and status messages into groups of bytes to be read.

Make sure to use shielded interface cables and connectors since they can reduce electromagnetic interference.

Also, keep in mind that the parallel cable can only extend up to 6 feet. Any longer and the integrity of the data could compromise. The best place to install a printer is in a location close to a power outlet so that it can be easily power.

How to Connect Printer to Computer with Wire Other Connectors:

A printer isn’t the only device that requires a cable to connect to your computer. You also need to connect things like keyboards, mice, external hard drives, microphones, and more.

Whether you’re building a new computer or simply troubleshooting one, this guide will help you understand the different connectors and how to use them.

The most common way to connect a wired printer to your computer is by using a USB cable. A standard USB cable has an “A” side that plugs into your computer and a “B” side that plugs into the printer. You can find USB cables at most electronics stores.

To set up a wired or wireless printer, follow the instructions for your operating system. For example, on Windows, click the Printers & Scanners tab in Settings; on Mac, select System Preferences > Printers & Scanners (or Bluetooth & other devices, depending on your version of macOS). You can then share the printer on your home network so that other computers can access it.