There are many reasons that you might want to set up a network at home or in the office. If you set up a network, you'll only need one printer in the house instead one for each computer. Once you've set up your home network with a Mac and a PC, you'll want to share the printer so both computers can access it. In Mac OSX 10.3 onward the printer setup enables you to share a printer with a Microsoft PC [source: Apple]. The Mac must be in a network with the PC and the printer must be physically connected to a port on the networked PC [source: CNET]. We will now show you how to connect a computer running Windows 7, and a Mac.
On the PC with Windows 7
- Click Start in the bottom left corner of the screen. A popup menu will appear.
- Select Control Panel from the list.
- Select the Programs and Features pane.
- Click Turn Windows Features on or off.
- Turn on the LPD protocol.
- Ensure printers are shared.
On the Mac
- Start Applications.
- Choose Utilities.
- Choose Printer Setup Utility.
- Hold down the Option key and click the More Printers button.
- Select Advanced from the top menu.
- Select LPD/LPR Host or Printer from the Device field.
- Type lpd://PCName/PrinterShareName where it says Device URL.
- Click the Add button [source: Microsoft].
