MacOS – How to share a USB printer on MacOS

macosprintingsharingusb

I have a Brother DCP-7040 USB connected printer on my High Sierra system that I'd like to share on my network if possible. It is using the Brother-supplied CUPS driver, which I just updated yesterday. The driver version shows up as "4.5.2" in the printer's "General" settings.

In Printers and Scanners Preferences I have the box checked beside "Share this printer on the network". In Sharing Preferences I have the boxes checked beside "Printer Sharing" and beside the specific printer, and I have "Everyone Can Print" in the "Users" box.

I have two other Macs on my network. Neither of them can see this supposedly shared printer.

I'm pretty sure I had this working under either El Capitan or Yosemite, though at that time I had a Win10 system on the network and no other Macs.

Best Answer

After Printer Sharing is enabled, follow these steps to connect to that printer from other computers on your network:

  • Click System Preferences in the Dock.
  • Click the Print & Fax icon.
  • Click the Add button (which carries a plus sign).
  • You might be prompted to add a printer automatically when the Printer Setup Utility opens. Click the Add button to begin the addition.
  • From the Browser window that opens, click the Default button on the toolbar.
  • Choose the printer.
  • Click the shared printer you want to use and then click the Add button.
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