A USB-only printer can still be used by other computers on the network. The computer it is plugged into acts as the host, receives print jobs from other devices, and passes them to the printer.
Does this affect you?
Use this when a printer is connected by USB to one Windows PC or Mac and you want other computers on the same home or office network to print to it. The host computer must stay powered on and awake whenever others need to print.
Share the printer from Windows
Do this on the Windows computer that has the USB printer attached.
- Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. On Windows 10, open Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
- Select the printer and open Printer properties.
- Open the Sharing tab, enable Share this printer, and keep or edit the share name.
- Click Apply and OK.
- Turn on Network Discovery and File and Printer Sharing for the current network profile. In Windows 11, use Settings > Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Advanced sharing settings.
Share the printer from a Mac
Do this on the Mac that physically connects to the printer.
- Open System Settings > General > Sharing.
- Turn on Printer Sharing.
- Click the information button next to Printer Sharing.
- Check the printer you want to share.
- Keep the Mac awake and connected to the network when other people need to print.
Connect from another computer
Repeat this on each computer that should use the shared printer.
- On Windows, open Printers & scanners, click Add device, and wait for the shared printer to appear.
- If it does not appear, choose Add manually and select a shared printer by name, using a path like \ComputerNamePrinterName.
- On Mac, open Printers & Scanners, add a printer, and look for the shared printer under Default.
- Select the shared printer, add it, and print a test page.
More control
The host computer is required
If the host sleeps, shuts down, disconnects from Wi-Fi, or leaves the network, the shared printer disappears for everyone else until that computer returns.
Cross-platform sharing can work
Windows-to-Mac and Mac-to-Windows sharing usually work, but manual network-address setup is often more reliable than waiting for automatic discovery.
Consider a print server for constant sharing
If the host computer being off is a regular problem, a USB print server or a printer with built-in Wi-Fi removes that dependency.
Sources
- Microsoft Support – Share a Printer on a Network (2025)
- Apple Support – Share a Printer on Your Mac (2025)
- Microsoft Support – Turn Network Discovery and File Sharing On or Off (2025)