Windows 7 how to connect to wireless printer

[Jimbo22]

I'm trying to connect my laptop to my works wireless printer to print some word documents. I can't get it to connect.

 

[Trouble]

Hey Jim. What's you got as far as a network connection. Do you know the IP address of the printer? Have you tried to create a new TCP/IP Port? Is it truly a network printer or is it attached to another computer and shared? Do you have a windows 7 driver already downloaded? Some times if you download the full featured driver packages they include a network utility that will go out and search the network for you. Do you suspect that Windows 7 already has suitable native drivers for your particular printer?
A little help with the lay of the land would help?
Keep us posted
Randy

 

[Jimbo22]

The printer is an HP J6400 series printer with built in wireless (blue-tooth). It setup on the main office computer network. No I don't have any of the particulars...IP address, no to TCP/IP port. I don't know it the printer is setup to be shared or not. I downloaded the pre-installed drivers from windows 7. I haven't tried the full featured driver package yet.


I was checking all the parameters on my laptop before I checked with the work printer/share setup on main office computer. I'll check it out next time I'm at work on Friday.

Thanks Randy....will keep you posted...

PS...
I thought this wireless printing was supposed to be easier to set up and deal with...I might as well just connect to the office network and print that way. That's how I have it set up for my home network. All 3 laptops print effortlessly on the wireless router with out the printer having built in wireless...

 

[patcooke]

If it's a wireless printer (and I guess it will actually be ethernet wireless rather than bluetooth) then accessing via its ip address (and therefore via the office ethernet network) is the way to do it - far better than and easier that using printer sharing (which rather defeats all the advantages of having an ethernet enabled printer in the first place).

 

[Jimbo22]

You know....I never thought of it like that...ethernet wireless. You're probably right as well with network connection. So the next inevitable question is; why even have the bluetooth on these printers.

 

[patcooke]

Yes - many people refer to just the wired connection as Ethernet and wireless as somethng different but in fact wifi is also part of the Ethernet family - using the 802.11x protocol so the term ethernet applies both to to wired and wireless connections. Bluetooth is mainly for short range data transfers - like a small file to be transferred from the pc to maybe a storage card in the printer. Blue tooth is not appropriate for transfer of print data.