How to Share a Printer in Windows 10

Windows allows sharing a printer connected to your PC with over computers and users on your network. A shared printer can be used by others to send print jobs. It will be visible in the shared network resources of your computer, so users will be able to install (add) it to their printers.

A shared printer is available to other users when the computer it is connected to is turned on and its operating system is running. Also, the printer must be turned on.

As you may already know, Windows 10 doesn't include the HomeGroup feature starting in version 1803. For many users, HomeGroup was a convenient way to share files and folders over a network. Fortunately, it is possible to share a printer without using HomeGroup.

First of all, you need to enable the File and Printer Sharing feature in Windows 10. For reference, see the article

Disable or Enable File and Printer Sharing in Windows 10

Note: If you are running Windows 10 version 1803, please read the article (and its comments) Network Computers are Not Visible in Windows 10 Version 1803.  Ensure that you have the services Function Discovery Resource Publication and Function Discovery Provider Host enabled (their startup type is set to automatic) and running. This needs to be done on each Windows 10 PC you want to set up for printer sharing.

Also, you need to sign in as Administrator before proceeding.

To share a printer in Windows 10, do the following.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to Devices -> Printers & scanners.
3. On the right, select the printer you want to share.
4. Click on the Manage button.
5. On the next page, click on the link Printer properties.
6. In the Printer Properties dialog, switch to the Sharing tab.
7. Enable the option Share this printer.
8. Change its share name if you want. This name will be visible to other users on the network.
9. Enable the option Render print jobs on client computers.
10. Click OK.

You are done.

Note: If users on the network are running different architectures (32-bit or 64-bit) of Windows 10,  you might want provide them drivers by clicking on the Additional Drivers button. This will allow them install the shared printer directly without having to download a different driver manually.

Alternatively, the classic Control Panel app can be used to share a printer.

Share a printer using the Control Panel

1. Open the classic Control Panel app.
2. Go to Hardware and Sound \ Devices and Printers.
3. Under Printers, right-click on the desired printer.
4. Select Printer properties from the context menu.
5. In the Printer Properties dialog, switch to the Sharing tab.
6. Enable the option Share this printer.
7. Change its share name if you want. This name will be visible to other users on the network.
8. Enable the option Render print jobs on client computers.
9. Click OK.

To stop sharing a printer, disable the option Share this printer in the Printer Properties dialog.

Finally, there is an ability to share a printer using PowerShell.

Share a printer using PowerShell

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator. Tip: You can add "Open PowerShell As Administrator" context menu.
2. Type or copy-paste the following command:

   Get-Printer | Format-Table Name,ShareName,Shared

   The command will print a table with your printers and their sharing status.

3. Now, run the command: Set-Printer -Name "Printer name" -Shared $True -ShareName "Printer share name". Substitute the "Printer name" portion with the actual printer name from the listing. Replace "Printer share name" with the desired share name other users will see. For example,

   Set-Printer -Name "Brother DCP-7055" -Shared $True -ShareName "Little Brother"

   

The printer is now shared. See the following screenshot:

That's it.

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