In order to print something

from a computer, phone or tablet

there must be a path for

the data to travel.

The simplest connection

between a computer and a printer

is a USB cable.

In a Mac, the software connection

between the computer

and the printer is automatically

configured for USB.

When the USB cable is

connected a printing queue

is automatically created.

A print queue is the place where print jobs

wait (in a queue, AKA line) to be printed.

You can find the print queues on a Mac in

Apple menu > System Preferences > Printers & Scanners.

This is also where you would add or delete a queue.

The queue is more than just a place for print jobs to wait to be printed.

It is the physical path between the computer and the printer.

In the case of USB, the path is from the application to the queue,

to the print driver, to the USB bus, through the cable, to the printer’s USB port.

When a print job is sent to a USB queue the cable must be connected

or the job will never reach the printer.

When the queue is configured, the correct printer driver is selected.

Printer drivers translate the document to be printed into language

the printer can understand.

USB is fine for a computer which is located near the printer.

USB cables are effective to a maximum of 5 meters.

Computers which are farther away from the printer than 5 meters

cannot use a USB cable.

In that case you must print from the computer over a network to the printer.

If the printer is capable, you can connect it to a network.

iPhones and iPads cannot be connected to a printer via USB cable

so a WiFi connection to a network printer is required.

Wireless printers are not meant to connect wirelessly directly to

a computer or mobile device.

Wirelessness in a printer is its ability to connect wirelessly to a router.

The router is the center of a home network.

It is the traffic cop which directs devices on the network to the Internet

and to each other.

A printer can be connected to a router with an ethernet cable.

Alternately, a printer can be connected via WiFi.

Both connections are the same to the router.

Once a printer is connected to a router, other devices which are connected

to the same router can find the printer.

Even if a computer has a USB queue configured, a separate queue

must be created to connect via the network.

When a print job is sent to a network queue the computer and the printer

must be connected to that network or the job will never reach the printer.

A network print job travels from the application to the queue,

to the print driver, to the NIC (Network Interface Controller), over WiFi or ethernet to the router, then from the router to the printer NIC.

In the case of an iPhone or an iPad, the mobile device

must be connected to the same WiFi network as the printer.

Sharing to the printer allows the iPhone or iPad

to send a print job over WiFi to an Airprint-enabled printer.

Airprint is Apple technology which provides driverless

automatic configuration for mobile devices.

Airprint is available on most popular printers.

Trouble shooting a USB connection between a computer and a printer:

1. 1.Assure that the printer and the computer are on.
   

2. 2.Check for errors on the printer display (such as out of ink or paper)
   

           and correct them.

3. 3.Check the physical cable connection at the printer and at the computer.
   

4. 4.Eliminate a USB hub problem by connecting the USB cable directly
   

           to the computer.

5. 5.Check the print queue for stalled print jobs.  Delete such jobs
   

           and try again.

6. 6.Sometimes a print queue becomes corrupted.  Delete a
   

           corrupted queue and set up a new one.

7. 7.If all the above is OK, the printer might be broken.  Buy a new one.
   

Trouble shooting a network connection between a networked device

and a printer:

1. 1.Assure that the printer and the computer are on.
   

2. 2.Check for errors on the printer display (such as out of ink or paper)
   

           and correct them.

3. 3.Assure that the printer and the computer (or mobile device)
   

           are on the same network.

4. 4.Check the print queue for stalled print jobs.  Delete such jobs
   

           and try again.

5. 5.Sometimes a print queue becomes corrupted.  Delete a
   

           corrupted queue and set up a new one.

6. 6.If all the above is OK, the printer might be broken.  Buy a new one.
   

Printers are amazing examples of technology.

They spray tiny dots of ink onto paper with photographic resolution.

They are fast and reliable.

Connecting to a printer is relatively simple.

All this technology comes with a price.

Ink is expensive.

Printer manufacturers lose money on every printer they sell,

but make up for it by selling $5 ink cartridges for $25.

In some cases it is less expensive to buy a new printer than to replace the ink.

Also, a printer seldom lasts more than 3-4 years.

Fortunately, a good printer is only about $150…far less than the cost

of a technician to repair it.

When a printer wears out or breaks, buy a new one.