Printers on networks is the buzz of the present generation and most printers that hit the market are enabled with default networking feature; either wired or wireless or both.

Suppose you are hooked onto a network and would like to print using a network printer. The process of locating and installing the network printer on your computer is a little cumbersome. You would need to know the IP address of the printer and have the software driver for the printer.

Here’s a ten step process to set up a network printer:

1. Ensure that you are connected to the network that hosts the network printer.

2. Click on Start -> Control Panel -> Printers and Faxes -> Add Printer.

3. Select Local Printer attached to this computer and ensure that automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer is not checked.

4. Hit Next.

5. Click on Create a New Port.

6. For the type of port, from the drop down menu, choose TCP/IP Port.

7. Enter an IP address in the IP address field. Port name will be automatically populated. Hit Finish.

8. Windows XP will automatically detect and install the drivers. If not automatically updated, select the Windows Update button to point to the software drivers provided by manufacturer.

9. When prompted to confirm, select Keep existing driver and hit Next.

10. Give your printer a name, hit Finish and voila, you are done!