Printing to a Windows (Samba) shared printer from a Mac

Just as files being shared via SMB (the Windows file/resource sharing protocol) can be be accessed from a Mac, so can any printers being shared via this protocol.

Please note: Images show in the Mac guides may vary slightly to what you see on your screen. This is due to minor changes between different versions of Mac OSX.

Instructions:

Start at the Apple drop down menu at the top of your screen, then "System Preferences".




Click on "Print & Fax". This will bring up the "Print and Fax" window, similar to the one shown below.




Click "Set up printers". This brings up a list of printers currently available to your Mac.
Hold the "alt" key and click the "Add" button.




From the device drop down list, select "Windows printer via SAMBA".
Enter a name for the printer.
In the "device URI" textfield, type in "smb://" followed by the share name of the printer. (The share name be found on the PC by going to "Printers and Faxes", right clicking on the printer you wish to use and clicking on the "sharing" tab. The printer share name is show on this tab, a few lines down.)
From the "Printer Model" list, choose the name which most closely matches the printer.
Click "Add".




Using this printer should now just be a matter of selecting it in any application's "print" options.

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