- [Narrator] Let's talk about setting up a printer,
and I'll be talking about the process that you would use
for any modern printer
that connects to your computer through a USB cable.
You should start by plugging your printer into power
and turning it on,
and make sure the ink cartridges are installed
according to the instructions.
And from there,
usually all you need to do is plug the printer
into your computer using the USB cable.
But above all else,
please refer to the instructions or a quick start guide
that came with your printer.
If those instructions contradict what I'm telling you here,
then stick with those instructions,
but that's pretty standard.
So I'm going to plug my printer into my computer,
using the USB cable.
And you may see something pop up on your screen
to walk you through some steps, but in most cases,
the setup will happen automatically
and you won't see anything.
If nothing pops up,
or if something does pop up, when it's finished,
you should confirm that everything worked
by going into settings.
So, I'll go to the start menu,
and open settings.
On the left, we'll go to the section
for bluetooth and devices,
then the subsection for printers and scanners.
And if the setup worked automatically,
you'll just see your printer here on this list.
So, it looks like everything worked for my printer.
So from here,
I can close this and I can open up a document,
or a webpage, or anything that I might want to print,
and then I can print it.
Sometimes you're looking for a file menu
and a command to print there.
Here in Microsoft Word,
I can click where it says file
and there's the command to print.
And this interface looks a little different
from one application to the next,
but usually there's a menu where you can choose the printer
that you want to use.
So, here's the printer that we just set up.
I can set other settings if I want,
and then I can click the print button,
but I don't want to actually print this,
so I'll minimize that.
So for most printers,
that's how the process will work.
If that worked,
you don't need to watch any more of this video,
but if the automated process did not work,
you may have to install some setup software
to get the printer going.
So if your printer came with a CD,
you may need to install the software from that disc.
Or you may need to go to the website
for your printers manufacturer, and find the setup software,
download it and install it.
This may take some searching,
but I just want to give you a general idea
of what this would typically look like.
So, I'll open my web browser
and let's say you had an HP printer,
you might go to hp.com.
And then generally you're looking for something for support,
or installation, or downloads.
Here I can see there is a support link up at the top.
And when I point at that,
there's an option here for software and drivers.
So this will take a little hunting,
but this is basically what you're looking for.
And since I'm setting up a printer,
I'll select a printer here.
And then if I know the model of the printer,
I could search for it here, but on this page,
there are a bunch of them listed here,
so I could just click on one of these.
And here, I can see what I've been looking for.
This is some software that I can download
and install on my computer to set up the printer.
And we saw how to download,
and install software in another video.
So in most cases,
the printer will just set up for you automatically.
And in the event that it does not,
you can probably track down the installation software
and install it.
That will take care of most people.
There still may be some special circumstances
where all this won't work,
but in those cases you should talk
to the tech support service for your printer,
or somebody from your IT department.