OSX 10.7 & 10.8 - Windows 7 Shared Printer

With the introduction of OSX 10.7 (Lion) and OSX 10.8 (Mountain Lion) on Apple computers it changed the way they connect to Windows 7 shared printers.  Up until OSX 10.7 (Lion), Apple computers used Line Printer Daemon/Line Printer Remote Protocol (LPD/LPR Host or Printer) to connect to shared printers on a Windows 7 machine.  When Apple relased OSX 10.7 they started to use the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol since that is what Windows uses to allow systems on same network to share files.  Now since OSX 10.8 has came out Apple has updated and enhanced the SMB protocol to make it standard for most printers connected to it.  Make sure your Windows 7 printer is on and shared then do the following:

1. On the MAC computer / laptop open the "Print & Fax" area via the "System Preferences" section
2. Click the "+" sign on the bottom left hand side to add the printer
3. In the window that opens up, click the "Advanced" button located near the top on the right hand side (If you do not see the "Advanced" button then right-click anyplace on the toolbar and then select "Customize Toolbar" then you can add the Advanced button it)
4. Select the "Windows printer via spoolss" in the "Type" drop down field list
5. In the "URL" section, put your cursor after the "//", and type the name of the Windows 7 machine followed by the printer shared name. An example of this is in the following: Windows7ComputerName/PrinterShareName11. Select the approate driver for the Windows printer you want to connect
6. Click "Add" and you should be good to go
7. Do a test print to bring up the box that asks for a username & password for the printer
8. Put in the username & password of the Windows 7 user in the boxes
9. Click "Ok" and the test page should print on the printer, as long as the Windows 7 computer is turned on

Most printers shared from a Windows 7 machine will connect via the SMB protcol.  For more information on this please contact your local IT department.

MAC - Windows 7 Shared Printer

With more MACs being deployed in the Windows server environment there is one thing that every IT person, professional and amateur, will encounter and that is trying to connect a Windows 7 USB connected shared printer to a MAC computer or laptop. Before telling the user who requested the shared printer on the MAC what you really think of them, your friendly neighborhood IT department has found a solution. It involves the "LPD Print Service" on the Windows computer and the "LPD/LPR Host or Printer" section on the MAC. Make sure the printer is on and shared out then do the following steps:

1. Open the Control Panel on the Windows 7 machine
2. Select "Programs and Features" from the menu selections
3. Click "Turn Windows Features on or off"4. Click the plus sign beside the "Print and Document Services" and make sure the "LPD Print Service" box is checked
5. Click "Ok" and/or "Apply" and close out of everything in the Windows 7 machine
6. On the MAC computer / laptop open the "Print & Fax" area via the "System Preferences" section
7. Click the "+" sign on the bottom left hand side to add the printer
8. In the window that opens up, click the "Advanced" button located near the top on the right hand side (If you do not see the "Advanced" button then right-click anyplace on the toolbar and then select "Customize Toolbar" then you can add the Advanced button it)
9. Select the "LPD/LPR Host or Printer" in the "Type" drop down field list
10. In the "URL" section, put your cursor after the "//", and type the name of the Windows 7 machine followed by the printer shared name. An example of this is in the following: Windows7ComputerName/PrinterShareName11. Select the approate driver for the Windows printer you want to connect
12. Click "Add" and you should be good to go
13. Do a test print to bring up the box that asks for a username & password for the printer
14. Put in the username & password of the Windows 7 user in the boxes
15. Click "Ok" and the test page should print on the printer

For more detailed steps on this issue, click here.