As an Amazon Associate, we would earn commissions when you make a purchase through a link or banner.

This article understands if a Wireless printer can be used with a wired computer. As part of troubleshooting, I had to visit an old friend of mine. He had issues with his printer on the network and was in two minds as to upgrade his printer or not.

Though the problem was resolved by purchasing an additional device for printer sharing, I thought I would answer the question he asked, which happens to be one of the common questions customers ask about printers – “Can a wireless printer used with a wired computer”

Assuming that I have a network as shown below, where a mix of wired and wireless computers are connected to the network. Every device on the network has a unique identifier known as the IP address. A printer has now to be integrated with the network and it has been decided to purchase a wireless printer.

To setup the Wireless printer on the network, you would need to connect to the wireless router. The wireless settings configured on the router has to be replicated on the printer. This include the wireless name which is SSID, encryption protocol and key. It is also recommended to configure the printer with a static IP address as it is fixed.

Answer to the question

Every device on a network connects to each other using IP address. In this case, the printer has an IP address. So irrespective of any device (wired or wireless), it can connect to the the printer. If the a print has to be initiated from any computer, the necessary driver has to be installed and the printer configuration on the computer point to the IP address of the printer.

So the answer is “Yes, you can connect a Wireless printer from any computer or device on the network” provided the necessary configurations are setup properly.

Convert your USB printer to a wireless printer with StarTech.com 1-Port Wireless N USB 2.0 Network Print Server

How to connect two computers to one printer

Product Recommendation

Setup up your home with multiple intrenet connection with a dual wan router TRENDnet AC3000 Tri-Band Wireless Gigabit Dual-WAN VPN SMB Router

Setup a gaming network for your home with a gaming router TP-Link AX6000 WiFi 6 Router(Archer AX6000) -802.11ax Wireless 8-Stream Gaming Router

Setup a mesh network at home with a mesh router Mesh router for 5000 sqft home – NETGEAR Orbi Whole Home Tri-band Mesh WiFi 6 System (RBK852)