1. Introduction to Computer Networks

2. Network Printing
This lesson presents an overview of the network printing process and describes how a shared printer works within a network operating system.

3. The Network Printing Process
when network users want to print data on a shared network printer, they send their data to a print server. The server then feeds that data to a shared printer.

4. Print Spooler & Print Queue
A print spooler is software that intercepts a print job on its way from the application (a word processor, for example) to the printer, and sends it to a print queue.
A print queue is a buffer where the print job is held until the printer is ready for it.

5. Network printing processes
Network printing occurs in the following four steps.
1. An application formats its document data into a form the printer can use, and sends it out.
2. The computer's redirector sends the data onto the network, where it travels to the print server.
3. The print-spooler software on the print server places the data in a print queue on the server.
4. The print queue stores the data until the printer is free to print it.

6. Sharing a Printer
Connecting a printer to a network print server will not, in itself, make the printer available to network users.
The printer is a resource on the server, and—like any other resource—it must be shared to the network before anyone can access it.
In a server-based network, access to the printer can be controlled in the same way as access to any other resource on the server.
To send print jobs to a printer, users have to be able to identify or see the printer from their computers.

7. Essential Printer Information
Every NOS has its own version of printer sharing, but each requires the administrator to provide printer drivers and supply the NOS with information about the printer.
These procedures include:
1. Loading printer drivers Creating a share name for the printer Identifying the destination of the output Setting information and output format parameters so that the NOS will know how to handle and format the print job.

8. The Print-Sharing Utility
This process can seem complex, but most network operating systems have utilities to help administrators enter the information.
After a printer has been shared, users must use the NOS to connect to it.
The administrator needs to supply the name of the server to which the printer has been connected , and the name of the printer during the sharing process.