How to set up your new printer

When you get your new printer you need to install it. Here is how to set it up for use.

The first step when you get your new printer is to open the Getting Started Guide and follow the instructions there. If you do the steps out of order your printer may not install correctly.
You will need to unpack the printer and take care to remove all the packing materials – some of these may be inside the printer and they will be placed there to protect delicate parts in transit. It is important that these removed before operating the printer. Once unpacked, place the printer where it will be kept on your desk or on a table. Only plug it into the power outlet and into your computer when the setup instructions say to do so.
You can also select the type of paper you are printing on. It is important, for example, when you’re printing photos on photo paper that you select photo paper as the paper type. This ensures that the printer uses the right amount of ink for the paper – photo paper is glossy and it doesn’t need a lot of ink – if the printer uses too much ink then it will bead and it won’t dry properly and your photos will smear. Likewise selecting Plain or Bond as the paper type for regular documents and letters will ensure that they print correctly.




Once you’ve installed the printer according to the instructions and when you are ready to use the new printer, click the Start button on your computer and choose Devices and Printers. When the dialog opens, locate your new printer in the list. Right click the printer and choose Set as default printer. This will ensure that the printer will be the one chosen by default for all your print jobs in future. Close the dialog by clicking the X button in its top right corner.





To print a document or photo, open the appropriate software such as Word or Paint.net and open the document to print. Choose File > Print and make sure that your new printer is the one that is selected in the Printer dialog. If it is not selected then go ahead and select it in the printers list.





Click Printer Properties (in some programs this will be Options > Printer Properties) to configure the properties for your printer. What you see in this dialog is specific to your printer and the dialog will be different for every printer. However you should see options for, for example, setting the orientation of the paper to portrait or landscape and if your printer can print on both sides of a sheet of paper then there will be an option to enable this.





You can also select the type of paper you are printing on. It is important, for example, when you’re printing photos on photo paper that you select photo paper as the paper type. This ensures that the printer uses the right amount of ink for the paper – photo paper is glossy and it doesn’t need a lot of ink. Likewise selecting Plain or Bond as the paper type for regular documents and letters will ensure that they print correctly.