Mac OS X: How to manually add a Windows shared printer

In some situations, you may be unable to locate a Microsoft Windows shared (SMB) printer while adding a printer, yet you can still add the printer manually if you know the name or address of the Windows computer sharing the printer and the name of the shared printer.

Mac OS X v10.5 or later

1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu.
2. Choose Print & Fax from the View menu.
3. Click the + button to add a printer.
4. Press the Control key while clicking the "Default" icon (or any other icon on the toolbar), then choose Customize Toolbar from the contextual menu that appears.
5. Drag the Advanced (gear) icon to the toolbar.
6. Click Done.
7. Click the Advanced icon that was added to the toolbar.
8. Choose Windows from the Type pop-up menu.
9. In the URL field, type the printer's address in one of the following formats:
   
   smb://workgroup/server/sharename
   smb://server/sharename
   
   Note: "workgroup" is the name of the Windows workgroup that the computer sharing the printer belongs to. "server" is the name of the computer sharing the printer (or its IP address). "sharename" is the shared Windows printer's share name. If the share name contains spaces, replace each space with "%20" (without quotation marks).
   
   Tip: You don't need a "workgroup" when specifying the IP address of the computer (such as when the printer is on a different subnet), or if your Mac belongs to the same Windows (SMB) workgroup.
   
10. In the Name field, type the name you would like to use for this printer in Mac OS X.
11. Choose the appropriate PPD or printer driver from the "Print Using" pop-up menu.
12. Click Add.
     

Mac OS X v10.3 through v10.4.11

1. Open Printer Setup Utility (located in /Applications/Utilities).
2. Mac OS X 10.4.x: Choose Add Printer from the Printers menu, then hold the Option key while clicking the "More Printers" button.

   Mac OS X 10.3.x: Hold the Option key while choosing Add Printer from the Printers menu.
    
3. Choose Advanced from the first pop-up menu.
4. Choose "Windows Printer via SAMBA" from the Device pop-up menu.
5. In the Device Name field, type the name you would like to use for this printer in Mac OS X.
6. In the Device URL field, use one of the following formats to link to the printer:
   
   smb://user:password@workgroup/server/sharename
   smb://user:password@server/sharename
   smb://workgroup/server/sharename
   smb://server/sharename
   
   Notes: "user" is the name of a Windows user who has privileges to use the printer. "password" is the password of that Windows user. "workgroup" is the name of the Windows workgroup to which the computer sharing the printer belongs. "server" is the name of the computer sharing the printer or its IP address. "sharename" is the shared Windows printer's share name.
   
   Tip: You don't need a "workgroup" when specifying the IP address of the computer (such as when the printer is on a different subnet), or if your Mac belongs to the same Windows (SMB) workgroup.
    
7. Choose the appropriate PPD or printer driver from the "Printer Model" pop-up menu.
8. Click Add.