Sharing printers on home network

Mmm.. maybe its a configuration issue, perhaps this will help:

Check Sharing Settings on Your iMac:

• Ensure printer sharing is enabled on your iMac that's connected to the HP 1200 printer. Go to System Preferences > Sharing.

• Under "Services," make sure "Printer Sharing" is checked.

• Click on "Options..." next to Printer Sharing.

• In the options window, ensure the HP 1200 printer is selected and shared. You can also choose the level of access for your wife's iMac (e.g., "Allow printing for anyone" or "Only computers on your local network").

Verify Username and Password on Wife's iMac:

• Sometimes, macOS might prompt for authentication when accessing shared resources. On your wife's iMac, navigate to System Preferences > Sharing.

• Look for "Computer Name" (or "Local Accounts" depending on the macOS version).

• Ensure her username and password match the ones used on your iMac for sharing the printer.

Disable Firewall (Temporarily):

• In rare cases, the firewall on your wife's iMac might be blocking access to the shared printer. This is unlikely, but you can temporarily disable the firewall to test if it's the culprit. Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy.

• Click on the "Firewall" tab.

• Click the lock icon and enter your administrator password to unlock settings.

• Click "Turn Off Firewall" (Important: Remember to turn the firewall back on after testing).

• Try printing from her iMac again and see if the authentication prompt disappears.

Add Printer Manually on Wife's iMac:

• If the above solutions don't work, you can try adding the HP 1200 printer manually on your wife's iMac. Go to System Preferences > Printers & Scanners.

• Click the "+" button to add a new printer.

• Choose "IP" as the connection type.

• Enter the IP address of your iMac where the HP 1200 printer is connected (you can find the IP address in System Preferences > Network).

• In the "Use" field, select the appropriate HP 1200 driver from the list. You might need to download the driver from HP's website if it's not automatically listed.

• Try printing a test page after adding the printer manually.

Additional Tips:

• Update macOS: Ensure both iMacs are running the latest version of macOS (currently macOS 10.13 High Sierra for your case). Updates often include bug fixes that might resolve printer sharing issues.

Hi,

Since there are several "HP 1200" printers, knowing the exact model would help (full name and number, including a suffix if any).

Also, please provide information about the operating system versions on both Macs.

Printer sharing via a Mac is intended for a locally connected printer (USB).

Share your printer on Mac – Apple Support (UK)

An Ethernet printer is normally connected directly to a network (such as to one of the LAN ports of a Wi-Fi router), and would thus be shared anyway. In case of a Wi-Fi router, the computers are typically wirelessly connected. Wireless printing would then be possible, even to a wired (Ethernet) printer.

Add a printer to your printer list so you can use it on Mac – Apple Support (UK)

I've connected HP printers to my network, but I connect them to my router, not my Mac. That way it is always available even if my Mac is asleep, or shutdown, or in the middle of a software updated, etc...

Also we no longer have desktop based Macs, so having the printer attached to the router meads we do not need to tie down a Mac laptop as a print server.

I've had 2 HP network attached printers for a total of about 23 years. When my last HP printer died, I got a Brother network attached printer, and it too is attached to my router.

Dean Lindsay wrote:

My wife's iMac and my iMac don't get along. We attempt to share an HP 1200 printer ethernet printer attached to my iMac, but her iMac pauses printing for 'printer authentification' which neither of us understands. We are stuck with nowhere to print. Advice?

if the HP printer connects directly to Ethernet (via HP JetDirect, usually), then everything connected to the wired network should be able to print directly, and it’s quite possible that the Wi-Fi connected equipment can also print.

Which model of HP printer? HP has several different 1200 printers, including LaserJet 1200, Neverstop MFP 1200w, DeskJet 1200, and probably some other uses of 1200. Please post the full printer name.

I looked up the LaserJet 1200 tech specs, and that printer is from 2002.

If this really is the LaserJet 1200 model, check the back of the printer and see if it’s got a JetDirect 175X installed; if there's an RJ45 Ethernet port back there.

Page 44: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/bpl10395.pdf#page46

Thank you for the information.

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-laserjet-1200-printer

https://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/bpl10395.pdf

OK, the printer is connected to your Mac via USB. Normally, sharing should be possible according to the above Share your printer on Mac – Apple Support (UK) article.

If you have yet another Mac, with an older operating system version, you could possibly carry out a comparative test with that computer on either side in an attempt to rule out anything related to Sonoma.

Also, if you have access to the HP JetDirect 175X print server, you could perhaps carry out an experiment with the printer directly connected to the network (LAN port of the Wi-Fi router).