Connecting Your Printer

  Choosing the Right Cable

  Connecting the Printer Locally

  Connecting the Printer to the Network

Choosing the Right Cable

Your Dell Laser Printer 5100cn interconnection cable must meet the following requirements:

Connection	Cable certification
Parallel	Parallel IEEE 1284
USB	USB 2.0
10/100Base-TX Ethernet	CAT-5E

1	Parallel port
2	USB port
3	Ethernet port

Connecting the Printer Locally

A local printer is a printer attached to your computer using a USB or parallel cable. If your printer is attached to a network instead of your computer, skip this step and go on to "Connecting the Printer to the Network."

Microsoft^® Windows^® 98 SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Mac OS 9 or later operating systems support USB connections. Some UNIX^® and Linux^® computers also support USB connections. See your computer operating system documentation to see if your system supports USB.

To attach the printer to a computer:

1. Make sure the printer, computer, and any other attached devices are turned off and unplugged.
   
   
2. Connect the printer to the computer using a USB or parallel cable.
   
   

1	Parallel port
2	USB port

A USB/parallel port requires a USB/parallel cable. Be sure to match the USB/parallel symbol on the cable to the USB/parallel symbol on the printer.

Plug the other end of the cable into a USB or parallel port on the back of the computer. For a USB cable, do not plug it into the USB keyboard.

Turn On the Printer

1. Plug one end of the printer power cable into the socket at the back of the printer and the other end into a properly grounded outlet.
   
   

2. Turn on the computer and the printer.
   
   

Connecting the Printer to the Network

To attach the printer to a network:

1. Make sure the printer, computer, and any other attached devices are turned off and unplugged.
   
   
2. Plug one end of a standard category 5 cable into a LAN drop or hub, and the other end into the Ethernet port on the back of the printer. The printer automatically adjusts for the network speed.
   
   

1	Ethernet port

Turn On the Printer

1. Plug one end of the printer power cable into the socket at the back of the printer and the other end into a properly grounded outlet.
   
   

2. Turn on the computer and the printer.
   
   

Print and Check the Printer Settings Page

Print a Printer Settings page to verify the network connection. This page also provides important information that helps you configure for network printing.

1. Press Menu.
   
   
2. Press until Configure appears, and then press or .
   
   
3. Press until Reports appears, and then press or .
   
   
4. Printer Settings is displayed. Press .
   
   

The Printer Settings page is printed.

5. If the IP address shows anything other than 0.0.0.0 (the factory default) or 169.254.xx.xx, the printer has an IP address assigned and stored. Go to "Verify the IP Settings."
   
   

Assign an IP Address

An IP address is a unique number that consists of four sections that are delimited by a period and can include up to three digits in each section, for example, 111.222.33.44.

Assigning an IP address already in use can cause network performance issues.

NOTE: Assigning an IP address is considered as an advanced function and is normally done by a system administrator.

For more information on using your operator panel, see "Operator Panel."

1. Turn on the printer.
   
   

The Ready to Print appears.

2. Press Menu.
   
   
3. Press until Configure appears, and then press or .
   
   
4. Press until Network appears, and then press or .
   
   
5. Press until TCP/IP appears, and then press or .
   
   
6. Press until IPAddressSetup appears, and then press or .
   
   
7. Press until Panel appears, and then press .
   
   
8. Press .
   
   
9. Press until IP Address appears, and then press or .
   
   
10. The cursor is located at the first digit of the IP address. Press to enter the numbers for the IP address.
    
    
11. Press .
    
    

The cursor moves to the next digit.

12. Repeat steps 10 and 11 to enter all of the digits in the IP address, and then press .
    
    
13. Press .
    
    
14. Press until Subnet Mask appears, and then press or .
    
    
15. Repeat steps 10 to 11 to set Subnet Mask, and then press .
    
    
16. Press .
    
    
17. Press until Gateway Address appears, and then press or .
    
    
18. Repeat steps 10 to 11 to set Gateway Address, and then press .
    
    
19. Turn off the printer, and then turn it on again.
    
    

The IP address is assigned to your printer. You can verify the setting by opening the web browser on any computer on the network and enter the IP address into the URL line. If the IP address is set up correctly, the Dell Printer Configuration Web Tool displays in your browser.

You can also assign the IP address to the printer when installing the printer drivers with installer. When you use the Network Installation feature, and the IP AddressSetup is set to AutoIP on the operator panel menu, you can set the IP address from 0.0.0.0 to the desired IP address on the printer selection window.

Verify the IP Settings

1. Print another Printer Settings page.
   
   
2. Look under the TCP/IP heading on the Printer Settings page to make sure the IP address, netmask, and gateway are what you expected.
   
   

or

Ping the printer and verify that it responds. For example, at a command prompt on a network computer, type ping followed by the new printer IP address (for example, 192.168.0.11):

ping 192.168.0.11

If the printer is active on the network, you will receive a reply.