question on printer networking

[razmat]

if the printer and a couple pc's are all connected into a network switch ,can you install the printer on each computer as a locally installed or locally connected device?i know that you can install the printer driver on one pc choosing network printer on the add printer wizard and mark it as shared and then use add printer wizard on the other pc and choose network printer and then browse the network for the shared printer and install or share it there.but is there a way to install the driver on both pc's directly with this kind of connection? like using the local printer attached to this computer option.

[razmat]

or is that,if it is installed as a network printer,then one computer has to act as the server and always remain on?

[ErikD]

Do you mean a printer with a built in network card? If so you just configure it as a locally attached printer. Instead of letting Windows search for hardware just configure a new TCP/IP port with the IP address of the printer.

[YeOldeStonecat]

With peer to peer networks..you traditionally install it as a local TCP printer, along with the drivers..each PC prints directly to the printer.

On server based networks..you install it locally to the server as a TCP printer....on workstations...and share it out. Client workstations...you browse to the share..and click on "Connect"..and it pulls the drivers from the server to the workstation. The print jobs get sent to the servers print spooler...which spits them out to the printer. More efficient, and easier to deploy and manage.