How do I make my printer on Windows 7 share with my Apple computer?

Andre - thanks for the suggestion, but this approach does not seem to work. 

I'm using Snow Lepoard, so there is no Applications/Utilities/Printer Setup option.  Instead, I'm using System Preferences/Print & Fax

I have the printer (Canon MP530) shared on my Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) system.  I can see the printer, and print to it from an XP session running under a Virtual Box session on my MacBook Pro.

I can use Finder to see the shared files/folders on Windows 7.

Using your instructions above, I can add a printer, and even get an option to choose duplex printing.  However, when I print, the Macbook Pro shows "copying file", then the job disappears, and the printer goes to a "pause" status.

I've also tried the Vista approach where I've added the printer on the Macbook pro, and chose Advanced/Windows and used smb://<Win7Name/printername. 
In this case, the print status returns the error:  Session setup failed: NT_STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER.  After a couple of minutes, it then generates the following:

Error Number : 306 A communication error has occurred. Make sure that the printer is plugged in, powered-on, and properly connected to your computer. Then try printing again.

One final note.  The printing was working perfectly under Vista Ultimate 32 bit.

Any other suggestions?

Is anyone monitoring this thread?  Is there any response from MSFT on this issue?

Hi tribasett

I was having the same issue, it turned out that following the above procedure decribed by Andre, but using the IP Address instead of the hostname did the job to me.

====> Found this on Apple forum

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On Sun Nov 15 19:13:45 CST 2009, rwthelen wrote:
Subject: Re: Mac cannot see shared windows 7 pc or printer

Just for mindshare, my parents encountered this issue and just managed to resolve it. 
Here's what I know about their situation.

I bought my mom a new Macbook Pro 13-inch.  She was able to successfully see my dad's
Windows 7 desktop machine on the network, and they could transfer files between each
other.  And yet, my mom's Macbook couldn't see the Windows 7 shared network printer. 
It was pretty inexplicable as to why.

The printer was a Brother 3360C.  It wouldn't auto-detect, SMB protocol wouldn't work
because of a strange authentication issue, and my dad couldn't address it on the Windows
7 side, because Home Premium doesn't allow certain modifications to be made to the group
policy.

In any case, they were able to fix it by connecting to the printer from the Mac via the
LPD protocol.  Lpd://192.168.0.1/printername.  I guess that protocol doesn't have the
same authentication issues that were cropping up with the others.

So - if you're having this issue, try to give the LPD protocol a shot.  Hope it helps. 
If not, my apologies.

----

In my case I have an HP Photosmart 7450 connected to an HP Pavilion Desktop running Windows 7,
my wife has a MacBook Pro. I followed the procedure but this time used my IP address and
Bingo, we are now able to print from the Mac.

lpd://192.168.0.4/hpps7450

That was my workaround.

I did change my TCP/IP Configuration from DHCP to Static IP address, to avoid issues
after rebooting my PC.

Hope this helps.

Kavak10's information is the best that I have found.  The following are some updates of the information to work with the latest SnowLeopard and Windows 7.

I'm happy to confirm the above, using lpd: with IP address and Gutenprint driver works for me (or more precisely my wife as the Mac is hers).

Kavak10's information is the best that I have found.  The following are some updates of the information to work with the latest SnowLeopard and Windows 7.

My System: MacBookPro (Snow Leopard 10.6.2), TimeCapsule, desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium), Canon MP800 printer hooked to the PC via a USB connection.

 

On the Windows 7 PC

1. In Windows 7 Control Panel

2. Select "Programs and Features" pane

3. Click "Turn Windows Features on or off"

4. Click on the "LPD Print Service". Under "Print and Document Services"

5. Ensure printer(s) are shared

 

On the Mac

1. Open "System Preferences" - "Print & Fax"

2. Click "+" to add a printer

3. Right hand button tool bar to customize and add  "Advanced" button

4. Select "Advanced"

5. In the "Type:" field select "LPD/LPR Host or Printer"

6. In the "URL:" field enter lpd://IPserver/PrinterShareName; (e.g., lpd://10.0.1.4/mp800)

    Using lpd://ServeName/PrinterShareName does not work, the IP address must replace ServerName

    The IP address is the address of your PC, the one assigned by your router

7. Click the "Add" button

 

For my printer, a Canon Pixma MP800, I had to use the Gutenprint MP830 driver.  The Canon drivers do not work, flashing an error message too quickly to read.  The problem is probably related to the TimeCapsule having only one-way communication.  The Canon drivers work perfectly when the printer is hooked directly to the Mac.

The above steps worked for me.  The Canon MP530 print drivers (supplied by Canon) did not work.  I used Gutenprint MP500 and was able to resume printing.  Any ideas why this changed between Vista and Windows 7?

Thanks for the update!  This works for me as well.

Kavak10's information is the best that I have found.  The following are some updates of the information to work with the latest SnowLeopard and Windows 7.

My System: MacBookPro (Snow Leopard 10.6.2), TimeCapsule, desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium), Canon MP800 printer hooked to the PC via a USB connection.

 

On the Windows 7 PC

1. In Windows 7 Control Panel

2. Select "Programs and Features" pane

3. Click "Turn Windows Features on or off"

4. Click on the "LPD Print Service". Under "Print and Document Services"

5. Ensure printer(s) are shared

 

On the Mac

1. Open "System Preferences" - "Print & Fax"

2. Click "+" to add a printer

3. Right hand button tool bar to customize and add  "Advanced" button

4. Select "Advanced"

5. In the "Type:" field select "LPD/LPR Host or Printer"

6. In the "URL:" field enter lpd://IPserver/PrinterShareName; (e.g., lpd://10.0.1.4/mp800)

    Using lpd://ServeName/PrinterShareName does not work, the IP address must replace ServerName

    The IP address is the address of your PC, the one assigned by your router

7. Click the "Add" button

 

For my printer, a Canon Pixma MP800, I had to use the Gutenprint MP830 driver.  The Canon drivers do not work, flashing an error message too quickly to read.  The problem is probably related to the TimeCapsule having only one-way communication.  The Canon drivers work perfectly when the printer is hooked directly to the Mac.

The above steps worked for me.  The Canon MP530 print drivers (supplied by Canon) did not work.  I used Gutenprint MP500 and was able to resume printing.  Any ideas why this changed between Vista and Windows 7?

This worked for me, but a word of warning!

You must have the shared printer on the Windows 7 machine as a single name with no spaces. Otherwise if there is a space between words in the printer name the Macintosh 'Add Printer' will have the 'Add' button un-highlighted. I had to go in and add a new printer for my Samsung SCX-4500 printer and call it just 'Samsung'. Of course then the other Windows machines on the network all had to get this 'new' printer added and the old one deleted.