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Sharing One Printer Between Booths

The Pix Desktop App prints through your operating system, not directly to the printer. Any printer that Windows or macOS can see, the booth can print to, including a printer plugged into a different computer and shared over your local network. That makes a common setup possible: two or more booths, one dye-sub printer. At the end of this guide every booth prints to the same printer and you know what to watch on a busy day.

The host does not need the Pix Desktop App

The computer the printer is plugged into only needs the printer driver and sharing switched on. It can be a spare laptop or a PC running something else entirely.

How it works​

  1. Host: the computer physically connected to the printer shares it over the network.
  2. Booths: each booth adds that shared printer as a network printer and selects it in the Pix Desktop App.
  3. Every booth sends its print jobs to the host, whose print queue prints them in the order they arrive.

Step 1: Share the printer on the host​

Windows

  1. Install the printer driver (DNP, HiTi, Mitsubishi, etc.) and confirm a test page prints.
  2. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer, then Printer properties > Sharing.
  3. Tick Share this printer and note the share name (for example DNP-DS-RX1).
  4. Make sure Network discovery and File and printer sharing are on for your network (Private profile).

macOS

  1. Install the driver and confirm a test page prints.
  2. Open System Settings > General > Sharing and switch on Printer Sharing.
  3. Select the printer and allow Everyone (or the users you want).

Step 2: Add the shared printer on each booth​

  1. Install the same printer driver on the booth. Windows needs the driver locally even for a shared printer, and it is where paper size and cut mode are read from.
  2. Add the printer:
    • Windows: Printers & scanners > Add device, or type the share path directly, e.g. \\HOST-PC\DNP-DS-RX1.
    • macOS: Printers & Scanners > Add Printer; the shared printer appears under the host's name.
  3. Print a test page from the booth's operating system before opening the Pix Desktop App.

Step 3: Select it in the Pix Desktop App​

  1. On the booth, open the operator menu (tap the top-right corner twice) and tap Printer Settings.
  2. Under PRINTER DEVICE, pick the shared printer. It appears with the same name as any local printer.
  3. Set MEDIA SIZE (LOADED PAPER) to match the media in the host's printer. For a dye-sub such as a DNP, set ORIENTATION to Landscape.
  4. Press the test print button and check the sheet.

Repeat on every booth that should print to the same printer. The STATUS section confirms the printer is available; guest printing is disabled until a printer is selected.

What to expect​

  • Jobs print in arrival order. If two booths finish sessions at the same time, the second guest waits one print cycle (roughly 10 to 20 seconds on a dye-sub).
  • Each booth only knows about its own job. The booth shows "printing" while the job is sent; it cannot see how many jobs from other booths are queued ahead.
  • Paper size and cut mode (for example a 2-inch cut on 4x6 media) are driver settings on the host. Set them there once; every booth inherits them.
  • Media counts and printer status shown in the booth and on the Health page come from the booth's own driver, so they may be blank or approximate for a shared printer. Watch the physical printer.

Keep the host reliable​

The booth retries a failed print up to 3 times, 5 seconds apart. It does not retry a job that the host's queue accepted and then left stuck. When that happens the guest sees a print issue notice, the photo is saved, and staff can reprint it from the operator menu under Admin Panel > PRINT HISTORY. To avoid silent misses on a busy day:

  • Use wired Ethernet between the host and the booths. Wi-Fi drops are the most common cause of lost prints.
  • Disable sleep and automatic restarts on the host for the day.
  • Keep the host's print queue window open so a jam or empty media is spotted quickly. Nobody on the host is otherwise watching it.
  • If the host is a Windows laptop, plug it into power. On battery, Windows may power down the USB port the printer is on.

Troubleshooting​

SymptomLikely causeFix
Printer not in the booth's listNot added at the OS level, or driver missingAdd the shared printer in the booth's OS printer settings and install the driver, then reopen Printer Settings
STATUS shows the printer as not availableHost offline, asleep, or the share was removedWake the host and confirm the booth can print a test page from its OS
Prints come out the wrong sizePaper size set differently on host and boothMatch MEDIA SIZE (LOADED PAPER) to the media in the host's driver settings
Jobs stuck in the queuePrinter error on the host (jam, media out)Clear the error on the host; queued jobs resume. Reprint anything missing from Admin Panel > PRINT HISTORY