Canon is among the best printers for printing and scanning. It not only brings quality printing but also helps reduce environmental disruption with its green technology. Many users across the globe are adopting Canon printers due to their high efficiency and productive yield. For personal and business use, Canon printers are a well-known brand. But in order to set up a Canon printer, you will have to download the printer drivers, which we will discuss here. Read the full blog to learn Canon printer setup.

What is a Canon Printer?

Canon printers are all-in-one color inkjet printers (e.g., Canon PIXMA MG3620 – Photo Printer) with a sleek appearance and straightforward operation, portable printers for printing images from your phone, floor-standing big format printers for printing in professional quality—these are just a few of the several varieties available. Canon produces both color and monochrome inkjet and laser printers, with its PIXMA and imageCLASS brands being the most well-liked.

The professional photo printers from Canon are made for photographers who want to create prints of the highest caliber that match their captured photographs. On the Canon website, you can find official setup, printing, scanning, and troubleshooting information for their inkjet printers and scanners.

What Are Canon Printer Drivers?

To set up your Canon printer, you will need Canon printer drivers installed on your computer to give commands to the printer to take the prints or scans. But how will you do that? The process is straightforward; you need to visit the official website of Canon and download and install the printer drivers.

But before that, ensure your system is updated to the latest version; otherwise, your printer may not communicate with your system. Also, download the latest printer drivers, as the old versions may not work effectively.

How to Download and Install Canon Printer Drivers?

Here is the step-by-step process for downloading and installing Canon printer drivers:

1. First, visit the Canon support page and search for your printer model.
2. Type your Canon printer name in the search area, and when it appears, click on it.
3. Now, you will land on the support page for your specific model.
4. After that, you have to press the Software & Drivers button.
5. Select the Download button on the right side next to the printer drivers. Choose one for you and press the Download button. The software also recommends you the latest printer driver to download.
6. When you are done with the download, go to your Downloads folder and double-click on that.
7. Lastly, follow the step-by-step prompts to complete the installation process.

Now, you can go for the Canon printer setup via WiFi, WPS, or the standard method.

How to Perform Canon Printer Setup for Windows?

There are main processes to perform the setup for Canon printers: Standard method (using CD) and WPS connection. We will see each one individually.

Method 1: Standard Setup

This is the basic method users perform. Although, nowadays users adopt the WiFi method most commonly. But, the standard method is also one of the best methods. Follow the given steps to perform the setup.

Step 1:

1. You may have received a CD with your printer; insert it into the printer and start the setup.
2. Note: If you didn’t receive an installation CD with your printer, download the software and manuals to proceed.
3. When you see an option on the screen, press the Next button.
4. Confirm that the printer and power light are powered on. Now, hit the Next button.

Step 2:

1. Now, you have to tap on Connect to the network.
2. When a screen appears, tap Cableless setup.
3. Then, you will see a connection via a cableless setup.
4. Next, press the WiFi button on your printer until the light (orange) flashes twice, and after the second flash, release the button.
5. Verify that the blue light (WiFi lamp) flashes and the green light is on. Now, tap Next.

Step 3:

1. When a screen appears, choose your location, and then press Next.
2. Another screen will appear, asking you to select your residence. Then, click Next.
3. On the next screen, select the software you need to install and then hit the Next button. In case you are unsure about installing the software, uninstall it later if you change your mind.
4. A License Agreement screen will appear. Tap Yes and accept the license agreement.
5. After that, an install wizard screen will appear; click Next.
6. A screen will appear indicating your printer’s model and SSID/ Name of the network (wireless).
7. In the next step, you have to click Complete.
8. A screen will be displayed asking you to add a printer. Then, tap on Add Printer.
9. In the next screen, choose Canon IJ Network and tap on Add.
10. In the last step, press the Next button to finish the setup process.

This is how you can set up your Canon printer wirelessly with your network. Let’s move to the next method: the WPS connection method.

Method 2: WPS Setup

In order to set up your printer on a WPS connection, you must know certain things as follows:

1. A WPS button should be available at the access point. For this, check your printer’s device guide, and if the WPS push button is unavailable, apply the standard method.
2. Ensure that your network is using WPA or WPA2 security methods.

After confirming both things, you may proceed to set up your Canon printer using the WPS connection method.

Step 1:

1. After that, verify that your printer is turned on.
2. Hold down the WiFi button on your printer and wait for the alarm lamp to flash at least once.

Step 2:

1. Ensure that the lamp near the WPS button flashes blue light.
2. Then, move to the access point and hold the WPS button for 2 minutes.
3. You can check your user guide for brief information about the access point.
4. While searching for the network, the printer’s blue (WiFi) light will keep flashing.
5. While connecting to the access point, the WiFi lamp and power button will flash.
6. Once the printer is connected to the wireless network, the power button and WiFi lamp will no longer flash.

The setup is done, but how will you verify that the setup is complete? Here is an option for that called Network settings confirmation.

How to Verify a WPS Connection?

After completing your WPS setup on the Canon printer, always verify the connection. Below steps are involved in the network confirmation.

1. First of all, confirm that your printer is switched on.
2. Now, place a plain A4 size sheet inside the printer’s feed.
3. Hold down the Resume/Cancel button and wait for the alarm lamp to flash atleast 15 times, then stop.
4. Now, a network information page will be released from the printer.
5. Verify the connection. It should be Active and show the correct name of your SSID network (wireless).

Finally, you have completed the Canon printer setup and can continue printing. Our blog concluded the setup procedure for Windows, and there are a few different processes for MacOS. Some steps may not work in Windows XP, as we have considered only the latest Windows versions.