How to Set a Default Printer

The default printer is the one preselected every time you press Print. Windows changes it on its own unless you tell it not to; a Mac uses the last printer you used unless you pick one.

Open Printers & scanners on Windows

Press Windows + I, then go to Bluetooth & devices, Printers & scanners. All installed printers are listed at the top of the page.

Turn off Let Windows manage my default printer

Scroll down to Printer preferences and switch off Let Windows manage my default printer. While this is on, Windows sets the default to whichever printer you used most recently at your current location, and the Set as default button does not appear.

Set the printer as default

Scroll back up, click the printer you want, then click Set as default. The word "Default" appears under its name in the list. Every app's print dialog now opens with this printer selected.

Choose the default printer on a Mac

Open System Settings, click Printers & Scanners in the sidebar, and open the Default printer pop-up menu at the top of the page. Choose a specific printer, or leave it on Last Printer Used to keep the Mac switching to whatever you printed to last. The change takes effect at once; no restart is needed.

Confirm it in a print dialog

Open any document and press Ctrl + P on Windows or Command + P on a Mac. The printer named at the top of the dialog should be the one you chose. If a different one shows, close the dialog and check the setting again, since some apps remember their own last printer separately.

If you want a different printer for one job. The print dialog still lets you pick any installed printer each time. Changing it there affects only that job and leaves the default as it is.

If the default keeps reverting on Windows. Confirm that Let Windows manage my default printer is still off. Some printer apps re-enable it during updates, and a laptop that moves between home and office is the usual case where the default seems to jump around.