port and the router’s Ethernet port to bridge the networking gap) and a Wi-Fi router with an integrated print server.Ĭon: The computer must be left on to use the printer. In my tests, I did not pursue two methods known for balky setup and intractable incompatibilities with printers: use of a stand-alone print server (a device that sits between the printer’s U.S.B. Even if you don’t have a Mac in the mix, these methods can help you get connected. The Hewlett-Packard OfficeJet 6000 Wireless ($120), the Epson WorkForce 610 ($200) and the Canon Pixma MG6120 ($199) are three of the more popular models.īut if you are not ready to throw out your older printer, there are a handful of ways to share it on a home network. These limitations, which can include an inability to connect and incompatibility with the scanning functions of all-in-one printers, can be easily avoided by purchasing a new printer with integrated Wi-Fi or Ethernet networking. solution in the middle of a network solution, you will end up with limitations.” “This can be the crux of a lot of challenges,” said Chris Mesa, program manager for transactional printing solutions, mobility and Web services at Hewlett-Packard.
And, as is the case with most Americans, computers and networking devices tend to be fluent in only one operating language: either Windows or Mac. The squabble between Windows and Mac devices has its roots in the use of different printer software (typically referred to as drivers) and networking protocols, two under-the-hood technologies that are inscrutably complicated. (Feeling a little befuddled yet? That’s what is happening to the printer.) requires a tricky translation from U.S.B.-based protocols to Ethernet or Wi-Fi protocols. connection on home printers was not designed to carry networking information. The basic problem with setting up a shared printer is that the U.S.B. My printers, a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet P1006 and a Samsung ML-1740, are both elderly, low-end lasers. I set out to find the easiest way to share a printer, using my own home equipment: two MacBook Pro laptops, a Dell Windows 7 desktop and an Asus Windows 7 netbook.
Add a Mac to the mix, which is becoming more common, and the process can get complicated, pronto. Sharing a printer is one of the most basic appeals of wireless networking, and it can be pretty simple if your computers run the Windows operating system. If you are like many people, however, you get computers that can’t print. What do you get when you mix four computers, two operating systems, one printer and a wireless home network? If you are lucky, a convenient way to share the printer among all computers.
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