print server

[sathyan]

I want to be able to printer on my inkjet from my laptop without connecting cables. The laptop is an IBM Thinkpad T40 with 802.11b running winxp pro, the printer is HP deskjet 960 with usb and parallel, my router does wifi and has rj45 wired lan. is a print server what i need?

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?submit=list&catalog=387&DEPA=1&order=price&sort=asc



for printing will 10Mbps vs 100Mbps matter. i will be doing full-page photos.

 

[anandfan]

Yes, you need a print server. I followed your NewEgg link to the Edimax 901, provides a parallel port, bi-directional. At $40 shipped, looks like a good price, but I've heard some other parallel port switches have compatibility problems with some printers. I'd feel safer with a USB port, but I'll follow this thread. My daughter just bought a laptop, I added a wireless access point for her, and now I'd like to give her a wireless connection to the printer.

 

[skyking]

10 or 100, it will not be an issue.
Make sure your printer will work with a print server. Some of the older HP printers did not play well at the end of a proint server, due to the type of protocol they used for printing. Hopefully that is no longer the case.

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Actually, at least as far back as the LJ-II, they played fine on a PS. A number of newer printers tie directly into the Windows interfaces and don't work on print servers. My Xerox XD-100 is a case in point...

 

[sathyan]

Is it safe to assume that if a printer works with Linux it will work with a print server?

 

[skyking]

John, the 1100 and some of that era of HP inkjets had the same problem, and the 1200 laser won't work either. Of course, the 1200 is a cheap lightweight piece of junk compared to the threes and fours, but that is another story