Thread: Printer Server

I have a question about the wireless printer servers. I'm looking at this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833156036

My sister want to be anywhere in the house and print from her laptop to the printer in the office. I know this can be accomplished. The printer itself, is now connected to my mom's laptop. My sister runs Vista Ult. and my mom runs XP Pro. My wireless router is all the way upstairs, in my room. Because that's how I roll.

Now from what I'm getting from reading about the wireless printer server is, that you hook the printer up to it via usb. Then it connects to your home network and every computer can print from that printer. So, printer is downstairs connected to the server, which is connected via wireless to my router upstairs. Which all the computers in the house are on that network.

Then I had a thought. How does the server connect to the network? A printer doesn't have a monitor to configure the server, to enter my WPA key and all that.

So, has anyone ever used one of these things and can shed some light on it? Thank you so much.

$70 is a lot for just that. For $160 I got a Canon MX860 which is a wireless print server all by itself, and prints awesome color photos among other things.

Originally Posted by Veovis

$70 is a lot for just that. For $160 I got a Canon MX860 which is a wireless print server all by itself, and prints awesome color photos among other things.

Yeah I got the epson workforce 600 and it does the same, never set it up though

Like your router, the print server has a web server built-in and you access it via its IP address on your local network. It probably has a default IP and will probably let you adjust that if you want after everything is configured.

Configuration is likely started by connecting the print server to your router via a network cable (see 3rd picture) which will get it on the network. Then it will probably have software which will search the network for the print server (or maybe it will come with a default static IP (on old Linksys ones it's 192.168.1.240)) which will prompt you to enter the SSID, encryption, maybe IP address and possibly pick the printer you have (I've seen DLink print servers which autodetect the printer and work pretty well). Then when it's configured you can remove it from the router and put it wherever you want.

I have a Kodak ESP 7 All-in-one

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Kodak+-+...=1218008945690

its connected to the wifi network in the house which means to print all you have to do is connect to it
and its super easy to set up, just enter the WPA phrase for the network and bammo, your done
and the ink is cheap too, $10 for a black cartridge, $15 for the color which is pink/blue/yellow all in one

we used to have a printer that used to be connected to my computer which in turn was connected to the router, but that meant that in order for anybody else to print something my computer had to be on all the time
the great thing is about this is it works weather the one its connected to is on or off