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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  Gaming  |  Topic: Wi-fi Print Server device? 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: Wi-fi Print Server device?  (Read 2713 times)
Venkman
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on: April 08, 2007, 05:16:38 AM

I've got this two-year-old HP inkjet hooked up to my very first PC, which acts as a print-server. Unfortunately, that beast is so big it's in the basement, whereas my wife does all the computer stuff in the kitchen on her wi-fi laptop. So I was thinking of a print server device, preferably wi-fi, so I could move the printer so somewhere on the same floor without having to dedicate premium kitchen-counter space to connecting the printer to her laptop.

Poking around various places, I find these devices are in the $60-120 range, $10 more than I paid for the printer itself (the carts are the money). And the devices are not universally beloved nor apparently compatible.

So should I not bother, maybe instead splurge on a printer with wi-fi built in? And, if so, any recommendations?
Engels
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Reply #1 on: April 08, 2007, 08:55:52 AM

Well, why not get a wireless router, put the print-server PC on a static IP in a workgroup, make sure your wife is in the workgroup, and install the printer on your wife's computer that way?

I should get back to nature, too.  You know, like going to a shop for groceries instead of the computer.  Maybe a condo in the woods that doesn't even have a health club or restaurant attached.  Buy a car with only two cup holders or something. -Signe

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Viin
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Reply #2 on: April 08, 2007, 01:30:00 PM

Doesn't need to be a static IP if you are using a Windows Workgroup. As long as the name of the computer doesn't change and you are sharing the printer she should be able to map to it on her laptop.

I'd assume you are already going through a router for internet, so as long as you are on the same network just make sure you each computer is on the same (via the name) Workgroup. In My Network Places you should see each computer *if* there is anything being shared.

- Viin
Venkman
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Reply #3 on: April 08, 2007, 06:27:39 PM

No problems with the way things are configured right now. It's a tower PC with a wi-fi card and the attached printer registered in the same Workgroup as everything else. The problem I have is that it's on 24/7 and in the basement when my wife's laptop is used in the kitchen. And we don't have the counter space to move the printer there (and the wi-fi router is on the floor above her, where the cable modem is, because my PC gets the hardwired connection, because I'm old skool).

So I was thinking of moving the printer to a closet we have on the same floor as the kitchen, except that closet isn't big enough for an entire PC and the printer. Therefore, the idea of a printer with a simple wi-fi print server.
Viin
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Reply #4 on: April 08, 2007, 07:28:14 PM

Ah I see. You want the printer to be located with the laptop (or nearby).

You could do something like you suggest - I'm not sure there's really another option if you can't fit a computer with it in a closet somewhere and she doesn't want to go up or downstairs.

- Viin
ajax34i
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Reply #5 on: April 08, 2007, 09:11:08 PM

I was going to suggest a mobile (that is, small) printer that she could keep in the kitchen, and just plug the USB port in whenever she needs it, but that would be more expensive than your wireless print server, and with those, I don't have any experience (but, if you get one, remember to make sure it connects via whatever port your printer has:  centronics or usb).
Venkman
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Reply #6 on: April 09, 2007, 05:00:17 AM

Hmm, hadn't looked at those in years. I'll consider it when this one kicks.

Gonna kick this around a bit, maybe we'll move to a bigger house :)

Thanks guys.
Baldrake
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Reply #7 on: April 10, 2007, 02:18:18 PM

Or the hard-core approach: we've been rewiring the house (ancient knob and tube), and I've been taking the opportunity to run Ethernet to a bunch of rooms at the same time.

People keep asking why I don't just use wireless. I do, but just don't find it that reliable. Possibly another artifact of the old house with serious thick brick and lath and plaster walls...
Strazos
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Reply #8 on: April 10, 2007, 07:09:22 PM

Fuck wireless, hardwire ftw.

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bhodi
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No lie.


Reply #9 on: April 10, 2007, 09:31:42 PM

Wireless is spotty as hell in my townhouse division. There are about 14 WAPs visible, and some sort of constant radiation that's making anything under channel 5 unusuable... so they are all crammed in the upper layer. Add the fact that someone's microwave (?)  is leaking and breaking all connections any time it's turned on around dinner time and lunch, and I share your hatred.
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