Have you ever wished you could:
1. Share your printer with multiple computers in the house?
2. Have a printer present in a central location of the house without being tethered to a computer?
With the advent of wireless networks for the home, wireless printer devices became possible. They are available for both the old style printers (parallel port style) that you may have had in the house for years and for newer USB style printers. In fact, printer manufacturers are starting to integrate these wireless printer devices into the printers themselves!
Recently, I had a client purchase a new computer. He had an older model laser printer that he loved – they don’t build them like they used to! Unfortunately, this printer was older and connected to the computer via a parallel port (translation: 25 pins, big connector, very much pre-USB technology). The new computer did not have a parallel port!
There are multiple options here:
1. Buy a new printer – $$$
2. Share the printer via an older computer that has a parallel port – electric bill starts to go $$$ as this machine must be left on to print to the printer.
3. Purchase a wireless print server!
This wireless print server plugged right into the back of the printer and eliminated the printer cable that went to the computer. This allowed the client to locate the printer well away from the PC on a shelf, and made for a nice clean install.
For this client, I used a TRENDnet Parallel Port Print Server purchased from Amazon. The install is fairly easy for those that understand the basics of networking. For those that do not, I recommend reaching out to a technician for help with the install (such as your friends at P3C Technologies).
Ok, now you’re wireless – happy printing!