Sharkbait999
Well-known member
If so, which manufacturer and model? I am looking for something that is easy to set up. I am not looking for the absolute best quality more than I am something that works.
rg
rg
-
Welcome to the new forums! Please read this first. For known issues we are working to resolve, click here.
Anyone using a wireless color printer?
- Thread starter Sharkbait999
- Start date
irish-george
Senior Member
Hook up whatever printer you like to a wireless printserver? Or hook up whatever printer you like to a wired network with a wireless access point (that is what I do)? Is there some reason you want/need a wireless printserver built into the printer?
Sharkbait999
Well-known member
The WAP is upstairs and I would like to have the printer downstairs. Brother has a multifunction model that is said to be totally wireless. My primary computer is a laptop.
irish-george
Senior Member
I have a basement, first floor, and second floor and a wired network through house. In the basement, I have a hub, a switch, a WAP, a NAS, a printserver, and two printers. On the first floor, I have two more printers. On the second floor, I have the kids wired computers, a printer, and another WAP. Most of my work is done on a laptop connecting wirelessly to any printer I wish in the house.
My point in all this is that you don't have to limit yourself to whatever has a built-in wireless printserver. I'm not limited in available printers...Kodak dye sublimation (a dinosaur, but still good prints), Minolta duplexing color laser, HP monochrome laser, HP duplexing color inkjet, Epson inkjet used for direct printing on DVD/CD disks, Epson R2400, or Lexmark all-in-one they are all available to me (wirelessly from my laptop and wired from my desktop), my wife (wirelessly), and both kids (wired).
I'd need to know a bit more about your setup (you have a wired network if you have a WAP for wireless access...where all does it go?) but you could accomplish what you want with an external wireless printserver or possibly a wired printserver (depending on your wiring) and that would enable you to use whatever printer you liked. Even if you wanted to do wireless event printing you could use a wireless printserver and your laptop with a built-in WiFi NIC (or USB WiFi NIC, or Cardbus WiFi NIC, or ExpressBus WiFi NIC depending on your laptop).
Maybe better questions would be:
1) Forget about the wireless part of this (for a moment); what would be your first choice in printers for your situation?
2) Exactly what do you want to do and under what conditions?
3) What are the budgetary constraints?
Then, maybe we (everyone here on Dpreview) can figure what would work.
Sharkbait999
Well-known member
Where the DSL comes into the house, I connected a wireless router/hub. The desktop PC plugs into the router/hub for configuration and outside connectivity. There is no internal wiring in the house that would allow me to use the printer I would like to install downstairs.
I was thinking of a multifunction device that I could use to scan, copy, and print ($200-300). Reviews of the Brother 835CW seem to claim effortless setup and truely wireless, whatever that means. Everytime I want to print downstairs, I don't want to plug into a cable dangling off the printer. Thanks.
rg
I was thinking of a multifunction device that I could use to scan, copy, and print ($200-300). Reviews of the Brother 835CW seem to claim effortless setup and truely wireless, whatever that means. Everytime I want to print downstairs, I don't want to plug into a cable dangling off the printer. Thanks.
rg
waveney
Forum Enthusiast
HP Officejet 6310 and it works a treat. But then i also have my 9180 plugged into the router for networking from various macs around the house. You can also of course share any printer on a network if it's plugged in somewhere.
waveney
waveney
irish-george
Senior Member
Sounds like you could do what you want with a WiFi printserver and multifunction device. (You'd normally just have a short, permanently attached cable between your printer and the printserver...some people even Velcro the printserver to the back of the printer...you'd be able to print wirelessly from either your desktop or your laptop.)
Kaustav S Saikia
Leading Member
HP 8750 + the USB Wireless Dongle
--
http://www.photoshoot.in
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photoshoot/
--
http://www.photoshoot.in
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photoshoot/
TonvicFoto
Member
Why so many? What are you doing with all of them, if I may ask?
TonvicFoto
Member
I understand your question is that you want to connect a printer with an adaptor wirellesly to the already existing network. Right?
With HP B9180 you cannot do that. I tried many times and different options. It does not work. You can connect 9180 either by USB or by wire to the router.
irish-george
Senior Member
I am an engineer and seldom throw out my printers...if anything goes wrong, I eventually get around to fixing them. (They have little value used anyway.) Actually, there really isn't much duplication of functionality...duplexing color inkjet that can do photos albeit with dye based ink, non-duplexing (ancient) monochrome laser, an inkjet that is low quality (R200) but can print on printable storage media, a dye sublimation beast (old) like Kodak used to use in their printing stations, a duplexing color laser printer for general high quality office work, an R2400 that arrives tomorrow for larger photo printing, and my daughter's all-in-one so I could remotely help her with her AP physics homework questions last fall. There is an orphaned Epson Stylus Color 2 printer in the basement that ticked me off years back when it spewed ink all over it's innards...I really should chuck it.
Don't even ask me why computers outnumber people in my house 2:1...
;-)
Sharkbait999
Well-known member
The Brother 845CW is what I am looking at:
http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/modeldetail.aspx?PRODUCTID=mfc845cw&tab=spec
Claims to have a wireless I/F to your network - yes - no?
rg
http://www.brother-usa.com/mfc/modeldetail.aspx?PRODUCTID=mfc845cw&tab=spec
Claims to have a wireless I/F to your network - yes - no?
rg
irish-george
Senior Member
That is definitely what the link you provide says it has. If you wish to have more options available to you, you could pair up many USB printers or all-in-ones to the D-Link DWL-1260 (the FAQs lists far more compatible devices than the spec page...including the Epson R2400). Back to your Brother 845CW, it is good that the wireless phone is at 5.8GHz to minimize interference with the WiFi interface.
George
irish-george
Senior Member
irish-george
Senior Member
I bought a DPR-1260 today...it is a wireless 802.11g print/scanner server with FOUR USB2.0 ports. Pretty easy to set up. I currently have my Epson R2400 on it and intend to add my Epson R200 (that'll free up a wired printserver) and see if my HP ScanJet will work on it (many scanners and all-in-ones do). It supports WEP and WPA (I'm using the WEP feature) and can be set to a static IP address or dynamic. So far, I'm pretty happy with it...a good use of $100 (online you can find it for $80).
George
I have a Deskjet 5850 that I'm sure has been replaced by more recent versions but I find it to work well in its wireless mode.
John
--
http://www.pbase.com/jdfaith (pbase supporter)
http://jdfaith.smugmug.com/
John
--
http://www.pbase.com/jdfaith (pbase supporter)
http://jdfaith.smugmug.com/
Sharkbait999
Well-known member
So a friend of mine, who has deep pockets has decided his HP Officejet 7400 is too slow for color printing and has given me the printer to see if it meets my needs. I got the wireless I/F connected to my AP and talking to each other.
I then had enormous difficulties installing the HP software on my laptop. It kept stalling and I kept uninstalling it and installing it. I FINALLY got the software loaded after I turned off my Windows firewall and anti-virus software but it took two attempts. Color printing is a little slow but it works as does wireless scanning.
rg
I then had enormous difficulties installing the HP software on my laptop. It kept stalling and I kept uninstalling it and installing it. I FINALLY got the software loaded after I turned off my Windows firewall and anti-virus software but it took two attempts. Color printing is a little slow but it works as does wireless scanning.
rg
Inkjet printers do not work well with a wireless (or network) print server. The connection is not completely bulletproof for the length of time it takes to print. The data must stream to the printer without any loss other than short pauses. It works reasonably well to connect a wireless (USB, Firewire or Parallel) print server directly to a wireless router. Better yet, run it as a shared printer from a network computer.
The Kodak 1400 thermal (dye-transfer) printer will not work directly with a print server. You must connect it to a computer and "share" it over the network or wireless network. This works quite well. The data stream is buffered at both the source and host, and is quite tolerant of brief interruptions. The data stream is very compact. My Hi-Touch 4x6 printer works in a similar fashion.
A laserjet printer, color or B&W, is the best printer to use on a wireless network. It behaves just like a printer attached to the source, and the entire image or page is transmitted to the on-board buffer before printing begins. Corruption of that stream is rare. You can use a wireless print server, or (if network ready) connect it directly to the router or ethernet cable.
The Kodak 1400 thermal (dye-transfer) printer will not work directly with a print server. You must connect it to a computer and "share" it over the network or wireless network. This works quite well. The data stream is buffered at both the source and host, and is quite tolerant of brief interruptions. The data stream is very compact. My Hi-Touch 4x6 printer works in a similar fashion.
A laserjet printer, color or B&W, is the best printer to use on a wireless network. It behaves just like a printer attached to the source, and the entire image or page is transmitted to the on-board buffer before printing begins. Corruption of that stream is rare. You can use a wireless print server, or (if network ready) connect it directly to the router or ethernet cable.
irish-george
Senior Member
My HP 970CXi has been on a Linksys printserver for years w/o any problems. I just put my Epson R2400 on a D-Link printserver and it seems to work fine (I haven't printed larger than 8.5 x11 yet) and my Epson R200 has been on a different D-Link printserver for over a year without any problems. Then, I've also got a Minolta color laser with built-in printserver (works fine) and an old Kodak ColorEase dye sublimation with built-in printserver (also works fine). Maybe adjusting time-outs and re-tries would help the problem(s) you've been having??? (Granted some of my inkjets are on wired printservers but some are on wireless.)
Keyboard shortcuts
- f
- Forum