wireless printer hub recommendation?
 

We have lots of computers and only one printer. It would be nice to be able to print from any of the computers from any room and not have to go hook up a cable to do it.

As such, can anyone recommend a relatively simple wireless printer station/hub? We don't need anything fancy and since we only have one printer, it need not have multiple printer ports.

Thanks!

If one of those computers stays in one place, just plug the printer into that - then share the printer. That's how I've got my system setup at home - I've got the printer plugged into the desktop in the office, and shared to the laptop via windows networking.

That's the problem as we have only laptops and tend to move them around quite a bit. So it's not as if there is a computer that the printer is connected to all the time. Good suggestion though.

Is the printer near the wireless router? If so, you may be able to get a wired printer to network gadget rather than wireless. Might be easier to set up, cheaper, etc. A quick Amazon check looks like the wired ones are slightly cheaper and get better reviews, but they all seem to be mediocre so maybe someone will check in here with a specific recommendation. (I haven't used any of these products.)

If you don't already have a laser printer, this little one from Brother is just 120 bucks, has WiFi built in and works just fine: http://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-217...835729&sr=8-10 I *do* have one of those at home now, but it's only been around about a month, and I have it plugged in with a cable. ;) (I was trying to get the earlier non-wireless version on closeout, but I didn't act fast enough.) Seems to be just perfect, although it's best if you have little desire to print in color of course. IMO, color printing is not too necessary for general home use. If you want to print photos, you get better, cheaper results by outsourcing that to the usual photo printing sources. But your patterns may be different, dunno. Just offer this up as another possibility.

What kind of a printer do you have? if its one of those laser jet ones that can take a internal network card you might find some for cheap and you can connect it to your router.

newegg has a bunch of print server adapters. Depending on what you need, parallel or usb to wired or wireless you can find a few here.

It might also be a good idea to look at new printer for cheap.

here is a link for a ASUS wireless router $36.00 after MIR. Shipping could be extra. MIR valid until 5/4/08.

Pcs or Macs or mix?

Yeah, if there's a Mac in the mix you have to make sure the gadget will play nice. The Brother printer I mention seems to play nice with both; I only have Macs in the house.

I forgot to mention another option could be a different wireless router that has a built-in print server function. The print server on these is usually wired for USB, though, so you still need the printer to be near the router.

If you do have an HP LaserJet then yes there are network cards that can be plugged in, although you may or may not get them any cheaper than some other solutions.

Have never been able to find a good, inexpensive print server for personal use. I would opt for buying an old, used desktop to use as a print server rather than buying a cheap print server.

I've had good experiences with this $69 one:

http://shop4.outpost.com/%7B24Z3K6+V...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

It often goes on sale at the local Fry's store (sorry, not much help for you) for just $40.

I've had real good luck with the Apple Airport Express AP. It has a USB port specifically for printer sharing and a 1/8" (optical & analog) audio out, so you can broadcast music throughout the house. I have two and the both work wonderfully.

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...px?EDC=1428937


- ORDflyr