USB and network at the same time?

[Brent]

Hello all,

This my first post to this group so please forgive any transgressions.

Can a printer be both a network printer via an ethernet card available to
anyone on the network and a local usb printer for one computer?

The printer in question is an Epson 9800 to which I've recently added a
network card to make it available to Mac OS X users. The original user is on
a PC, connected via usb to the printer and when she prints to the usb
printer only reams of text come out, no images - a driver problem I'm sure.

She can use it as a network printer but I'd like to keep the faster transfer
speed of the usb available for this one user if I can.

Before I spend too much time trouble shooting drivers, etc. I'm wondering if
there is some technical reason the printer could not accept data from both
inputs? Not at the exact same time I would guess but alternately?

TIA for any comments forthcoming.

Brent

 

[Cari]

Hello all,

This my first post to this group so please forgive any transgressions.

Can a printer be both a network printer via an ethernet card available to
anyone on the network and a local usb printer for one computer?

The printer in question is an Epson 9800 to which I've recently added a
network card to make it available to Mac OS X users. The original user is
on a PC, connected via usb to the printer and when she prints to the usb
printer only reams of text come out, no images - a driver problem I'm
sure.

She can use it as a network printer but I'd like to keep the faster
transfer speed of the usb available for this one user if I can.

Before I spend too much time trouble shooting drivers, etc. I'm wondering
if there is some technical reason the printer could not accept data from
both inputs? Not at the exact same time I would guess but alternately?

TIA for any comments forthcoming.

Brent

It should be possible, just like connecting a printer to 2 PCs at once, one
by USB and one by parallel port... however..... if both connections receive
data at the same time, do not expect the printer to be at all happy.

So if Ms. MacUser is printing via her USB, she should call out to ALL the
other users of the network and tell them NOT TO PRINT whilst her job is sent
and completed. If it is not practical for her to notify all the network
users, she should not print.

 

[Warren Block]

Can a printer be both a network printer via an ethernet card available to
anyone on the network and a local usb printer for one computer?

In general, yes. Most printers with multiple ports will autoswitch
between them. It's transparent to the user.

The printer in question is an Epson 9800 to which I've recently added a
network card to make it available to Mac OS X users. The original user is on
a PC, connected via usb to the printer and when she prints to the usb
printer only reams of text come out, no images - a driver problem I'm sure.

Did it work before the network card was added? The data should be the
same regardless of the I/O method.

She can use it as a network printer but I'd like to keep the faster transfer
speed of the usb available for this one user if I can.

USB may not be any faster.

Before I spend too much time trouble shooting drivers, etc. I'm wondering if
there is some technical reason the printer could not accept data from both
inputs? Not at the exact same time I would guess but alternately?

It should be able to accept inputs simultaneously on all ports, printing
them in the order they arrived.

 

[Warren Block]

It should be possible, just like connecting a printer to 2 PCs at once, one
by USB and one by parallel port... however..... if both connections receive
data at the same time, do not expect the printer to be at all happy.

Low-end printers that can use either parallel or USB should not be
confused with printers with network ports. Networkable printers that
can't handle input on multiple ports... well, there are probably some.
If you know of any like this, please name the make and model so everyone
can avoid them.

So if Ms. MacUser is printing via her USB, she should call out to ALL the
other users of the network and tell them NOT TO PRINT whilst her job is sent
and completed. If it is not practical for her to notify all the network
users, she should not print.

That is not going to work well in most companies large enough to use
network printers. What if the other users are in another building?
Another state? Fortunately, it's not necessary on a normal network
printer.

 

[William R. Walsh]

Hi!

If you know of any like this, please name the make and model so everyone
can avoid them.

The HP LaserJet 1200 series is networkable using an external JetDirect. It
doesn't like to receive input from both the network connection/USB and the
parallel port, but it will tolerate your doing so.

William

 

[William R. Walsh]

Hi!

Can a printer be both a network printer via an ethernet card available to
anyone on the network and a local usb printer for one computer?

Some printers will at least tolerate this. Every networked/networkable
printer I've ever used, however, has clearly stated not to use more than one
connection method.

She can use it as a network printer but I'd like to keep the faster transfer
speed of the usb available for this one user if I can.

Faster speed of the USB connection? It's extremely unlikely that the USB
connection on this printer is anything beyond a USB 1.1 connection. At that
rate it's only slightly faster than a 10 megabit network and much slower
than a 100 megabit network.

You should use the network connection method for all users.

William

 

[Warren Block]

The HP LaserJet 1200 series is networkable using an external JetDirect. It
doesn't like to receive input from both the network connection/USB and the
parallel port, but it will tolerate your doing so.

What do you mean by "doesn't like"?

 

[William R. Walsh]

Hi!

What do you mean by "doesn't like"?

In the setup I had, a Windows 2000 Pro PC printed to the parallel port. A
bunch of Macs used the network interface.

That said, if the PC was printing and a job came in on the network, the PC's
print job would be interrupted and the Windows print spooler would report an
error. When the Macintosh print job had passed, PC printing continued as
normal most of the time. I do seem to remember that some jobs would restart
from the beginning.

William