HP 5510 or other all-in-one with print server question.

[d]

Hi,

I am considering getting an HP 5510. Has anyone used this printer or
other HP all-in-one printer with a USB print server before? Can you
tell me if I can scan through the network print server, or do I have
to connect to printer via USB directly to scan?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[Fred Goldstein]

Hi,

I am considering getting an HP 5510. Has anyone used this printer or
other HP all-in-one printer with a USB print server before? Can you
tell me if I can scan through the network print server, or do I have
to connect to printer via USB directly to scan?

NO, NO, A THOUSAND TIMES NO!

Pardon the shouting, but I do need to make the warning clear. The 5510
cannot do ANYTHING across a network, with minor exceptions. No scanning at
all.

What's amazing is that they've managed to cripple it so that it cannot
PRINT across a network, unless the "server" and "client" machines are
running the *same* driver, on the *same* OS-family. So I can print to my
5510, which is on a Win98 server, from another Win98 machine, but cannot
print to it from Linux or WinXP. If I try, the printer gives a gasp, the
task sits in the server's queue, and the printer dies until power off and
maybe (don't rememeber for sure) server reboot.

Other than that, it's a great box, but jeez I wish they had said this
before I bought it. BTW, other HP LIDIL printers apparently have the same
problem. Some if not all. There are other HP's that don't have this
problem, like (I think) the 6610. Check their support page carefully!

 

[Dick Ballard]

Are you saying that the 5510 driver must be loaded on each machine that sends
print data to the 5510 across the network?

On my network I only have the driver for an HP2100 LaserJet loaded on the
printer host machine. I can print to the 2100 from another machine on the
network without having the driver loaded on that machine (except from Quicken
which seems to have its own peculiar problems).

Dick Ballard
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Fred Goldstein]

(e-mail address removed) (Dick Ballard) wrote in

Are you saying that the 5510 driver must be loaded on each machine that
sends print data to the 5510 across the network?

On my network I only have the driver for an HP2100 LaserJet loaded on
the printer host machine. I can print to the 2100 from another machine
on the network without having the driver loaded on that machine (except
from Quicken which seems to have its own peculiar problems).

The 5510 driver will install itself on "like" machines. So you only
install it on the serving machine, but if you try to add that machine via
Network Neighborhood, and it's running the same Windows family, then the
printer driver will self-install.

In no other case will the printer work across the network, PERIOD. A WinXP
machine will see the printer that's sitting on the Win98 server, but
attempts to print will leave the printer jammed. The document will be in
the server's queue, the printer will be in "printing" state, and nothing
will come out, and it will need to be manually deleted, power cycled, etc.,
before the printer will wake up again.

Ugly.

 

[Dick Ballard]

(e-mail address removed) (Dick Ballard) wrote in


The 5510 driver will install itself on "like" machines. So you only
install it on the serving machine, but if you try to add that machine via
Network Neighborhood, and it's running the same Windows family, then the
printer driver will self-install.

In no other case will the printer work across the network, PERIOD. A WinXP
machine will see the printer that's sitting on the Win98 server, but
attempts to print will leave the printer jammed. The document will be in
the server's queue, the printer will be in "printing" state, and nothing
will come out, and it will need to be manually deleted, power cycled, etc.,
before the printer will wake up again.

Ugly.

On a different printer, an HP 5150 Deskjet installed on the same
machine as the 2100, I cannot print to it from a second machine on the
LAN. I get a message something to the effect that driver information
is not available. Looks like I would have to load the driver on second
computer in this case. Both machines are running XP.

I did get the HP2100 laser to work with Quicken 04 without adding a
driver on that machine. I had to rename the printer in that computer
using only 8 characters. Related to old Quicken code from DOS days I
guess.

When you say that a driver "self installs" how does that work? Does it
do it interactively after offering to do so, or is it automatic? Can
you see it happening or is it only a background operation? I noticed
that for the 2100 that does work, its original name on the second
computer had an "Auto" prefix before I renamed it for Quicken's
benefit. Is this an indication of the "self install" process?

Dick Ballard
(e-mail address removed)