new printer doesn't show up as usb 2.0

[bt]

I have a new Brother laser printer, model HL-2040. It's connected to an
early (sawtooth) G4 tower, with a third party (Sonnet, if I remember
correctly) PCI card that provides four USB 2.0 ports. OS 10.3.9.

Problem is that the printer, which claims USB 2.0 compatibility, seems
to only connect in standard (max 12 mb/second) USB. (This is according
to the apple system profiler.)

I have an Epson scanner connected to the same ports which runs in
"High-speed" USB 2.0, and is so acknowledged by the Apple profiler.
I've tried various combinations of cables and ports with the printer,
including connecting it with the same cable to the same port that the
scanner was successfully using. Whichever port the printer is connected
to is no longer designated as high-speed.

The printer does work, so this isn't a calamity, but it seem that I
should be able to take advantage of a faster connection, and I'm baffled
as to why it isn't happening. Any insights will be much appreciated.

 

[Ben]

I have a new Brother laser printer, model HL-2040. It's connected to an
early (sawtooth) G4 tower, with a third party (Sonnet, if I remember
correctly) PCI card that provides four USB 2.0 ports. OS 10.3.9.

Problem is that the printer, which claims USB 2.0 compatibility, seems
to only connect in standard (max 12 mb/second) USB. (This is according
to the apple system profiler.)

<snip>
USB2 compatibility is just that - compatibility !!
It does not mean that it runs at USB2 speed, only that it works in a
USB2 port, chances are that USB1.1 is already capable of transferring
data faster than the printer can print it, so there is no benefit from
the higher speed of USB2.
Ben.

 

[Gregory Weston]

I have a new Brother laser printer, model HL-2040. It's connected to an
early (sawtooth) G4 tower, with a third party (Sonnet, if I remember
correctly) PCI card that provides four USB 2.0 ports. OS 10.3.9.

Problem is that the printer, which claims USB 2.0 compatibility, seems
to only connect in standard (max 12 mb/second) USB. (This is according
to the apple system profiler.)

Confirming Ben's post, the specs for that HL-2040 list "USB 2.0 Full
Speed" as an interface. Odd as it may seem, USB 2.0 Full Speed does not
mean "the full speed of which a USB 2.0 interface is capable." Full
speed means 12Mb/s, as opposed to the low speed (1.5Mb/s) and Hi-Speed
(480Mb/s).

G

 

[bt]

USB2 compatibility is just that - compatibility !!
It does not mean that it runs at USB2 speed, only that it works in a
USB2 port...

Thanks very much to you (and to Gregory Weston) for the replies. I must
say that since it has "USB 2.0 interface" plastered all over the carton,
this is an extremely misleading bit of marketing from Brother.

 

[Anna Daptor]

<snip>
USB2 compatibility is just that - compatibility !!
It does not mean that it runs at USB2 speed, only that it works in a USB2
port, chances are that USB1.1 is already capable of transferring data
faster than the printer can print it, so there is no benefit from the
higher speed of USB2.
Ben.

The USB2 specification covers USB1.1 speed, so by default all devices that
at USB1.1 compliment will be compatible with USB2.

 

[Gregory Weston]

Thanks very much to you (and to Gregory Weston) for the replies. I must
say that since it has "USB 2.0 interface" plastered all over the carton,
this is an extremely misleading bit of marketing from Brother.

I agree, with the caveat that you shouldn't really blame Brother for it.
This is how the industry at large has decided to advertise compliance
with various implementations of USB, and Brother is following the crowd.

 

[David C.]

Thanks very much to you (and to Gregory Weston) for the replies. I
must say that since it has "USB 2.0 interface" plastered all over the
carton, this is an extremely misleading bit of marketing from Brother.

The industry seems to be bent on confusing users.

The USB 2.0 spec supports three different speeds:

Low-speed: up to 1.5Mbps
Full speed: up to 12Mbps
Hi-speed: up to 480Mbps

All are "USB 2.0". There is a special variation of the USB logo for
"Hi-speed". If you don't see those magic words on the logo, then you
should assume the device is low-speed or full-speed.

-- David

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Yes, isn't it just wonderful how they do this to us continually.

Art