Wireless Network All-in-one Solutions?

[Guest]

Hi,

We got
- two notebook (winXP) at home wireless equipped.
- A wifi access point connected to internet with an ethernet plug free.

We'd like to buy an all-in-one multifonction printer (scanner,fax) and use
it wireless or through wifi access point even if the the other notebook is
not at home.

Our needs are purely home jobs so we look at inkjet color facilities,
laserjet is overcost for our budget.

- Could we buy an USB/parallel plug to wifi adapter?
- or should we consider Bluetooth?
- Does an USB to Ethernet cable exists?
- other ideas?

Please tell me about solutions you have seen working...

Thank you

 

[CWatters]

Many printer manufacturers sell wireless printer servers but you need to
check they are compatable with the printer you want to use.

 

[Harvey Gratt]

I went thru a similar exercise recently. Issues to check out are:

1. Not every multifunction unit can be networked.

2. When I checked out print servers from several sources (Linksys, et,),
they all stated (at that time) that they only support printing on a
network. They did not guarantee anything with a multifunction unit.

3. I finally settled on an HP 7130 which supports either a wired or
wireless print server. The HP print servers do support all the functions
(print, scan, fax, etc.) across the network - I did not find anyone else
who did. I choose to go with a wired print server connected to my router
since the wireless print server was only 802.11b and I wanted to run my
network in the faster g only mode.

Harvey

 

[J Quick]

Hi,

We got
- two notebook (winXP) at home wireless equipped.
- A wifi access point connected to internet with an ethernet plug free.

We'd like to buy an all-in-one multifonction printer (scanner,fax) and use
it wireless or through wifi access point even if the the other notebook is
not at home.

Our needs are purely home jobs so we look at inkjet color facilities,
laserjet is overcost for our budget.

- Could we buy an USB/parallel plug to wifi adapter?
- or should we consider Bluetooth?
- Does an USB to Ethernet cable exists?
- other ideas?

Please tell me about solutions you have seen working...

Buy two inexpensive multifunction USB2 printers at a warehouse discounter
like Costco or Sam's Club. Seriously. It will probably be cheaper, faster,
and better in most every respect than any sharing configuration. If you
don't need multifunction for both, then buy just one regular printer and one
multifunction. Check the price of replacement ink cartridges as part of
your purchase decision.