Wireless Printing Question

[Phil Wheeler]

I just bought an HP Deskjet 460C for travel and home use. Works quite
well printing with usb cable, but it also has two wireless options ..
each requiring purchase of a plug-in CF card accessory for around $100.
I'd like that capability, so I can set the printer up in another room
and print to it from my laptop in the living room, but mainly to print
wirelessly when traveling.

The two options are Bluetooth and 802.11. One computer (MacBook) has
Bluetooth and 802.11 .. but only in OS X; I believe Bluetooth is not
supported (yet) when I boot in WinXP, but I could be mistaken. Other
computers do have 802.11 but not Bluetooth. In fact the MacBook may be
the only Bluetooth device I now own (no PDAs of that type).

The 802.11 seems the obvious choice: Supports more of my hardware, and
more specified comm range.

Question is: Will the 802.11 print interface work if the printer is not
installed on a wireless network? Does it, in effect, create its own
wireless network which I then log onto with the computer when I want to
print wirelessly? The manual makes it sound so, but is extremely "terse".

Much of the time when I print wirelessly, I will have just the printer
and laptop .. no network. So this question is key in making a Bluetoth
vs. 802.11 decision.

Phil

 

[Dama DJ]

have set up a simliar HP printer for Wi-Fi use,
the ad-hoc modes are available, but pretty unreliable and a pain in the
arse to set up.

It is best to give the printer a static IP and use it that way if ad - hoc
is
the only choice to you.