Print Server advice

[Brok]

Hi folks,

Hoping for some assistance if possible please.

My dad has the following bits he wants connected together to allow printing from both devices regardless of which one is turned on

1) A standard desktop PC running Windows XP
2) A laptop running Windows 7
3) A standalone printer with USB and no networking capability.

I want the desktop PC to remain wired directly to the printer (so its a local printer to the desktop), but I also want the laptop to be able to print wirelessly to the printer regardless of whether the main PC is on (so file and print sharing is out).

My brain says I need a print server but I've never really looked into this so can anyone offer me some advice on what I need please?

 

[paradigm]

Just grab an HP Jetdirect 175x, connect printer to USB, connect network via ethernet cable, job done.

You are going to have to ditch the "locally connected" printer for the desktop though.

 

[Brok]

Thanks for the answer, that JetDirect is quite expensive (~£60), was hoping for something a little cheaper

The main problem I see with most of the print servers on the market is that they dont support the feature which reports ink levels etc back to the user which I would really like to retain.

 

[paradigm]

Thanks for the answer, that JetDirect is quite expensive (~£60), was hoping for something a little cheaper

You'll get one on the "bay" for about £30-35, might be used, but it will be fine.

The main problem I see with most of the print servers on the market is that they dont support the feature which reports ink levels etc back to the user which I would really like to retain.

That's dealt with by the drivers of the printer. Assuming you know how to look in the printer settings to get to the advanced driver features, you should still be able to get to those.

 

[MasterPlan1]

Some routers have a USB port which allows them to act as a print server, like the HomeHub 2 can do it... TP Link also have some cheap print servers.