Routers with USB Printservers?

chimponarope · 16 Jul 2006 at 09:11

Firstly thanks for reading this.

I was discussing with my friend his home computer setup since he gained a wireless laptop through work. He mentioned how he was sick of having to unplug the modem (NTL btw) and printer from his desktop and plug them into his laptop each time he wanted to print or send email. I of course said ok no problem for the internet, put in a router and you'll be away, might aswell go wireless since its a centrino laptop.

Now the problem comes with the printer, its a cheap USB only model. Since we were out and about I went into a large pc store to see what was around, the only thing I could see was a Belkin wireless router with USB print server.

Now i know from reading this forums that Belkin aren't exactly loved round here for their routers, so I was wondering if anyone knew of an easy, neat (he's not IT minded at all) solution besides the Belkin or if indeed the Belkin is alright?

Thanks for reading and any help would be appreciated.

doran1801 · 16 Jul 2006 at 09:37

you could just put both pc and laptop on the same workgroup and share the printer using the settings on the pc then search for it with the laptop, it will work fine

chimponarope · 16 Jul 2006 at 10:08

Won't that require having the main desktop powered up at the time though?

Sorry should have made clear that he wants both services available to both PC's independantly. Like for my home network I have an ethernet connected printer to prevent needing to turn on another pc just to print.

The_Official · 16 Jul 2006 at 10:11

Draytek 2900G but it's not cheap.

benjo plz. · 16 Jul 2006 at 10:15

Safecom SBRU-10100, does the job and it's ~£13.

You'd need a wireless ap though, something like an SMC Webt-g (~£35) would do the job

, although a Netgear ME102 would do the same job for about £10 on the bay, but only runs at 11mb/s.

doran1801 · 16 Jul 2006 at 10:45

never thought of that because my main pc is on 24/7

chimponarope · 16 Jul 2006 at 20:02

Thanks guys! I'll give him the options.

Looks like the Belkin might be the cheapest all in one solution still but i'll pass on these options.

jbloggs · 16 Jul 2006 at 22:36

chimponarope:

Got the US Robotics Wireles MaxG ADSL2+ Gateway (usr9108) wireless router, (see Here) a few days ago, this was easy to set up and has an integrated print server that supports USB printer.

You can pick this up for around £80.

benjo plz. · 17 Jul 2006 at 00:28

jbloggs said:
chimponarope:

Got the US Robotics Wireles MaxG ADSL2+ Gateway (usr9108) wireless router, (see Here) a few days ago, this was easy to set up and has an integrated print server that supports USB printer.

You can pick this up for around £80.

No good for a cable connection

.

This is a suitable one

.

jbloggs · 17 Jul 2006 at 08:08

Phnom_Penh wrote:

No good for a cable connection

Feeling

to say the least!

That will teach me to read posts properly first before answering.

hp7909 · 17 Jul 2006 at 08:23

doran1801 said:
you could just put both pc and laptop on the same workgroup and share the printer using the settings on the pc then search for it with the laptop, it will work fine

That's what I've done. The main PC shares the printer (wirelessly) with a laptop & another desktop PC. Main PC has to be always on though

If wants it stand alone (i.e. connected to router thus not requiring PC to be on, etc) then look at the D-Link DP-301U USB Print Server & or DP-G310 Wireless USB Print Server

Imy · 17 Jul 2006 at 09:43

My brother has the Belkin pre-n router which has a couple of usb ports for printers, hdd's etc. His router is upstairs hidden away in a cupboard somewhere but he still gets excellent signal downstairs on his laptop.

Simian · 17 Jul 2006 at 13:26

Slightly Off Topic...

I've got an 'All-in-One' HP Printer/Scanner/Photocopier/Card Reader thinggy that only connects USB2 and have been looking at these Wireless Router/Modem/Print Server thinggys too!...

My question is this... Will the Scanner/Card Reader bit of the 'All-in-One' work through the Print Server connection like the Printer??..

Cheers
Sim

benjo plz. · 17 Jul 2006 at 13:40

Simian said:
My question is this... Will the Scanner/Card Reader bit of the 'All-in-One' work through the Print Server connection like the Printer??..

Cheers
Sim

No, and im not sure whether the printer would work either :eek:

.

chimponarope · 17 Jul 2006 at 20:33

Thanks for the new options, the USR one looks promising since the price is less than the Belkin

Simian · 18 Jul 2006 at 08:49

Phnom_Penh said:
No, and im not sure whether the printer would work either .

Oh well... I'll just have to print accross the network from my laptop only when the main 'pooter is booted up!

Meh!...

hp7909 · 18 Jul 2006 at 10:44

Phnom_Penh said:
No, and im not sure whether the printer would work either .

Please provide more info/proof? Because got a HP all-in-one (i.e. Printer, Scanner & Copier), thought it would just function the same as a Shared Printer on my Network/Workgroup??

Slackworth · 18 Jul 2006 at 13:06

Check our wireless bundles section. We have an ADSL2+ wireless router with USB print server and free USB dongle.

benjo plz. · 18 Jul 2006 at 13:44

hp7909 said:
thought it would just function the same as a Shared Printer on my Network/Workgroup??

Well, it should do, but there have been stories in the past of them not working, so im not going to guarantee compatibility

. That said, this looks interesting.

Slackworth · 18 Jul 2006 at 14:11

We do have the Netgear PS121 available if you just want a USB Print Server.