wireless setup for printing? 2!

[adomakin]

posted this again because there seems to be a prob with the first post. im just about to buy a printer/copier/fax machine but would love to have a wireless connection between it and my laptop. what do i need? I already have a bt voyager wireless router and 802.11B wireless card for my laptop, can this be used in some way or am i right off the scent?

[stomachmonkey]

If the printer has ethernet then connect it to your router.

Also some routers have support for a USB device.

Or buy a wireless print server.

Scott

[adomakin]

thanks scott.

[adomakin]

scott, so do wireless print servers basically provide a wireless way of recieving data from my router (which is just 'passing on' the data from my laptop?

[mikester]

It's a bridge between the network (wireless in this case) and your printer's interface (parallel port or USB these days).

So when a computer talks to the printer via the wireless print server it will go through the wireless router and then to the printer. Both devices will be talking to eachother through the wireless router.

[stomachmonkey]

Wireless print servers, depending in your router, can be hooked via ethernet directly into the router or wil register with the router as a wireless device. In either case the path is laptop, router, print server.

3rd option is to link wirelessly from laptop to print server. IE: the functionality does not require the router being persent.

I have used this one with good results and it's fairly cheap.

http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=38

There is also this one for a couple bucks more that does G

http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=313

Check the specs on your current router.

A lot of times your netwrok will fall back to the slowest device on it.

So if the router is B adding anything faster like G or N will not be a benefit as the faster devices throttle back.

[adomakin]

thanks for your help blokes!