We recently purchased a printer/scanner/copier where I work and our PR person will use the scanner feature. It must be connected to her computer via the USB port and her machine sits about 12 feet away from the scanner. I'll also have to drill a hole through a wall, but that will be much easier than rearranging her office. She currently prints exclusively to a network printer, and will continue to do so after the printer/scanner/copier is connected to her machine, so setup should not be an issue. I'll just set the network printer as her default after I install the scanning software.

I have noticed that the USB printer cables are only about 6 feet long and I'm wondering if that is for a reason. Is there the possibility of data loss or corruption if the cable is longer? Is there any reason I should not buy a 10' USB extension cord and use it to connect the printer/scanner/copier to her machine?

USB 2 limitation is about 16 feet as mentioned here (http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/USB-Extension-Options--Breaking-the-16-foot-barrier/6954). You can find extension cables or just buy a longer one.

If you run into data corruption problems put a powered USB hub somewhere in the middle.

Thanks for the advice. I'll get the active extension cable.

I tried two different "active extensions" and neither made any difference with a 20-25' run with a Pansonic laser printer/copier.

Printers on USB can default down to the 1.1 spec, if necessary. And unlike a hard drive, even an MFD doesn't push a lot of data! As long as you use USB cables/extenders with gold contacts, I wouldn't worry about the length. Within reason, of course.