Wireless Printer Options and Directions

[ecole9]

My wife and I are looking at keeping our printer in a different room than our home desktop. So far we have a wireless router that routes internet to our desktop and laptop computers, both wirelessly. So my question is, what do I have to do to get my printer to work wirelessly with at least the desktop but preferrably the laptop too? I have seen that there are printer "hubs" that look similar to a router but is this my only option? The "hubs" were really expensive. It seems to me I that I could just get another USB Linksys device and plug into the USB port on the printer. Would that work?

Thanks in advance for the help and advice!

[mjc]

It seems to me I that I could just get another USB Linksys device and plug into the USB port on the printer. Would that work?


No...simply because the USB port is just a 'fancy' serial port, there are no networking protocols on the printer itself to do anything with what the USB network adapter would be sending the printer.

Yes, those 'hubs' are what you need...but for a single printer a single port wireless print server should be fine, and they aren't too outrageously priced...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127074

That one looks like it can handle up to 4 printers and it has a $20 rebate right now, so it is less than $60 (there are others around, but that should give you an idea of what to look for...and I've seen cheaper single port ones).

Also, depending on where you want to locate the printer...like if it is near the router, then you can use a wired print server to connect the printer to the router. The wired versions are even cheaper than the wireless ones...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833114009