Using printer wirelessly

deco94123 · 02-10-2007, 02:31 PM

Hi

My boss has an all in one printer that did not have ethernet/wireless capability. With the help of some Craigslisters I bought a print server because he wanted to have the printer in another room and connect wirelessly. He uses a QWEST modem for DSL and the modem has a router in it. I bought a D-Link printer server. After many hours we could not get it going. I even hired a tech guy who used to support D-Link products and he couldn't figure out why it didn't work. My boss has a desktop using windows XP. There is no wirelss card in the desktop so we bought one and tried that to no avail. D-Link kept disconnecting us so they were worthless. The all in one printer was not on the list of tested printers but was told it should work anyway.

My boss is now ready to buy a new laser printer with ethernet/wireless capability. I am obviously a novice but I would imagine that I will no longer need a separate print server or wireless router since the printer will be wireless ready and the DSL modem has a router in it. Am I right?

UNder these circumstances will it be fairly simple to get the printer to print wirelsssly or will it still be a huge headache for someone like me who knows little about computers.

Thanks so much for your help!

Debbie

**johnwill** · 02-11-2007, 12:13 PM

If you can't get the print server going, there's no real reason to believe that buying a different wireless device will be any easier.

What are the exact symptoms you see? Can you see the printer wireless adapter?

One issue I see is you don't have a wireless router, so there's no infrastructure gateway device to connect to the wireless print server.

deco94123 · 02-11-2007, 12:54 PM

Maybe I wasn't clear. The DSL modem has a router in it and is capable of wireless.

We are replacing the printer. The first printer did not have wireless capability. The new one will

What I want to know is if the new printer which will now have an ethernet/wireless capability will be easier to connect wirelessly to the desktop computer (which does not have a wireless card)

Will I definitely need a wireless card in the desktop if the modem has a router in it?

The first time we tried we used a print server and it didn't work. Seems to me this will be a totally different situation. We could not get the computer to recognize the D-Link print server

**johnwill** · 02-11-2007, 01:50 PM

You don't need any more wireless cards, since the printer will be communicating with the router, then the wired connection will serve for the computer.

I still have no idea if a different printer will be easier, I have a D-Link DP-G310 wireless print server, and it took 5 minutes to connect it to my network and my HP PSC-750 printer.

**JamesO** · 02-13-2007, 08:35 AM

This is the age old problem of network mis-understanding.

If you want to print on a network, your printer needs to be connected to the network with either an external or internal network connection. An external network connection is usually managed by a print server. Most printers work fine on external print servers, except All-In-One printers usually cannot scan and do more advanced activities with an external print server.

The main feature of a wireless printer is that you do not need to physically connect the printer with a cable to the network router. If the network router supports wireless, then the router can communicate directly to the printer by wireless.

Any machine that is properly configured on the network, connected either via wire or wireless, can then print to the network printer, regardless of how the printer is connected to the network.

Seems folks always think you need a "wireless" printer to print from a "wireless" computer. You need to only worry about how the printer will connect to your network, not how the computer will connect to printer over the network.

Matter of fact, I rarely use the wireless feature in the printers I run across. As wires almost always work, I prefer my printers wired to my network.

Hope this is clear??

JamesO

**johnwill** · 02-13-2007, 06:28 PM

Yep, my "wireless" D-Link DP-G310 is wired to the network, though I did test the wireless just to see if it would work.

**JamesO** · 02-13-2007, 07:50 PM

I hate when my wireless Squeezebox drops out when the microwave is running. I guess I need to get unlazy and run some more wire!

JamesO

02-10-2007, 02:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
deco94123 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 5 OS: XP	Using printer wirelessly Hi My boss has an all in one printer that did not have ethernet/wireless capability. With the help of some Craigslisters I bought a print server because he wanted to have the printer in another room and connect wirelessly. He uses a QWEST modem for DSL and the modem has a router in it. I bought a D-Link printer server. After many hours we could not get it going. I even hired a tech guy who used to support D-Link products and he couldn't figure out why it didn't work. My boss has a desktop using windows XP. There is no wirelss card in the desktop so we bought one and tried that to no avail. D-Link kept disconnecting us so they were worthless. The all in one printer was not on the list of tested printers but was told it should work anyway. My boss is now ready to buy a new laser printer with ethernet/wireless capability. I am obviously a novice but I would imagine that I will no longer need a separate print server or wireless router since the printer will be wireless ready and the DSL modem has a router in it. Am I right? UNder these circumstances will it be fairly simple to get the printer to print wirelsssly or will it still be a huge headache for someone like me who knows little about computers. Thanks so much for your help! Debbie

02-11-2007, 12:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,874 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	If you can't get the print server going, there's no real reason to believe that buying a different wireless device will be any easier. What are the exact symptoms you see? Can you see the printer wireless adapter? One issue I see is you don't have a wireless router, so there's no infrastructure gateway device to connect to the wireless print server. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

02-11-2007, 01:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,874 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	You don't need any more wireless cards, since the printer will be communicating with the router, then the wired connection will serve for the computer. I still have no idea if a different printer will be easier, I have a D-Link DP-G310 wireless print server, and it took 5 minutes to connect it to my network and my HP PSC-750 printer. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

02-13-2007, 06:28 PM	#6 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,874 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Yep, my "wireless" D-Link DP-G310 is wired to the network, though I did test the wireless just to see if it would work. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

02-11-2007, 12:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
deco94123 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 5 OS: XP	Maybe I wasn't clear. The DSL modem has a router in it and is capable of wireless. We are replacing the printer. The first printer did not have wireless capability. The new one will What I want to know is if the new printer which will now have an ethernet/wireless capability will be easier to connect wirelessly to the desktop computer (which does not have a wireless card) Will I definitely need a wireless card in the desktop if the modem has a router in it? The first time we tried we used a print server and it didn't work. Seems to me this will be a totally different situation. We could not get the computer to recognize the D-Link print server

02-13-2007, 08:35 AM	#5 (permalink)
JamesO Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Fairfax, VA USA Posts: 2,289 OS: 98SE, W2k Pro, XP Pro	This is the age old problem of network mis-understanding. If you want to print on a network, your printer needs to be connected to the network with either an external or internal network connection. An external network connection is usually managed by a print server. Most printers work fine on external print servers, except All-In-One printers usually cannot scan and do more advanced activities with an external print server. The main feature of a wireless printer is that you do not need to physically connect the printer with a cable to the network router. If the network router supports wireless, then the router can communicate directly to the printer by wireless. Any machine that is properly configured on the network, connected either via wire or wireless, can then print to the network printer, regardless of how the printer is connected to the network. Seems folks always think you need a "wireless" printer to print from a "wireless" computer. You need to only worry about how the printer will connect to your network, not how the computer will connect to printer over the network. Matter of fact, I rarely use the wireless feature in the printers I run across. As wires almost always work, I prefer my printers wired to my network. Hope this is clear?? JamesO

02-13-2007, 07:50 PM	#7 (permalink)
JamesO Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Fairfax, VA USA Posts: 2,289 OS: 98SE, W2k Pro, XP Pro	I hate when my wireless Squeezebox drops out when the microwave is running. I guess I need to get unlazy and run some more wire! JamesO