How to turn a regular hard-line printer into a wireless printer?

How to turn a regular hard-line printer into a wireless printer?
I have a Hewlett Packard All-in-One copier / scanner / fax machine which I use via hard-line connection to my notebook. My notebook is wireless, though, and I would like to send print jobs to my printer wirelessly too. I know there are wireless printers out there, but don’t they also have adapters or additional peripherals one can add to make a regular hard-line printer into a wireless printer?

Would the cost of that peripheral exceed the cost of just buying a whole new printer with the wireless capabilities built in?

Best answer:

Yes… they do make wireless print servers:

bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8212819&st=wireless+print+server&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1166236105907

And yes, they are quite pricey. You’ll probably spend around 0 for the unit.

While this is not quite as expensive as buying a whole new multifunction machine, I would also like to point this out:

As soon as you put your multifunction machine on the USB wireless print server, you will lose the ability to scan directly to any PC. That functionality requires a direct connection between the scanner and the PC.

The new multifunction machines with built in ethernet and wireless REMOVE this limitation, allowing you to print, scan, and even fax from any computer. This is a huge upgrade and may be worth the extra cost.

Here’s an HP multifunction machine that is wireless network equipped and is only more than the USB wireless print server:

bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9016913&st=multifunction+printer&lp=12&type=product&cp=1&id=1218008593288

Given the slight cost increase, I think the choice you should make is an obvious one.

Good luck and enjoy!

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3 Comments for How to turn a regular hard-line printer into a wireless printer?

  • 1. Colinc  |  March 16th, 2007 at 8:09 pm

    you mare better buying a network ready or wireless printer. There are print hubs you can connect to the network, but they do not support mutli-function use, and often can not even print well to multi-function printers.

  • 2. alialoggi  |  March 16th, 2007 at 8:17 pm

    My printer, speakers, and computer are all wireless via an air port (Apple). Don’t PC’s do the same thing wirelessly via a router?

  • 3. BombHands  |  March 16th, 2007 at 8:33 pm

    You can just plug the printer into your wireless router. There should be a few USB ports in the back of the router, and then from your computer you can set it up as a printer on the network, then you can print to it from any computer on your network. If they are in different rooms, you can buy a cheap router/gateway and set it up as an access point, basically an antenna that connects the printer to the wireless network. Its pretty easy to do, and not expensive.

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