Re: Best method to print wirelessly from a laptop?

Marie wrote:

> Can you clear up some confusion for me?
>
> I need a new printer and would like to print to it wirelessly from my laptop
> (my only computer).
>
> My wireless router is in my basement, so I can't just plug the printer into
> the router.
>
> I was going to buy a wireless printer from HP (the 460wf portable), but read
> many reviews that said the wireless is difficult to set up and doesn't work
> properly for many people.
>
> I've also heard that if I buy an access point (I'm not sure what that is),
> attach it to a wall cable outlet and attach a regular (non wireless) printer
> to it, that it will give me wireless capability as well.
>
> So...here are my questions:
> 1. Is an access point synonymous with a print server?
> 2. Which of the approaches above would you recommend?
> 3. Are there any other pitfalls I might encounter?
>
> Thanks for your help...I'm going crazy trying to figure this out (and
> meanwhile, I really need a new printer!).
>
> Marie

1. An access point is not synonymous with a print server. OTOH, if you
get a "network ready" printer (one that has an Ethernet network
adapter), you can wirelessly connect to your router if you get a device
that can act as a "wireless bridge" or "wireless client" with respect to
your existing wireless router. By the way, is the place you are going
to use this (it sounds like your home) wired for network? Otherwise,
what "wall cable outlet" would you plug anything into? If you in fact
have wall cable outlets, you may not need to deal with wireless networking.

2. My experience with hp wireless printers is that the setup is, in
fact, very easy. Unless you plan to travel with your laptop and a
printer, I wouldn't get the 460wf. For that printer, you're paying a
lot for the portability. I suggest the hp 6980. I have 2 of an older
version of this, and they were easy to set up and so far have been very
reliable. It's also cheaper than the 460wf and prints faster. The
wireless capability for this printer is built in, rather than using a
separate card, as in the 460wf (the card feature does, however, let you
buy an additional Bluetooth card, if for some reason you wanted to
connect the printer using Bluetooth -- as to a PDA). (There's a 6980dt
for $50 more; I haven't looked closely enough to see what the difference
is.)

3. None that I can think of, assuming that you have a wireless network
that's functioning OK now.

Unless the hp 6980 does not meet your requirements for a printer (apart
from how you want to connect to it), I suggest that as a solution,
rather than buying a wireless print server, wireless bridge, or the like.

--
Lem MS MVP -- Networking

To the moon and back with 64 Kbits of RAM and 512 Kbits of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer