Smart Computer Co., Inc. TL;DR Executive Summary If at all possible, connect your new printer to your wired Ethernet network, even if you only have one computer and even if your computer(s) are connected wireless via WiFi.
Back in the good old days, most printers connected with a serial or parallel port. Parallel ports were easy, but very limited distance. Serial ports could handle long distance but were a bit more complicated – hardware vs. software handshaking, speed, parity, 9-pin vs. 25-pin and sometimes other connectors, regular vs. null-modem. All of them were a pain to share on networks – sometimes the easiest way to share was an A/B Switchbox.
Along came USB (first released 1996, popular starting with Windows 98). Easy! High-speed, bidirectional (e.g., just as good for scanners as for printers), plug-and-play. And all was wonderful.
Except for three problems:
- Limited distance – actually WORSE than parallel ports.
- Sharing printers still not an easy thing to do.
- Sometimes USB ports just don’t want to work. Or they work one day and stop working the next. Or you disconnect the printer and connect it to a different USB port and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
So what is the solution? Network connected printers. The first option was to use an HP JetDirect or a similar device to connect your serial, parallel or USB printer to an Ethernet network. As networking hardware became less expensive, the major printer manufacturers started to include a wired network connection in many printers, though sometimes as an extra option or only in higher-end models. With a network connection, multiple computers can communicate with multiple printers without requiring a network server. In addition, even with just one computer and one printer, distances are limited by Ethernet (typically 100 meters = 328 feet for 10/100 twisted-pair cable, longer with switches and various types of network extenders). The computer’s network connection tends to be more reliable than USB as well, and if it doesn’t work then your internet connection goes down so printing is often the least of your problems.
But wait a minute, my laptop can connect via WiFi, why can’t my printer? Many printers can connect via WiFi. However, I don’t recommend that for most situations for a number of reasons as explained below.
- WiFi can be hard to configure. Even using the now very common WPS (WiFi Protected Setup), if you change your WiFi configuration for some reason you have to remember to change the printer configuration to match.
- WiFi signals are subject to interference
- If you use a peer-to-peer WiFi connection then you may have transmission problems even though each devices is OK by itself.
All that being said, sometimes WiFi is still the best solution.
What do I recommend?
If possible, wired Ethernet network connection
As long as your printer is able to properly connect wired to your router or switch, a wired connection will work the best. This is true even if some or all of your computers or other devices are connected via WiFi. As long as all the wired & wireless devices connect to the same router, it really doesn’t matter which ones are wired. For practical purposes – and for configuration in the printer software, treat any wired printer as “wired network”, even if your computer is not wired to the network. If you select WiFi then either the printer needs to connect to your router via WiFi (WPS or putting in the right WiFi codes “somewhere”) or it will connect to your computer directly (peer-to-peer network, which has other problems).
There is one more key piece: IP address
Typical home and small-business networks use DHCP in the router to supply IP addresses to all devices, including computers and printers. That works fine for computers but it leaves open the possibility that the printer address may change, particularly if the router & printer are turned off for some reason (e.g., power outage). Depending on how the printer driver is configured, that could result in having to make a change on ALL computers to the new printer IP address. If you configure your printer for an available IP address outside the DHCP range then you can avoid this problem. This will also make it simpler to replace a broken printer, provided the new printer is either the same model or reasonably compatible with the original printer. Changing this setting can usually be done via the printer’s control panel, if it has a full control panel, or using its web interface.
Do you have any questions about hooking up your printer? Contact us at info@smartcomputerinc.com