Network printing - Is there a way to

Hello~
I have three computers in my home network - 2 desktops and 1 laptop. One of the desktops is the "server" for the network and is where the printer is connected. When printing from the second desktop or laptop computer, the "server" computer has to be on for this to happen. To eliminate the "server" computer having to be on just for printing, I know I can buy a wireless printer router (not looking to spend the $$) or to buy a wireless printer (again, don't want to spend $$, especially when the printer I have works just fine). So, my question is this - is there a way to connect the printer/wire things so I can print from any computer in the house, regardless of whether the "server" computer is on or not?

Any insight would be appreciated. I have some tech savvy, but have not been able to figure this one out. A guy at Best Buy told me to check my network mapping, but this didn't quite help me.:confused

Thank you!

 

If it's a network ready printer(it has a network card and network capabilities and everything) then all you should have to do is hook it up to the network and set a few settings in the printer. The most it would cost you if it's a network ready printer would be another network cable to plug it in.

If it's not, then you could go the print server route. It's a small device that plugs into the printer(they have both LTP and USB types) and allows you to connect the printer to the network without having to go through a computer. If you end up having to use a print server, you will probably have to connect it first to computer to configure the print server(set the IP settings and such), and then you will be able to use it on the network without going through a computer. The cheapest print server on newegg that I see is $30.

You mentioned something about wireless... Does this printer need to be wireless?

Knowing what printer it was would help me to be able to help you. Could you give me the brand and model number?

 

Good morning, and thank you for responding.

The printer is a Lexmark X7170 AIO. It is not wireless, and I'm not sure if it has a network already - the printer is about 4-5 years old, so I'm thinking not. How do I find out if it is network ready? The newegg print server you mention below - is it a good/decent one? Again, I'm not wanting to spend lot's of $$, but $30 is not too bad and I would consider that solution.

Thanks again, and I hope you're having a good day!

 

I just contacted Lexmark and they have confirmed that it is not network ready

 

I'd look into a print server considering your situation, then. It sounds like the sort of thing that you're looking for. With the print server, you will be able to have the printer hooked directly into the network without going through any computers. The setup for it should not be very complicated and should only need to be done once.

As far as a good model/brand, I honestly couldn't tell you. I would suggest reading the reviews there on newegg for any that are in your price range and see what people have to say about them. I usually try to skip over the reviews that don't use spelling and punctuation and that sort of thing, I'm sure you can understand why...

You'll need to make sure that the print server has the right sort of connection to connect to your printer though. If I'm correct, your printer uses a USB connection, so you would need a print server that uses USB as well. There will probably be a little bit of configuration required, but all of the instructions for that should come with the print server.

I hope this helps.

 

You have been most helpful and I wanted to thank you for sharing both your time and expertice.

I will follow your advice on reading the reviews - this approach has been helpful in the past.

Have a great weekend!
:wave