Adding a home network printer means that one or more computer’s can print to the same printer.
There are a number of ways to do this but this depends on the printers interface.
USB Printers
Most home printers only have a USB interface, this means its primarily only designed to be connected to a single computer, but there are ways to share this.
The most popular method is to connect it directly to your computer as normal, then you need to share the printer, this can then be accessed by any other computer on your network, the only downside to this is having to leave the computer that the printer is connected to switched on if you want to print from any other computers as it acts as a print server, and any print job needs to go through this. Please see the next page for details on how to set this up.
Another interesting option is a USB switch it’s designed to share USB devices, any USB device plugs into this allowing sharing, of course apart from the printer you will also need to plug-in the computer’s as well.
Ethernet Printers
Printers with Ethernet ports are more commonly seen in business environments, but as the cost gets lower and smaller printers are now fitted with Ethernet ports they make a viable option for home networks.
The beauty of an Ethernet printer is way it connects directly into your existing router, then it’s just a case of making sure it has a reserved or fixed IP address, then installing the software on your printer.
Wireless Printers
If you are yet to purchase a printer and you have an existing wireless home network, then adding a wireless printer could be just the thing for you, not only does it only mean a single wire providing the power, it also means you can pretty much situate the printer anywhere.
Advantage and Disadvantages of Printer Interfaces
USB
Advantages
- cheapest type of printer interface
- Easy to setup
Disadvantages
- Printer has to be very close to the printer, due to USB cable restrictions.
- Cannot directly be shared without printer sharing through windows, or by adding a USB switch which is another expense.
Ethernet
Advantages
- Prices are coming down making them suitable for home users.
- Once it’s connected to your router any computer can connect and print to it.
Disadvantages
- Still generally more expensive than USB.
- Setting up the printer can be involved.
Wireless
Advantages
- Printer can be situated anywhere in range of the wireless router.
- Lots on the market so now good prices.
Disadvantages
- Can be involved when setting up and problems can be hard to pinpoint
Notes
Ideally I would look for a printer than has both Wireless and USB interfaces, this way if there are ever wireless problems this means that it’s easy to revert to USB
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