Topic: Remote printers?

[Dan Brown]

I'm going to be moving into a new house in a couple of months.  As a result, the computers are going to be rearranged.  Currently they're all in one room, making it easy to hang a printer off the SME.  In the new house, I'm going to be putting the SME in the basement (it's noisy), and the rest of the computers upstairs.  Don't think I'll be able to run a parallel cable up to the printer, so I'm going to need another way to communicate with it.

I'm thinking I'll need a print server of some sort.  Not sure really what to look for in this regard, though.  Any ideas?  Thanks for any help!

[SloopJohnB]

Check out this link for some ideas on Print servers and SME controlling the output. Otherwise you can get a $60 tcp/ip print server and configure each PC to print directly to it.

http://e-smith.org/bboard/read.php?v=t&f=1&i=33285&t=33285

SloopJohnB

[Michiel]

Since it's for home use, I'd have a look at the d-link print servers (http://www.d-link.com/products/category.asp?cid=10). For $50-$60 you can get a decent parallel/USB server that fits in the little corner behind your printer.

In any case, stay away from wireless print servers.

[JoshuaB]

Dan,

I've always been a fan of the HP JetDirect line.  They're pricey, but reliable.  I'd love to hear what others have to say though.

Joshua B

[Guck Puppy]

Hey Dan,

I have had no trouble with EDIMAX printservers.
http://www.edimax.com.tw/html/english/products/list-printsir.htm

Pretty cheap too :
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=edimax+print&scoring=p

And the SME setup thread :
http://e-smith.org/bboard/read.php?v=t&f=3&i=37716&t=37716

G

[Winston]

For a similar situation, I would like to know if one can print from SME 6.03  to a printer share off a winxp box on the same network.

At work I have set up the Netgear PS110 print server on a mixed network- win and *nix. It comes with instructiions for unix which many of the others don't.  Easily set up on SCO 5.05 but I haven't tried it on SME.

[Guck Puppy]

Winston wrote:
>
> For a similar situation, I would like to know if one can
> print from SME 6.03  to a printer share off a winxp box on
> the same network.

Why not just print to the printer as a share of the xp box - since it'll have to be running to print to it anyway...

G

[SloopJohnB]

You print server at work, seems fine as long as you are comfortable installing and maintaining the same at home yourself.

Don't try to create a share on your XP box and create a printer in SME to manage the print jobs, as you will most likely be going to two computers everytime to release a stuck print job!

Print servers are cheap and can be setup in SME easily.

SloopJohnB

[Michael Smith]

I've successfully set up the D-Link 3-port as three separate network printers shared from a SME box ... it Just Worked.  Very nice!

[Ed Form]

Michael Smith wrote:
>
> I've successfully set up the D-Link 3-port as three separate
> network printers shared from a SME box ... it Just Worked.
> Very nice!

You have to watch out for some low cost print servers with three ports because they don't have proper ability to discriminate between ports 1 and 2 when used as remote printers on a Linux box. You can always use ports 1 and 3, but output to port 2 will, in some cases, come out of port 1. I've never been able to find out why but I've had the problem loads of times with various brands of low cost, three port print servers.

If the D-Link doesn't have this problem thats quite good news since I now know what to buy.

Ed Form

[rick]

I had a printer that just didn't want to work of the sme box (new model HP, usb only) however I used it with a jet direct and it worked perfectly, just assigned an IP and off you go. There is also a new model of the same HP printer which has ethernet built in which is handy.

[Winston]

G. Wrote:
>Why not just print to the printer as a share of the xp box - since it'll have to be running to print to it anyway...

That is exactly what I want to do, but I haven't been able to track down how to get started.  Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks.

[Guck Puppy]

Uh, you mean here?

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/proddocs/print_sharing.asp

G

[Winston]

Sorry to be so unclear.
I have printers on each of my WINXP machines which are shared as printer shares. I can use any on the shared printers from any of the windows machines.

  I have no printers attached to the SME machine so I would like to print to these window shares from linux.  Something that would accomplish what I symbolically indicate here. "lp -d//wincomputer/shared_winprinter"
Winston.

[Charlie]

I use the netgear PS110 print servers with SME5.5 and 6.0. It works great and you can hang two printers off each print server.

[Ray Mitchell]

Winston wrote:

>   I have no printers attached to the SME machine so I would
> like to print to these window shares from linux.  Something
> that would accomplish what I symbolically indicate here. "lp
> -d//wincomputer/shared_winprinter"

Oh,

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/itpro/networking/printservicesunix.asp

that?

G

[Winston]

Thanks but,
That article explains how to print FROM winxp TO unix lpd printers.
I want to print FROM unix TO winxp shared printers.

Winston

[Michael Smith]

XP, true to its NT roots, can speak LPR; try Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Add/Remove Windows Components, something like "Other Network Printing".  It'll have "Print Services for UNIX" which is LPR.

[Guck Puppy]

Michael Smith wrote:

> XP, true to its NT roots, can speak LPR; try Control Panel,
> Add/Remove Programs, Add/Remove Windows Components, something
> like "Other Network Printing".  It'll have "Print Services
> for UNIX" which is LPR.

Yes, as Ray said, that microsoft link *is* helpful, when combined with :

http://www.uark.edu/campus/compserv/softsys/pc/win2kxp/features.html

and see "Receiving print via TCP/IP"

G

[Winston]

Thanks everyone!
Following the steps in the links provided I can now print from my SME box to WINXP printers.

Winston