Share a USB printer on a LAN
Jan 10, '02 11:59:53AM
Contributed by: Anonymous
There are several tricks for sharing a USB printer on a Mac network, using Applescript, or using UNIX tools like Ghostscript, lpr printing, etc, but these are not well suited for novices. This note describes a hardware trick that lets you use at least two Epson printers as sharable network printers on a LAN. This trick may work with other printers, but I have no way to test that.
Basic idea: Get a print server that does parallel port to ethernet conversion, enable the AppleTalk protocol in the print server, then print to the "USB" printer as an AppleTalk printer, with the print server making the printer's parallel port function as an AppleTalk connection. So, the way you share a USB printer on a LAN is that you don't even use the USB connection! Most USB printers also have a parallel port connection.
Read the rest of the article for the details...
Specific hardware I use: Epson C80 USB/parallel printer, D-link 101P+ parallel port print server. The C80 can be had for $140, with Epson rebate and the D-link can be found on the net (pricewatch.com) for about $67, giving you a networked printer for just about $200.
How to proceed:
- Install the Jan. 4th, 2002 Epson printer driver update. Check in Print Center that one of your choices in "add printers" is an "Epson USB" directory services option.
- Make sure that you have AppleTalk turned on in the Network system prefs.
- Follow the dlink directions for connecting the 101P+ to the printer. Set your computer's network settings to some IP 192.168.0.xx so that you are on the same subnet as the print server, so its web based configuration program will work. NOTE: IE 5 didn't display the setup page correctly, but Omniweb did.
- On the Dlink, set AppleTalk Printer Type to "EPSONLQ2" and Server Name to "EpsonC80" without the quotes.
- Install the C80 OSX driver and make sure you can print via USB. Go to print center add printer, select Epson Apple Talk as the connection type the Epson C80 will appear select it and you can use the printer!
- I suggest doing this in stages. I first printed via USB from my Tibook. Then used an ethernet cable and the procedure above with a direct ethernet connection from my Tibook to the printserver>printer. Then rerouted the cables through my HUB. Then tested with the Tibook connecting over airport (which works!), finally tested the other machines on the LAN.
Unless Apple or Epson breaks this in a future release of drivers, this appears to be a good solution for sharing a printer. I suspect that this trick will work with other USB/parallel printers (anyone wanna try an HP?), but I don't know for sure.
[Editor's note: I tried something similar with our Epson 890, but was not successful and wound up using the USB port. I think I'll try again with the newest drivers.]
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