Convert a USB printer to a fully networked printer

Jan 10, '03 09:06:12AM

Contributed by: bucweat

I have an iBook with an AirPort card which I use to surf the net via a Linksys cable modem / wireless router combo. I also have an HP 812C USB printer that is connected to a Win2000 Tower PC. I had no problems printing to the HP 812C via Windows 2000 printer sharing using SMB. The problem was that I had to boot the PC every time I wanted to print from the iBook. So I started looking for a print server solution that would be relatively cheap and work with both the PC and iBook.

The solution I found that works flawlessly is from Hawking Technology. They have a unit that has two USB ports and one Parallel port and costs around $70US (they have a single USB model in the works). The unit is very easy to install. The directions say you need a PC to run the provided application that allows you to set the IP address, after which you can use the built-in webserver to make additional configuration changes from any web browser. There may be ways to set the IP initially without a PC ... that's something I'm still looking at. You can also telnet into the unit to effect configuration changes.

Once you have the IP address, you can set up an IP printer in MacOS Print Center. You enter the IP address, and for the queue name you enter a value that depends on which of the three plugs you plugged the printer into (lp1 for the parallel port, lp2 and lp3 for USB ports).

Thats it! Now I can print to my HP 812C whenever I want over my home network without having to boot the PC. According to Hawking Technologies, the PS12U should be compatible with just about any USB printer.

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