Auto share Localtalk printers over wireless with 10.2

Feb 12, '03 09:28:24AM

Contributed by: finne

I found this out when setting up my Wi-Fi network.

To access LocalTalk/AppleTalk printers through wi-fi TCP/IP connections (when using non-AppleTalk wi-fi routers), use LocalTalk Bridge to connect LocalTalk to Ethernet. Then use an OS X machine on the Ethernet to share the AppleTalk printer to TCP/IP. In more detail:

I have an iBook (OS X.2) connected to my home network through a Linksys Wi-Fi switch. I have a G4 (OS X.2) connected through 100bT. Also I have a PowerMac 7300 (OS 8.5) connected through 10bT. The 7300 is also connected to a LocalTalk/AppleTalk PostScript LaserWriter 4/600 printer.

Using the free Apple control panel LocalTalk Bridge, I could connect the LocalTalk printer to the Ethernet AppleTalk network. When I turned on Appletalk on the G4, I could print directly to this LaserWriter, as long as the 7300 was turned on. So far so good. But the Linksys Wi-Fi switch does not send AppleTalk packets to my iBook, so I could not print from the iBook.\

However when I turned on printer sharing on the G4/OS X machine, my iBook saw the LocalTalk LaserWriter as a shared printer of the G4. Now I can print directly from my iBook. The only drawbacks are that both my G4 and my 7300 need to be turned on. Also I found that direct printing from Appleworks would result in no fonts send to the printer. When exporting print jobs from Appleworks to PDF and printing the PDF, this problem is resolved.

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