Ever Thought of Adding a Print Server to your network? April 08, 2009 10:11 by John Sollars

With the advent of WiFi enabled printers and Networked printers it may seem that everyone is already networking their printers, however if you have been using a USB printer on your own Computer and then have started to add other users to your network have you ever thought of adding a print server to your network as well?, or should I put that another way?.  Have you got a printer with just a USB port which as your small network has expanded you want to share with other users?.  So you've enabled Share Printer from your Computer control panel and that is working fine whilst your Computer is turned on, however for not a lot of money you can actually add a print server box onto your network making your standalone printer much more useful across the network.

So, what is a print server?, basically a small box that you plug straight into your Cat 5 network or router and then the printer into that and hey presto - a networked PC!.  This may not sound like a major deal, but trust me: Once you've sampled this kind of setup, you can't go back to old-school printer sharing.

A USB Print Server can alleviate printing problems by simplifying network printing. Sharing a single USB printer eliminates the need to maintain and purchase supplies for multiple printers. Additionally, a dedicated print server removes the need to have a dedicated computer powered on to support the printer.