Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

malson · Sep 2, 2003, 09:04 PM

Hello all...

I am looking for an inexpensive solution to my printing nightmare. I have three machines that I need to be able to use a networked laser printer. One runs OSX, one runs WinXP Pro and the other is Win98. (Bonus points for wireless printing from my iBook). So, what suggestions do you have for a printer? It doesn't have to be the fastest thing in the world, maybe 10-14ppm. I also don't need legal paper sizes, envelopes, etc. Color is defintely not needed. I would like to be able to easily upgrade memory and I want something that is going to last.

So, printer recomendations and potential networking solutions are welcome. I've searched the forum and see that the Brother and Samsung models seem to be pretty popular. Would either of those work in this situation?

P.S. - The network, all machines are connected via ethernet to a Linksys 4 port wireless router. Let me know if more details are needed...

climber · Sep 3, 2003, 12:00 AM

I have a HP laserjet 2300 with a network port added. I can print with no problems via a wired and wireless network. My macs see the printer using rendezvous. The PC's can print to it as long as I set them up for the correct IP address.

If you want to be able to print with both OS's I would strongly recommend a printer that is network ready with an ethernet adaptor that can accept an IP address.

HP also has a LaserJet 1300 series. It can be purchased "network ready". (look for the letter n after the model number, that means it has the network adaptor included)

WJMoore · Sep 3, 2003, 12:06 AM

My Dad picked up a Lexmark 1255 with extras from eBay for a good price. Works perfectly from OS X and Windows (I've only tried 2000 but the otheres should work too).

DrBoar · Sep 3, 2003, 06:23 AM

Ethernet is the way or Airport (with the printer connected via one of the ethernet ports). USB sharing does not work cross platform

Eriamjh · Sep 3, 2003, 07:03 AM

Try an HP laser printer and a hub/router with a built in print server.
I don't have nay models to recommend tho.

kennedy · Sep 3, 2003, 08:50 AM

Note that Ethernet printers (printers with print server built-in) are consistently much more expensive than normal printer plus normal print server. And then even more so if you do something like I did... I got an Asante wireless router with built-in print server.

However, you still don't want to get the cheapest laser printer... you want it to support PostScript as that is the most reliably multi-platform solution. All platforms support PostScript printers well and with minimal effort.

I am using an ancient NEC postscript laser printer... slow, but good enough for home. I am looking at Brother and Samsung postscript laser printers for my business application.

Filburt · Sep 8, 2004, 04:29 PM

Originally posted by DrBoar:
Ethernet is the way or Airport (with the printer connected via one of the ethernet ports). USB sharing does not work cross platform

With AirPort, it can be. I have HP LaserJet 1300 (not the network model) hooked up to AirPort Extreme Base Station's USB port (AirPort Express should also work). Both Windows XP and Mac OS X clients are printing to it wirelessly. In Windows, I had to add printer as a local printer via TCP/IP port (with AirPort station's IP address, such as 10.0.1.1).

aaanorton · Sep 8, 2004, 06:31 PM

A Brother 5070N plugged into your router would work just fine for wired and wireless machines.

spiky_dog · Sep 8, 2004, 09:09 PM

i second the recommendation of the hp network printers. i have a HP 2100TN that's been plugging away without issue for 5 years now.

malson · Oct 6, 2004, 08:40 PM

Wow...this thread was over a year old. Anyway, as an update I did end up with an HP 1300N. I picked it up last November and it has been working flawlessly ever since.

WizOSX · Oct 17, 2004, 08:09 AM

How did you finally set it up? I have almost exactly the same set up as you--one Mac running 10.3.5 and a couple of XP PC's. I also own a LJ2100m with ethernet card in it. For some reason I never seem to have luck getting the machine working on a network--must be doing something wrong. What kind of router are you using? Did you just plug the printer into one of the ethernet ports on the router using a "straight" ethernet cable (not cross-wired?)? Can you print directly from the internet without unconnecting and reconnecting?

tooki · Oct 17, 2004, 11:44 AM

In this thread and the other, you keep referring to "printing from the internet". I don't think that that is what you mean.

I think you're using "internet" to mean your own network. (It's not the same thing!)

And then, disconnecting and reconnecting what? If you want help, you're going to have to provide a lot more information about what you're trying to do, what's failing, etc.

tooki

WizOSX · Oct 18, 2004, 04:52 PM

tooki--thanks for replying.

I guess what I mean by "print from the internet" is the following: in the past, when I successfully had a printer connected to my router, I found that the only way to access the printer was to go into system preferences and change the ethernet connection from DHCP to the IP address of the printer and then print. To resume working on the internet I had to reverse the process. I guess that's what I mean by "connect and reconnect."

It is possible, I suppose, that my printer's ethernet card is no longer working, although I can't see why it would just die when not used for a year or so. The problem is that I can't seem to get the Mac to see the printer at all. My current router is an SMC 802.11g router which works fine wirelessly with both my PB 12" and a Windows 802.11g notebook. But then, when I try IP, HP and the other choices in printer setup, the printer isn't seen.

aaanorton · Oct 18, 2004, 06:49 PM

Are you trying to set up AppleTalk printing from a wireless computer through your router? If so, don't bother. Most current routers do not bridge AT from wireless to wired. To test this, try plugging in your laptop to the router and then print.