wireless printer

[Bob Rufener]

I have an HP Photosmart 2610 printer which I purchased a number of years ago. It is the style that you can print, copy, scan and fax and it works just fine. I have this unit hooked up with a cable to an old desk top PC which is not used real much because of a few issues with it. We purchased a lap top a few years ago and use it almost exclusively in our family room and get our internet from a wireless router. We have occasions where we would like to print something off of a web site or an email and what I have to do now is take the lap top to a room in the rear of our house and plug in the printer cable to a USB port. Is there a way I can add wireless capabilities with the existing printer so I can print right from our family room without having to move the lap top and plug it in? Any help is appreciated.

[Ron Conlon]

If you have the desk top hooked up to the wireless router, and provided the desktop is powered on, you should be able to access the printer from the laptop. I believe you set the printer up as a shared one.

[Mike Henderson]

If all you want to do is print, not scan, you can do the following. Use a wireless/wired router, such as one of those four port routers that also have a wireless capability. Connect that router to your desktop PC. Connect your Internet access to the router (this has nothing to do with the printer - it just gives you Internet access). Then get a "print server" which has several Ethernet ports and at least one USB port. I use a Linksys unit. I'll get you the model number if you want.

You have to assign the print server a fixed IP address (it'll be one of those non-routable addresses like 192 168 xxx xxx). Then when you set up the printer in your laptop, you use that address to connect to the printer. I don't remember the whole set up - I did it a long time ago. You can use that same printer set up on any computer connected to that network to address the printer. This will NOT work for scanning, only for printing.

This approach does not require the desktop to be on. Ron's solution is also good but requires the desktop to be on to access the printer.

Mike

[Bob Rufener]

I'd rather not turn on the desktop as it takes forever to boot up. Mike, if you have some specific model numbers, I would appreciate them. Thanks both of you for your suggestions.

[Mike Henderson]

I'd rather not turn on the desktop as it takes forever to boot up. Mike, if you have some specific model numbers, I would appreciate them. Thanks both of you for your suggestions.
The print server is Linksys PSUS4. There may be a more current model available. For the router, there are lots of four port routers with WiFi (of some flavor). I used a Linksys router but other companies make good units, also. Setting up the print server and then installing the printer on your computer was a bit tricky. I did my installation some time ago but I'll give you the parameters for the printer install (by PM) if you can't figure it out yourself.

Mike

[Dave Lehnert]

Like others have said should be able to print if you desk top is on. But like you, I never have my desk top up. I purchased a Lexmark wireless 3 in one for $99 and it works very well. it is a 46XX model. It is a few years old so may not be available now but sure they offer updated models. It was super easy to set up. Almost automatic if I remember right.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Just do a search for ' wireless router print server '. Connect it to your internet connection and anything you want to it including your printer and it will be accessible whether or not your desktop pc is onHp also makes a wireless front end for their printers Something like jet connect. Might work with yours.

[Curt Harms]

According to a Cnet review, your HP 2610 has 10baseT (ethernet) connectivity out of the box. Look for a connection that looks like a big telephone plug (RJ45) with 8 little wires in it instead of 4 like a phone connection (RJ11). If it's there, you can plug an ethernet cable into the printer & the router and you should be in business. If you want to print from a laptop, the router needs to be wireless. If you want to locate the printer away from the router and it's impractical to run a cable you'd need a wireless print server. I have a setup similar, having an HP photosmart 74XX connected to a wireless router. It works well. If you want the device located away from the router, you might compare the price of getting a print server vs. getting a new machine. It seems wrong but new Multi-Function machines that will do wireless printing and scanning can be had for well under $100. A quick search on New Egg turned up 3 HP wireless Multi-Function machines for less than $100. Another thing to check on re wireless print servers is whether they will support scanning; they didn't and I don't know if that's changed. I have a Brother MFC-6490CW -large format inkjet- that will print & scan via a wireless network connection.