D-Link DP-301U Express EtherNetwork Fast Ethernet Print Server

Mike

Does anybody know if this print server to be used in a home on windows xp
home computers is any good? Any suggestions as what to get because one
computer is on the third floor and the second is on the second floor where
the printer is?
Thanks

jw

Mike wrote:
> Does anybody know if this print server to be used in a home on windows xp
> home computers is any good? Any suggestions as what to get because one
> computer is on the third floor and the second is on the second floor where
> the printer is?
> Thanks
>
>
I have a D-Link DP-300U print server. I love it. I am able to connect
two parallel port printers plus one USB printer. Any machine on my
network can print to any of the three printers.

I appears the DP-301U has one USB port. I would assume the operation
would be the same. I'm using a Canon 860i printer. It prints great,
but I don't receive any feedback from the printer in regards to ink
levels. I can print test patterns and clean the heads.

HTH.

John

Meander Holefield

jw <jwswcm@charter.net> wrote in news:_PHjh.567$Cy1.389@newsfe02.lga:

> Mike wrote:
>> Does anybody know if this print server to be used in a home on windows
xp
>> home computers is any good? Any suggestions as what to get because one
>> computer is on the third floor and the second is on the second floor
where
>> the printer is?
>> Thanks
>>
>>
> I have a D-Link DP-300U print server. I love it. I am able to connect
> two parallel port printers plus one USB printer. Any machine on my
> network can print to any of the three printers.
>
> I appears the DP-301U has one USB port. I would assume the operation
> would be the same. I'm using a Canon 860i printer. It prints great,
> but I don't receive any feedback from the printer in regards to ink
> levels. I can print test patterns and clean the heads.
>
> HTH.
>
> John
>

That lack of feedback from the printer really disappointed me several years
ago when I bought a print server. Even the dedicated print servers from
the printer manufacturers usually fail to transfer that feedback. The
feedback is called "propietary bi-directional" instructions sets.

So, if a printer is on another floor, you won't know if that printer jammed
until you get there and see the paper stuck in the paper path and you'll
find that your print job is incomplete.

So ... when you print to that printer on another floor, be prepared to
print again if you get there and find it's unacceptable.

You don't really need a print server as long as the computer on that other
floor is turned on. The only advantage to a print server is that you can
print to the printer on the other floor while the computer on the other
floor is turned off.

In other words, if you're able to network the two computers (wired or
wirelessly) then you can install the printer driver on both computers and
print to the printer on the other floor through the computer to which the
printer is connected.

Sometimes, using two computers in this way, you can get, at least, some of
the "feedback" from your printer. I used to use my Epsons in this way and
they would, at least, tell me if the paper jammed at the other printer.

Things like, printer jammed, ink low, no ink, and all those kinds of
valuable messages are sometimes wrapped up in propietary (secret) code that
is not made available by the printer manufacturers to the print server
makers. Or, as is usually the case, the print server manufacturer finds it
too expensive and troublesome to make a print server that would understand
all of those propietary instructions for every make of printer.


//rus\\