suggest a Wifi/ethernet printer ?

[SHAH]

im looking to buy a printer with network capability which i can hook with my asus ac68u router so everyone on the same network can print anytime.

suggestion needed.. My range is $200 and should be laser jet black only.

 

[CaptainSTX]

im looking to buy a printer with network capability which i can hook with my asus ac68u router so everyone on the same network can print anytime.

suggestion needed.. My range is $200 and should be laser jet black only.

Change your search criteria.

Many printers that can be connected using WiFi also have an Ethernet port. You will get a much more reliable network printer by connecting it using an Ethernet cable plugged into your router than by using a printer connected to your router's USB port. Your computer's OS will then handle the sharing of a network printer instead of depending on your router's firmware which may or may not be flaky.

Everyone on your LAN will be able to print regardless if they connect using a hardwired connection of WiFi.

 

[L&LD]

What kind of duty cycle is required each month? (Low, medium, heavy, or; home, school, work)?

There are many models to choose that will fit your criteria, but I would simply pick a model (with LAN and/or WiFi connections) that is on sale. Many times a $200 printer can be found sub $100 if you are at the right place and the right time (or a $400 printer for $200, if any additional features it offers is what you need).

Use it till it gives up on you and then buy the next printer on sale. Cheaper to buy a new printer today (with starter cartridges/toner) than to buy the toner (for some of them).

Check not only the price of the printer, but also the price of the consumables too. But either way, if this is for home/small business use, spending over $100 or so is really over spending if all you need are hard copies of your work.

I've recommended and setup hundreds of $50 Laser (on sale) printers from 5 years and some are still working (with only a toner or two since new).

For $200? I would expect it to make breakfast, change the beds and tuck me in each night too.

 

[sfx2000]

This topic pops up from time to time - there's a lot of good brands out there, but in a deep thread a few months ago, one of the consensus surprises was Brother based on good quality, decent cross platform driver support, and very reasonably priced consumables...

 

[RogerSC]

Like my Epson WF-4630...good quality printing and scanning. All the connection options, also. I'd recommend looking at it.

 

[Easy Limits]

Brother is an excellent choice.

 

[SHAH]

i have tried two printers with my router but both failed to print over network. One is hP p1109w and hpm176n. both get detected by router and pcs but unable to print anything... What am i doing wrong ?

 

[ktriebol]

Shah, did you go through the "Add a Printer or Scanner" procedure in the settings portion of Windows?

 

[SHAH]

Shah, did you go through the "Add a Printer or Scanner" procedure in the settings portion of Windows?

NO, both time printer got detected automatically in windows. or do i need to add printer manually ?

 

[ktriebol]

Shah, I would go ahead and perform the "Add a Printer" process manually. First remove your existing printers. Nothing to lose. Good luck.

 

[SHAH]

Shah, I would go ahead and perform the "Add a Printer" process manually. First remove your existing printers. Nothing to lose. Good luck.

will try and report back here.

 

[SHAH]

Shah, I would go ahead and perform the "Add a Printer" process manually. First remove your existing printers. Nothing to lose. Good luck.

thanks mate finally it worked by adding the printer through windows menu. you are a life saver.

 

[ktriebol]

Good on you, Mate!

 

[System Error Message]

from my experience wifi on printers tend to suck. ethernet still is better.

 

[RogerSC]

from my experience wifi on printers tend to suck. ethernet still is better.

I was wondering how well the wifi on the printer that we have would work. Have had no problems with it in the year or so that we've had it. Gets a lot of use by others in my house (I don't print much), and has just worked, no problems with wifi. I was ready to switch it to wired ethernet, or even the Netgear printer sharing stuff. No need. But this is the only wifi printer I've had, so I can't speak in general.

 

[System Error Message]

I was wondering how well the wifi on the printer that we have would work. Have had no problems with it in the year or so that we've had it. Gets a lot of use by others in my house (I don't print much), and has just worked, no problems with wifi. I was ready to switch it to wired ethernet, or even the Netgear printer sharing stuff. No need. But this is the only wifi printer I've had, so I can't speak in general.

The only wifi thats worked for me on printers are on the more expensive networked ones that also have ethernet. My laser printer has both wifi and ethernet and the wifi works well with a lot of features (like wifi direct for instance) but its more on the higher end. Usually office printers being more expensive than home tend to have networked features built in for many years already so have less issues.

I still prefer using the ethernet though, its 1 less wifi device and you dont have a reason not to place it near a switch.

 

[RogerSC]

The only wifi thats worked for me on printers are on the more expensive networked ones that also have ethernet. My laser printer has both wifi and ethernet and the wifi works well with a lot of features (like wifi direct for instance) but its more on the higher end. Usually office printers being more expensive than home tend to have networked features built in for many years already so have less issues.

I still prefer using the ethernet though, its 1 less wifi device and you dont have a reason not to place it near a switch.

I like being able to put my wifi printer anywhere that it fits. The multi-function printers are bigger than the old printers. My multifunction printer is a little more the size of two my old printers stacked up. Partly due to having a larger paper feeder capacity. Also, the scanner/copier requires being able to open the lid on top sometimes.

 

[System Error Message]

I like being able to put my wifi printer anywhere that it fits. The multi-function printers are bigger than the old printers. My multifunction printer is a little more the size of two my old printers stacked up. Partly due to having a larger paper feeder capacity. Also, the scanner/copier requires being able to open the lid on top sometimes.

but they fit next to my networking gear and servers. I know you can put them anywhere except hanging but if you can put things together and wire them up you have less wifi devices that slow down your other wifi clients.

 

[pete y testing]

but if you can put things together and wire them up you have less wifi devices that slow down your other wifi clients.

a lot of the cheaper multi functional printers dont have ethernet though and just have ether usb or ethernet

i have a Hp photosmart 6510 that works well for everyone in the house and is connected by wifi , this printer for instance works as a network printer and uses windows generic drivers so installs which doing a printer network search and no need to install drivers on each comp from a cd

yes the 6510 isnt a laser printer but works fine and prob cost $50 usd - around $85 aud here

 

[System Error Message]

a lot of the cheaper multi functional printers dont have ethernet though and just have ether usb or ethernet

i have a Hp photosmart 6510 that works well for everyone in the house and is connected by wifi , this printer for instance works as a network printer and uses windows generic drivers so installs which doing a printer network search and no need to install drivers on each comp from a cd

yes the 6510 isnt a laser printer but works fine and prob cost $50 usd - around $85 aud here

The last £50 hp printer i had required drivers and couldnt connect to my wifi. I've since than switched to laser and a different brand because when i really needed the printer it failed on me and changing the ink cartridges just wouldnt help.

I know a lot of printers have wifi and not ethernet but the printers that do have ethernet are usually much better even when used on wifi as they have more wifi modes available and mine even has a touchscreen. I tried configuring a cheap canon wifi printer for a friend and it was a headache mainly because it had no display and just to get it to connect is very complicated with a lot of driver installs. Theres no reason why a cheap printer cant at least have usable wifi but its one of the reasons why i choose laser and a more expensive model as it included ethernet and has a lot of networking features including a touchscreen and is fully serviceable.

Even my oscilloscope has ethernet but it doesnt have wifi as it allows for a PC to do the math and recording instead but the onboard FPGA is pretty decent. I wish printer manufacturers would include ethernet more than wifi as even the 100M ethernet is sufficient for it but it means that its 1 less device that is using the wifi spectrum so it gives space for other devices to use it. Its not like you move your printer around.

I find that using usb from printer to raspberry pi and using the raspberry pi as a print and scan server is way better than what a cheap printer can offer on wifi as not only does it mean generic drivers but also web scanning (though my last hp had that too).