Wireless printer/device server

Anyone familiar with this kind of device?

I am looking for a wireless printer server to connect two Win7 laptops (and a 3rd Win7 laptop, or a Mac something or other, when my college age son is home) to an HP CP1215 Color Laserjet. Seeing this, I am thinking I can also connect up a Passport 500GB hard drive, or move up to a Terabyte drive, with all my MP3s on it as well.

Thoughts/experiences?

Thanks

I've used devices like that in the past (though it probably only had wired eithernet at the time). They worked for some of the printers we had then which used standard printer support, but it didn't work as well for printers that were marching to their own drum beat, and had unique drivers.

In the last 2 printers I bought, I found it easier just to buy printers that already have wireless/wired ethernet support already builtin.

Ok, so look for something HP specific then. Gotcha.

CrossRoads:
Ok, so look for something HP specific then. Gotcha.

It depends on the printers. HP makes a wide variety of printers. Some have been so-called winprinters in the past that required complete drivers in the host OS, because there was little microprocessor support in the printer itself, typically could not be separated. There it was typically simpler to just get a junk PC, and let it control the printer, and use network sharing on the PC side to allow other people to use it.

As I said, I found it easier to just buy an all-in-one that supported wifi/ethernet than to try and configure a third party device. I tend to like HP's, so I have two HP deskjets in my house (2510 that I bought years ago, and 6000 that I bought 2 years ago).

CrossRoads:
Ok, so look for something HP specific then. Gotcha.

You might be better off building a small print server with a raspberry pi or Micro-atx board with an Atom/AMD APU. That would ensure compatibility, and you can use it for other things like basic file sharing/dns/backup/etc.

I've got a D-link DPR-1260 that worked with the HP-1215 under WinVista, but not Win7. So I guess the printer must be somewhat self supporting.
I didn't install any printer specific software under Win7Pro for the printer to work.
I don't want to build a whole PC just to run the printer. I just want a little box that runs by itself, no fans, and that can be turned off & on with the printer without rolling over in the grave on me.
The D-link box was nice.

In the last 2 printers I bought, I found it easier just to buy printers that already have wireless/wired ethernet support already builtin.

We're looking for a new home printer/scanner/shredder/blender/coffee grinder and will definitely be looking for one to hook up to the router- wired is ok, there are ports free and close together. What ones did you get Michael?- and is configuration easy?

We bought our CP1215 in 2007 for $150, thing works great. Color Laser jet, just keeps on going.
Networked printers were a lot more in 2007.

We got our canon B/W multifunction machine in around 2009 for $200. Same issue here. I'll see if I can set up my raspberry to serve. Now 3 computers share it via hardwire and dropbox. Not ideal. With RPI, printing should be easy but I don't know about scanning.

JimboZA:
We're looking for a new home printer/scanner/shredder/blender/coffee grinder and will definitely be looking for one to hook up to the router- wired is ok, there are ports free and close together. What ones did you get Michael?- and is configuration easy?

As I said, I got a HP-6000n 2 years ago, and an HP-2510 much earlier than that (and when I bought the 2510, it had already been replaced by a new model). Note, I personally run Linux on all of my boxes, so getting a printer that supports Linux limits my options. I probably did have to install the driver software on a Windows box to get the initial configuration done, but now, the few times I need to change things, I do it via the web.

At least when I bought my printers, HP had a reputation that while the inks tended to be more expensive, they didn't clog like Epsons seemed to, particularly if you didn't print all that often (I tend to print on the 6000n once every 2-3 months, while the 2510 is used maybe once a week). I tend to use printers primarily to print black & white text (ebay purchase receipts, paycheck, etc.). there are other considerations if you are going to be printing photos. While I do a lot of digital photography, I rarely print at home these days, so the photo quality isn't an issue for me. When I do make prints, I upload the prints and send them off to be printed elsewhere (snapshots go to my local Walgreens, calendars and other stuff goes to mpix.com).

I was curious, so I did a goggle search. It looks like some people have had problems with the CP1215 in the past with print servers (and a lot of complaining without resolution). Here is one such query that provided a solution for Windows Vista: http://cjohns.net/?p=733

We went thru a couple $100 inkjets, always dried up when we wanted to use it. Epson, Panasonic, HP. The $150 color laserjet was a no brainer at that point! We watch & get toner cartridges when on sale so have a replacement on hand when needed.

We have not had a resolution problem with Vista or Win7/Win7Pro - just want to stop carrying the laptops into the next room to use the printer.
The D-link DPR-1260 worked fine with Vista, had to do some finagling to get it working when initially purchased, and did not work at all with Win7.

Yes, that link was what I used to get it working. Nice find.

My experience has been similar to Michael's.

My first print server was either a D-Link or Netgear, I don't remember which, connected to a cheap Epson inkjet. It worked really well for a few years, then died. I replaced both with a tiny B&W HP LaserJet, and an HP Photo InkJet. I bought little D-Link print servers for both. The InkJet would not work with the print server on its native driver, but did work with an old (DeskJet era) driver, however the features, resolution, and image quality were all compromised, so I gave up on that. The LaserJet worked fine, but the print server started acting up, falling off the network at random times until it was rebooted. So I swapped print servers, since the InkJet barely worked with it anyway. That worked OK until the second print server died.

Then we bought an HP CP1218n (from memory -- think that's right), which was reliable and worked great. Both the printer and network connectivity, that is. SWMBO decided she had to have duplexing and scanning, so we just replaced it with a Brother that has built-in wired and wireless (good because it's currently in a location where I don't have an Ethernet jack nearby), and supports printing from iPhones and all that jazz. The HP is now serving as a trip hazard next to the door of my office / work area, at least until we can find it a good home.

My advice to those looking to add Ethernet capability -- either look into a solution provided by the manufacturer, or one that has a compatibility chart listing your device, or research the combo online before you buy. Cheap print servers are landfill fodder, just like cheap routers. The cost of a good print server is often a significant portion of the cost of a printer with built-in networking. Mini-PC solutions might be a good way to go, and can be easily tested before dedicating funds.

Got the D-link DPR-1260 working for both Win7 Pro and Win7.
Win7Pro was easy - find the network device, run setup, run a printer_setup file that D-link sent.
Win7 took some fooling around.
IE would not run the setup, had to install chrome. Then fight past Norton 360 blocking the file. Then do the LPR change thing - and fire up the WinVista machine again to find the Queue Name for LPR that worked.
So, pissed off wife from having to do all that, but wireless printing working again.

Got a single page scanner too, guess we can try connecting that up - but needs manual loading, so no real advantage.