Do I network or buy another printer?

Hi all,
Here's the problem: We have an old iMac from which I poached the printer (Epson USB Stylus Color 880) to go with one of my Beiges. But the user of the iMac (venerable spouse) would like to use a printer occasionally.
The iMac is in a small office across a large, open living area from the printer.
I know nothing (NOTHING) about networking. I don't think stringing ethernet cable up through attic, etc. is worth the trouble and hole-drilling.
So ... is there another way to network the printer to the iMac? An Airport card I think costs more than a new cheap printer. Are there other wireless solutions? If yes, must they have line-of-sight access between iMac and printer? It seems wasteful to me to buy another printer (that would make 3 Macs, 3 printers).
Remember, now, networking is a foreign language to me, so be gentle! Thanks!
Tina

Tina,
Do you have other reasons to network that would justify the cost? One word of caution about buying a third printer, will you use it enough to keep the ink fresh? Many people have the ink dry out before they get their money's worth out of it.
I am reminded of two stories. One business associate spent $900 to network a $150 printer. The other reasons for networking were never realized. Cheaper to buy another printer. Now networking is much cheaper.
Second story, a lady at Weyerhaeuser in 1988 wanted a to try a Mac for desktop publishing. She had to convince her bosses that not going IBM was justified. The Apple dealer loaned her a system with a laser printer for a one month test. In one week, she had the engineering department newsletter completed, a task that took her one month on their IBM network. In two weeks, she had permision to buy TWO Macs and she said that without any training, she had the second computer unpacked, set up and networked to share the $5,000 Laserwriter. And she was not a computer technician.
A third printer is the simplest. If all printers were HPs, you could share the ink cartridges but the Epson printers do not allow for ink swaps. Wireless is the most elegant when setup with a print server.
My daughter just emails the document to another other computer to get to the printer of choice. If none of your printrs are network printers, you are really networking computers and letting one be the print server. Sounds a lot like email. That is my teenagers approach.
FWIIW,
Jim

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