Print server recommendations?

Does anyone here have much knowledge or experience of Print Servers? I'm looking for recommendations on one to share two Epson printers between a couple of G5 macs running 10.5, connected via an ethernet network - I've seen this model
http://www.jigsaw24.com/default.aspx?IP=&ITEM=JIGSG245AKA
any opinions on it or tips or recommendations that would be helpful?
TIA

Read all this for "info" only.... Go to the bottom.
I think you should read this:
http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/1013.html
and then try an Airport Express.
The real issues people have with print servers (which nearly All use industry-standard protocols) is that most non-postscript printers don't come with drivers that work for network printing (ie, only if the printer comes with network connection built-in does the driver work over a network). Airport Extreme/Express get around this because they use Apple's "printer sharing" technology/software to allow USB-only printers to be shared (USB output gets forwarded to the device that's sharing).
PS - I don't have an Airport Express. I use Mac printer sharing for my Epson, and print servers for my postscript printers.
another PS - Try adding the printer using the Gutenprint driver. If that is acceptable print quality, then you can use a regular print server, because Gutenprint (CUPS) drivers work with any comm protocol. To update your Gutenprint:
http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/MacOSX.php
yet another PS - I see the device you want to get is recommended for the 1400. I believe that means Epson provides a network driver for your printer model. I think it will work well in that case! Sorry for the unnecessary info.

Similar Messages

Wireless Print Server Recommendations

I have a MacBook (10.4) and a Dell Inspiron Notebook. I'm getting ready to purchase a wireless print server, which wireless print routers do you recommend that will be Mac friendly (i.e easy to set up with both my Dell & MacBook).

It is really a question about the printer and its driver. The Mac situation is different from Windows. Most non-postscript printers come with Carbon drivers, where the comm protocol is written into the driver. USB non-postscript printers come USB-only drivers. To use the OS X built-in protocols, you need CUPS drivers (or postscript driver/printer).
Except for one or two models out there, nearly all print servers use the industry standard comm protocols LPD, IPP, HP jetdirect or appletalk.
Apple print servers are yet a different situation - they have firmware that works like Mac-to-Mac print sharing (so they can use USB-only drivers).
HTH

Print server recommendations for Laserjet 1018

I tried using Apple's Airport Xpress with my laserjet 1018 as a print server, and it worked ok on my laptop (wireless) but quite poorly on my desktop (wired). My laptop is Vista; desktop is XP. Apple said that the problem was with the OS or the printer. Man if I had a dime for all the tech support calls that have claimed that their product wasn't the problem....
Rather than making numerous trips to best buy or purchases on amazon, is there a compatibility list for the 1018 and print servers? I know this seems to be tricky, as I've seen numerous complaints about the lack of compatibility between printers and print servers. At this point I'm willing to use either wired or wireless print servers--I just want something that works.
EDIT: Even if someone doesn't have a list, if there are print servers that are known to work with lots of printers, at least that would give me better odds of finding one that worked with my 1018.
I suppose the price ceiling I'm looking at is 75 bucks or so, as that would be the difference betwen (a) buying a new HP 1505n and (b) ebaying off my 1018. So if its much more than 75, I think I'd be better off just getting the 1505n.
Message Edited by prr on 08-10-2009 12:29 PM

dansdaduk wrote:
>> ... the checkbox is greyed out and I can't enable it ...
Perhaps you are running under a user which does not have administrator credentials?
No, I have administrator privileges.

Can anyone recommend a USB print server for both Mac & Windows?

After spending at least 20 hours trying to get my Macbook to print to a Windows XP shared printer, I am giving up and going the print server route. Unfortunately there seem to be a LOT of options and some are >$100. I want to be sure to find one that works for both Mac and Windows XP. Can anyone recommend a print server based on experience?
It can be hard-wired to the network (does not need to be wireless) and only needs one USB port. Also, it does not need to be "multi-function" compatible.
Thanks in advance!

Unfortunately, Apple just started using the CUPS printing system ~4 years ago. With CUPS drivers, you can print to all the standard comm protocols, the way drivers work in Windows. But except for Brother's, NO non-postscript printer driver on OS X was written to use CUPS. Instead they are using Carbon, the OLD OS 9 legacy programming interface. In that, they get to specify exactly which protocol is supported - and that's nearly always ONLY USB.
So, we have to rely on third party CUPS drivers. See if Gutenprint supports yours:
http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/OpenPrinting/macosx
or else, you may need to use printfab:
www.printfab.net
About print servers - they nearly all support "standard" protocols, which OS X (with CUPS drivers) can print to.

Can anyone recommend a print server that will work with Mac & PCs?

Can anyone recommend a wireless print server that will work with Macs and PCs ?

Wireless has a disadvantage for many Powerbooks. Unless yours supports 802.11g, it is not secure. So it must support Airport Extreme on the Powerbook to have a secure wireless network. Also many printers only support 802.11b, making matters worse, as that is not secure. See my FAQ* on printing:
http://www.macmaps.com/printersx.html
Some printers have ethernet ports, which would allow you to use a Wireless ethernet bridge that is 802.11g. Similarly you could use one on the Mac, and then you'd have your wireless printing. Ask the printer manufacturer what might be possible. The last thing you want is an insecure network, especially if you are at most 4500 meters/1500 feet from someone who could pick it up and log into it that you don't want.
* Links to my pages may give me compensation.

I want to know if Ican connect a print server (to print with several wireless printers) to the new airport express given that it has wan and lan ports. Tks!

The print server that I want to connect allows me to choose among 2 usb printers and 01 serail port printer. It needs to be connected to a router through a lan port. Given that the all new airport express now come with a wan and a lan port, i want to know if I can connect this device to the airport express.

You're welcome.
Beware that while USB print servers are commonly available and inexpensive, finding one with a serial port is more of a challenge. Apple Stores in the US do not sell them. Call the iStore before going there.
If you need recommendations for obtaining a print server with a serial port, let me know.

Best Practises for File Sharing and Print Server on Windows Server 2012

Is it better to have File Sharing and Print Server installed on the same Windows 2012 Server ?
Or, they should be installed on 2 different Windows Servers ?
Hussien Sherief

It will work just fine to combine them.
But most people would recommend keeping functionality separate... if the budget allows. That whole "single point of failure" concept. If that server dies, you've lost both of those functions.

Printing issues when printing to Server 2008 R2 Print Server

We have a problem with netwok printing that encompasses many different areas and versions of Windows OSes so I will be posting this in a few different places.
Let me lay this out for you. We have a single Server 2008 R2 print server with 300 printers of various models. This print server has both 32 and 64-bit drivers installed for every printer. For the HP printers we are using the HP Universal Printing PCL 6
(version 61.94.3.37) and for the Ricoh printers we are using their PCL6 driver for universal printing version 3.5. All drivers run in Isolation mode and no printer gets published to AD.
We have a mix of Windows clients printing to these printers, both XP Pro and Windows 7 32 and 64-bit.
Now for the problems: The other day one Isolation host on the server went crazy, processing was hitting 100% and memory was fluctuating and growing a lot. After investigating a little that isolation host was having issues accessing the Ricoh Driver (which
was 3.4 at the time). In an attempt to resolve the issue we updated the driver to V. 3.5. This seemed to fix the isolation issues and things calmed down however this is the beginning of many other issues for the clients. Both Windows OS versions (XP and 7)
don't seem to be either downloading and installing the updated driver and/or doing so correctly. Clients are now experiencing extremely slow printing, applications such as Word, Outlook, Excel and others open slowly and it can take 2-3 minutes for print dialog
boxes to open. In all cases it seems that we have to have a tech delete the printer(s), delete the driver and then re-install the printer to make things better but for some reason, which is really unknown, this process doesn't work for every machine and on
some we can't even remove the old drivers at all without booting into SafeMode and doing it that way.
With all of that said, are there any suggestions as to why the clients aren't downloading and installing the drivers from the server correctly? How to avoid these issues when we need to upgrade the drivers on the server in the future? Most importantly right
now, are there any recommendations or scripts on how to force the deletions of the printer, driver, reset the print spoolers and then re-add the printers in a more automated fashion?
I have played with both wmic, pnputil and printuidll and am trying to put something together but without a set solution that will work consistently it becomes a lot more difficult.

We are experiencing a very similar issue.
Windows Server 2008 R2. Printers are deployed over group policy.
Clients range from Windows 7 to Windows 8. Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp environment also connects to these endpoints.
We have A wide assortment of HP printers, and Ricoh Printers.
For the ricoh's we have been historically using the PCL6 drivers for the individual device type (not universal print). Up till recently, it all was working fine, until about some time in the middle of june, when everything just seemed to go crazy.
The issue was resolved by moving off from the PCL 6 drivers and using the PCL5e driver counterparts on all of our ricoh printers.
It would crash XenDesktop applications, it would crash office applications.
The print spooler would lock up, even if the ricoh printers were not actually used, just as long as they were loaded.
Even after loading PCL5 on the servers, some of the clients would simply not download the PCL5 version of the driver from the print server. In order to resolve this, I have created the steps below. Be advised, this may possibly cause damage on your system.
We just found it worked great for us. Local printers will likely have to be manually reinstalled after this.
Directions
Stop the print spooler
Open C:\Windows\System32\Spool and delete the following
All files in SERVERS
All files in PRINTERS
All files in drivers
All files in prtprocs
Start the print spooler
Open a command prompt as administrator, and run the following command
Cscript C:\windows\system32\Printing_Admin_Scripts\en-US\prndrvr.vbs -x
This should further delete all print drivers.
Open a command prompt as a standard user (not administrator) and run the following
Gpupdate
Now wait. It takes a while, but the printers will slowly start to repopulate.
I am still not sure what is going on with the PCL6 drivers for ricoh, and why this issue is happening. I'm guessing it has something to do with the Ricoh auto update that is included in their pcl6 drivers. Maybe some sort of auto update happened recently.

Lion 10.7.5 cant connect to printer via Buffalo print server

Hi everyone,
I'm at my wits end with this one having spent over 20 hours on it.
I have a Macbook Air running Lion 10.7.5 and a Macbook running OSX 10.6.8. I have a Photosmart 8050 printer attached to a Buffalo Linkstation Live LS-CH1 running firmware 1.60 (the latest version for this model). The Linkstation has a printserver which is attached via USB to the printer, the Linkstation is attached to a wireless router, for amound other things, wireless printing.
The long and the short of my problem is, I can get the Macbook running 10.6.8 to print without a problem, works fantastic, but I can not get the Air running 10.7.5 to print through the print server even though the printers are installed the very same way on both machines. The error from the print que is "unable to connect to printer" even though it seems to connect successfully to the Linkstation, as in my setup a username and password must be entered to access the printer, even though a user is logged in to the file server. Not to get confused, I am 99% convinced the problem is with the Macbook Air running 10.7.5.
I installed the printers using the Windows method, Workgroup -> Linkstation -> Printer then selecting the HP 8000 series driver version 5.0.4. I have also tried every other install method available, however as I understand it, this is the recommended method for this print server setup.
I have checked the network setup, driver versions and even though it does not seem to cover my printer have GutenPrint 5.2.9 installed.
The printer does work when connected directly to USB however.
If anyone has any idea why I cant get the Macbook Air running 10.7.5 to print via the print server on the Linkstation when 10.6.8 works perfectly, then please HELP!
Thank you

Power Cycle
Power off the router. Unplug it from the wall. Wait for few minutes.
Connect the router back to to the wall.
Power the router back on. Wait until all lights are lit properly. It will take a while.
Restart the computer.
Start up in Safe Mode.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455

Notebook using Vista and wireless print server and HP5500 printer problem

Installed std vista local driver for hp5550 printer with usb cable direct to printer. Works ok
Then, disconnected usb copper line to HP labtop and connected it into print server in router (D-link router to HP5500 printer).
Installed wireless network driver in labtop (vista os)(no updated hp driver available for Vista on HP site).
Print jobs just stack up in the que.
Used 192.168.0.1 address (which works fine for my other old win 98 computer).
Driver using the "raw" setting not "LPT"
Print Sharing is enabled.
Any suggestions?
p.s. The wirless system works fine on an old windows 98SE computer using the original 5550 installation disk.

Went back and installed the "Windows 2000 Print Server Software (from D-link Router 824vpn). I assume that this included the USP Shareport program that was recommend in a thread. I can now access router wirelessly. However, wireless print jobs go into que for hp5550, que emptys, but printer does not start up. Copper usb from printer to computer works fine (as separate printer)sta. Using HPdeskjet 5550 (HPA ) printer, port 192.168.0.1, printer name/ip 192.168.0.1, protocal 9100, raw setting, port 9100, LPR and SNMP are both blank. Any suggestions (OS is Vista). No drivers from Dlink or HP for this application. Thanks

Cant add a printer in Windows 2008 Server printer server HP LaserJet P1606dn

Hello,
I am trying to install a HP LaserJet P1606dn printer in a Windows 2008 Server Virtual machine.
The printer is connected to the corporate network and I am able to do ping from my desktop to the printer.
Then I follow this steps.
1.- Install the driver application for W2008 Server.
2.- Add printer in W2008 Printer Server.
3.-Select "add a local or network printer" as an administrator.
4.- Choose network printer
5.-Create a new port --> Standard TCP/IP Port
6.- Fill the host name ---> ("printer1") or IP address --> (XX.XXX.XX.13) I have tried the both options separately but with no result. And fill the port name
7.-At this stage . W2008 Server tells me that " the device is not found on the network" . Be sure that: .....
So, in select device type, I select "Standard" and "Generic Network Card" and click on Next
8.- Install printer driver -> I select the proper driver HP LaserJet 1606dn
9.- Install the printer driver ---> use the driver that is currently installed (recommend)
10.- Type printer name --> "printer1"
11.-Share printer name ---> "printer1"
Here, begins the problem. Trying to print a test page, It says me that "A test page has been sent to your printer", I can see the document in the queue, but the printer page it isn`t thrown away outside.
I dont explain myself why, I have done several trials, and I dont know what happens
I would be very grateful if somebody could help me to solve this issue
Many Thanks
Robert

Hi lespaul80,
1st- check if you can connect to your printer on web interface(in IE: \\printer ip address
and check under network setup if subnet mask and def. gateway setup
also if you have DNS setup check it too
check if you have SNMP options - desable it
on server try ad printer by direct IP and try use upd drive(PCL6 or PS)
Hope it help you
Regards,
I am an HP employee.
*Say thanks by clicking the "Kudos! Star" which is on the left*
*Make it easier for other people to find solutions, by marking my answer with "Accept as Solution" if it solves your issue.*

Wireless print server that works with Macs and Epson R1800?

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a wireless print server, which I could use as if the printer was connected directly to my Mac. So basically, it just needs to have printing over IP port (like port 9100 on HP JetDirect) and drivers for Mac OS X (or ideally, no special drivers needed at all). Devices that do sharing of the printer only over LPD (older Unix), SMB (Windows), IPP (Cups / newer Unix) or similar protocols is not what I'm looking for here.
The reason why LPD, SMB and IPP are not an option is that I'll need utilities such as Epson Printer Utility to work over the network too.
It looks like Linksys, Belkin and some other have products that allow access to the printer over port 9100 (standard HP JetDiret's port) as if the printer was connected directly to the computer. However, for the most part I was able to find only success stories for Windows users.
Windows has standard driver that allows connection to the printer to be easily switched from USB port to network port. Does OS X comes standard with that feature, or is the special driver needed?
Most importantly, has anybody had success with printing from Mac through wireless print server (any brand) to Epson R1800? Did the Epson Print Utility (checking the ink levels, checking and cleaning the head, etc) work? Any special drivers needed?
Thanks

direwolf has hit the nail on the head - the Epson driver won't work for IP printing. The Epson driver is a Carbon driver, where they build the comm protocols into the driver instead of enabling use of the standard protocols on OS X (that are part of the CUPS system). You'll need a CUPS driver to use the standard network protocol(s). The printfab driver is a CUPS driver.
Exception - the Apple Extreme/Express/etc print servers have firmware that make them work like Macs - Mac-to-Mac sharing works with USB-only drivers! I hesitate to recommend the Extreme/Express, because Apple can't seem to get all the kinks out.

Wireless Print Server Installation Issue - HP 2101nw

I have been using the 2101nw for the past year with my HP printer and Qwest DSL (Actiontec Wireless modem / router) without any issues. Well I made the switch over to Comcast so I needed to use a new wireless router (the Linksys WRT54G). For some reason I wasn't able to get the 2101nw to work, it just wouldn't connect to my computer. So I decided to uninstall the software and reinstall it. Well that isn't working very well. Everything loads up fine while the print server is connected to my computer. The instructions then tell me to discount the cable from my computer and plug in the printer, nothing happens at all after that. No connection and the software therefore won't complete the installation. I've spent two days trying to figure out what to do, since the guide really doesn't offer any help. Any suggestions or recommendations?

Compatible products for:
HP 2101nw Wireless G Print Server (Q6301A)
Black and White Laser Printers HP LaserJet P1005 Printer HP LaserJet P1006 Printer HP LaserJet P1500 Printer series HP LaserJet P2030 Printer series HP LaserJet P2050 Printer series
Color Inkjet Printers HP Deskjet 6980 Printer series HP Deskjet D2500 Printer series HP Deskjet D4200 Printer series HP Deskjet D4300 Printer series HP Officejet Pro K5400 Printer series HP Photosmart D5300 Printer series HP Photosmart D5400 Printer series HP Photosmart D7200 Printer series HP Photosmart D7400 Printer series
Color Laser Printers HP Color LaserJet CP1210 Printer series HP Color LaserJet CP2020 Printer series
Color Multifunction and All-in-One HP Color LaserJet CM2320 Multifunction Printer series HP Deskjet F4200 All-in-One Printer series HP Officejet 6300 All-in-One Printer series HP Officejet J4500/J4600 All-in-One Printer series HP Officejet Pro L7500 All-in-One Printer series HP Officejet Pro L7600 All-in-One Printer series HP Officejet Pro L7700 All-in-One Printer series HP Photosmart C4200 All-in-One Printer series HP Photosmart C4380 All-in-One Printer series HP Photosmart C5200 All-in-One Printer series HP Photosmart C6200 All-in-One Printer series
Specialty Photo Inkjet Printers HP Photosmart A520 Printer series HP Photosmart A530 Printer series HP Photosmart A620 Printer series HP Photosmart A630 Printer series HP Photosmart A820 Home Photo Center series HP Photosmart B8550 Printer series

What print server with mac mini

Hi, currently running Mini with Samsung printer on USB, Mini on network via Netgearand airport. I want to network printer so i can print from laptop over wireless network.
Question: What print server is recommended.

Speedbird1-
Can you do it <a
href=http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/
10.4/en/mh987.html>this way?
Luck-
-DaddyPaycheck
DaddyPaycheck you are indeed a star. My whole network is now up and printing.
Thank you.

2008 R2 PDC with DNS, File and Print Server Roles

Hi all,
we have a brand new Canon iRA7260 setup on 2008 R2 print server, which is also our DC, DNS, DHCP and File Server with latest PCL5c drivers downloaded from Canon's website as recommended at that time by the canon technician who assembled the
machine. All our laptops and desktops are running Windows 7 64-bit and after creating a GPO everyone got connected to the printer no problem, the printer has a static IP, same subnet as the print server and PDC, printer's port has been setup to RAW
and to spool documents, driver isolation setup to default.
All users are setup for secure print, so every print job they send to the printer stays on the printer until they walk up to the machine and release it by punching in a department's pin. Everything works great except for every morning a get a few complaints
that the jobs sent to the printer did not appear in the secure print folder. There is no errors of any kind on workstations and all I see in the print job logs on the print server is that document been spooled, printed and deleted. The strange thing is that
the size of the document that disappears is always shown as 0 bytes in size and 1 page long. And the whole process of spooling printing and deleting happens within 1 second according to logs. There is no errors or warnings in the log except for informational
events.
I just discovered that what actually fixes this issue for me is not even restarting the print spooler on the print server, but just login into the print server from my workstation via RDP with admin credentials. Once I login into the server remotely,
every print job sent to the printer afterwards from every workstation in our office appears as usual in users secure print mailboxes. Users don't even have to reboot their work stations, everything just starts working as usual. There is no overnight activities
on that server as all our staff leaves the offices by 8 p.m. the latest and the only thing that is running overnight is the Symantec's Backup Executive backup jobs. Is it possible that a back up job could somehow affect the print server/print driver settings
or put it into a "sleep" mode so it would require a domain admin login to the server to bring it back into operational state?

Hi, the print server had default permissions set after the role was installed. I just added domain users and authenticated users with print and view server rights. I don't think this is a problem though because Samsungs Brothers and Xerox printers
are working. It looks like some process that runs at night on the print server disallows users to print to the Canon printer when they come in in the morning. Login remotely with admin credentials into the 2008 R2 that has print server role installed and this
canon printer deployed via GPO fixes this immediately for all users. After the printer works fine until the last staff leaves the office. However when I come in in the morning everyone reports to me the same problem which again I'm able to fix by login with
my domain admin credentials. Could this be due to some special permissions that canon drivers require to be added that I'm not aware of? Or could this be caused by the overnight Backup Executive 2010 R3 backup job that kicks in at 9 p.m. every night?
Thanks

Print server recommendations?

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