Printer on xp network: where?

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Here’s the particulars: Home network of 2 xp home computers connected through a linksys 4 port router to the internet (and each other) Comp. 1 has a new hp 1220cse deskjet (lots of bells & whistles) connected to it and shared. Comp. 2 has it’s own basic hp, but likes to play with the bells and toot the whistles. Now the main reason for the router over ICS was to be able to use computer 2 without turning computer 1 on, a decided advantage. What I’m thinking about now is installing an external print server for the 1220 cse and connecting it directly to the lan (which would allow the printer to be used by comp 2 without 1 being turned on), but I know little about the abilities of print servers. It seems I can pick up a basic one for $20-25us, and then theres 170x ones for about $100. My (longwinded) question is will I slow down printing times by using the cheapie print server over sharing the printer without the server?
In other words, is this an upgrade that makes sense, or even an upgrade at all?

thanks for any and all advice, etc

kip

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I purchased a Linksys USB print server for the reason you cite (convenience of printing independently without booting the host machine), and have been unhappy with the performance in terms of speed; I have yet to measure objectively but it “seems like” 2 to 5 times slower. I called Linksys tech support and they said the print server has a 256k buffer which may be the problem; this seems consistent with printer activity, it hangs and prints in short bursts (e.g., few sentences of text at a time, with a second or two delay between bursts). It seems that the printer prints just as fast, except it is constantly waiting for data.

There was some wierdness getting the print server set up (I had to enable the IPX/SPX protocol because the default TCP/IP protocol would not work) so I am not sure the configuration is correct or the performance I am seeing is typical; however, you might want to check the size of the print server memory buffer. Also if you are using a parallel cable rather than USB, the situation might be different.

It is great not having to turn on the 2nd PC and I would still make the same choice for my family’s purposes, but it has been a significant tradeoff in terms of speed. I am still hoping to find a tweak that will improve the situation.

Best of luck,
Sat Kartar

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