USB Cable for printer and scanner

fifeken

I've got a printer that needs an IEEE (Centronix) cable and a scanner that has 25 way D-type serial connections but my laptop only has USB sockets. I've seen cables on Ebay that say they convert from one to the other. Is there anything I need to look out for if I buy these to connect my laptop to the devices?
I've asked about a couple of shops and never found them so don't know what a typical price would be. Any ideas?

hc25036

A more important question you need to ask is whether the printer and scanner will work with your operating system once you have then connected. I'd Google that question before spending money on the cables. I spent weeks and quite a few quid trying to get a really nice scanner with a serial connector working in Windows XP and never did get anything out of it.

If you give us details of the kit and your PC and your version of Windows (I assume, it could be Linux or Mac) someone here may well be able to advise.

Dave101t

you can buy a great modern printer from any supermarlet for 30-40 quid, including ink (itsself worth 30-40 quid) get this then buy a usb cable from ebay for a pound. an old printer wont have advanced software or functionality, i presume yours is an older one.

fifeken

Thanks folks. Details are:

Printer is OKIPAGE 16n
Scanner is OKI SC100

Windows XP Profesional 5.1 Service Pack 3 (although I also have one running Vista)

Toshiba Equium A100-147 Laptop

hc25036

The Okipage definitely has a driver in XP (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/293380) which is a good start. I'd worry about the scanner as I've been able to find nothing at all and the technology is going to be more difficult to connect to a modern laptop. It may even be SCSI if it is an old high-quality (relatively) scanner, in which case save your money and get a new USB one which can be had from around £40. You could even try my favourite site, the Canon outlet (http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet).

With the IEEE to usb cables costing a few quid - I've used cables2u in the past and they were OK - it might be worth a try, but there's no guarantee it will work. For the scanner, I'd check first to see if it is SCSI - pictures here (http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/scsi-cable.html) and give up immediately if it is. if you think it is serial rather than SCSI, think about it and then give up!