Connecting printer to 2 PCs via USB cables

peter999

Can you connect a printer to 2 PCs via USB cables ?

How do you do it ?

Linton

Why with 2 USB cables? Its easy to connect everything with wireless if you have a wireless printer, or connect the printer to one of the PCs by USB and then network the two PCs by wireless or ethernet cable.

peter999

Linton wrote: »

Why with 2 USB cables? Its easy to connect everything with wireless if you have a wireless printer, or connect the printer to one of the PCs by USB and then network the two PCs by wireless or ethernet cable.

The printer is not wireless.

Harald

Look for used USB print server on ebay, you can find used one around 20 quid, sometime less.
It will let you connect your printer to your wireless router and print from any PC in your network.

I suggest to avoid buying wireless models. Wired are cheaper and causing less problems. And if you connect it to your router, it works in exactly same way

peter999

Harald wrote: »

Look for used USB print server on ebay, you can find used one around 20 quid, sometime less.
It will let you connect your printer to your wireless router and print from any PC in your network

Is there a way to connect the 2 PCs direct to the printer, with a hub/splitter or something to take 2 USB cables from 2 PCs down to the 1 USB cable to the printer.

Linton

Its not as simple as physically connecting the devices. Something somewhere must be in overall control of the printer so that you dont have two things printing at once from the different PCs. In the old days the only machine with that amount of intelligence was the host PC which is why I suggested linking the printer to one of the PCs and then connecting the two PCs. Modern wireless printers (which you dont have) are designed to work in a network environment and have the necessary intelligence running on the printer.

peter999

Linton wrote: »

Its not as simple as physically connecting the devices. Something somewhere must be in overall control of the printer so that you dont have two things printing at once from the different PCs. In the old days the only machine with that amount of intelligence was the host PC which is why I suggested linking the printer to one of the PCs and then connecting the two PCs. Modern wireless printers (which you dont have) are designed to work in a network environment and have the necessary intelligence running on the printer.

You used to have parallel port switch box to connect 2 PCs or more to 1 printer.

Anything similiar for USB ?

kwikbreaks

I bought a USB switch box some time ago, eBay I think, but why take that route as if everything is close enough to use a switch it's close enough to just swap the cable over manually.

IMO by far the best solutions are by using the printer over a network - either using a print server on the router or by connecting it to one machine and sharing it over a network with the other machine.


Not necesarily the cheapest or best but just the first usb switch I found on eBay. It even mentions what you want to do - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-2-0-Mini-Manual-Share-Switch-2-Way-Port-Splitter-1-Printer-Device-to-2-PCs-/370732574891

peter999

kwikbreaks wrote: »

I bought a USB switch box some time ago, eBay I think, but why take that route as if everything is close enough to use a switch it's close enough to just swap the cable over manually.

IMO by far the best solutions are by using the printer over a network - either using a print server on the router or by connecting it to one machine and sharing it over a network with the other machine.


Not necesarily the cheapest or best but just the first usb switch I found on eBay. It even mentions what you want to do - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-2-0-Mini-Manual-Share-Switch-2-Way-Port-Splitter-1-Printer-Device-to-2-PCs-/370732574891

2 people using 2 different computers, don't want to be switching cables really.

That looks good.

almillar

One computer connects to the printer via USB. Both printers are on the same network (wired or wireless). You can use computer 1 as a print server, and computer 2 will print to the 'network printer'. Money spent = £0. Downside - computer 1 needs to be running, to print from computer 2.

securityguy

peter999 wrote: »

You used to have parallel port switch box to connect 2 PCs or more to 1 printer.

But then we discovered networks. In what world are there two PCs in a room which aren't networked?