Re: [Wirelessdriver-support] Re: Accessing Printers

[Bruce T. <Bla...@Ea...>]

Sadly, my original observation and suggestion regarding the use of Printer
Sharing as a work around for the fact that the WirelessDriver does not yet
handle AppleTalk over ethernet, is restricted to certain situations.

Generic Printer Sharing works like a charm when all the players are running
OS 10.2.x : Any printer that is accessible (via USB or AppleTalk) to a Mac
(Computer A) running Jaguar can be shared by that computer simply by
checking the "Printer Sharing" Service under the System Preferences
"Sharing" panel. Set up the printers using Print Center, then enable Printer
Sharing and you are done. Go to another Mac (Computer B) running Jaguar,
open Print Center and all those printers you just defined on computer A will
be available in your list of printers. It matters not that Computer B does
not have AppleTalk or direct USB connectivity to those printers.

It MAY also be true that Computer C running earlier versions of OS X can
"see" such shared printers, but I have no way to test this. Please correct
me if this is wrong.

In mixed OS 9 and OS X environments, the following rules apply:

I don't believe there is any way to declare an AppleTalk printer as "shared"
from any version of OS 9. One would have simply used the Chooser to select
any AppleTalk printer from each OS 9 system. No overhead would have been
incurred by some other Computer for such sharing.

You can share a USB printer provided

*    all the Macs are running OS 9
*    OR the Mac directly connect to the printer is running OS 10.2.x and the
other Macs are running OS 10.2.x. or OS 9

USB printer sharing was introduced in OS 9... was not available in OS 10.0.x
or OS 10.1.x... and was reintroduced in OS 10.2.

[[ The above observations about USB printer sharing were posted on the Apple
Discussions under Airport last month.]]

So, Rich, I think you are out of luck unless you can also upgrade the G4 OR
get a hardware print server which will have the effect of giving your HP6 an
IP address.

Bruce Thomson

>> I'm hoping that you can shed some additional light on how to do this
>> printer share.  I'm using a Farallon wireless card on a souped-up
>> Wallstreet (G4/500/500).  There's a G4 (OS 9.2) physically connected
>> to the ethernet (not USB).  Our printer (HP6) is also connected to the
>> ethernet.  What settings do I play with on the G4 to allow me to do
>> this print sharing thing?
>> 
>> rr
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> Well I guess if you consider an AppleTalk printer "not physically
>>> connected", then yes.
>>> 
>>> I would say that as a rule any printer that is accessible to a
>>> computer
>>> (server) in the Print Center can certainly be shared by that server
>>> simply
>>> by turning on Printer Sharing under the Sharing System Preferences
>>> panel.
>>> 
>>> So, if you have one server on your network which has Appletalk and/or
>>> USB
>>> connectivity to any number of printers, then that server can share
>>> those
>>> printers for the benefit of the rest of the computers on your
>>> network. The
>>> other computers need not have AppleTalk connectivity because the
>>> Jaguar
>>> printer sharing is clearly done over IP. On the "other systems", don't
>>> define any printers explicitly, simply note that all the shared
>>> printers
>>> will magically pop up in the Print Center as soon as the print server
>>> shares
>>> them.
>>> 
>>> I think that it is probably a good idea in general to reduce
>>> confusion on
>>> the part of the printers to do this; that is to have one machine
>>> share all
>>> the printers and the other systems use the shared printers instead of
>>> defining printers themselves. Or not. It was just a thought.
>>> 
>>> Bruce Thomson
>> 
>> 
>>> I just printed from a G3 PowerBook with Orinoco Gold to a printer
>>> ethernet-connected to my G4 Quicksilver, both computers using Jaguar.
>>> 
>>> I set the Sharing preference on the G4 to Printer Sharing. I deleted
>>> all the deletable printers in the Print Center on the PowerBook, then
>>> used the remaining printer to print. (The printer showed up in the
>>> Print Center "magically.")
>>> 
>>> Thanks to Bruce Thomson and others who have posted helpful comments
>>> and suggestions.
>>> 
>>> Happy and amazed,
>>> 
>>> Ev
>>