Connect to a printer via a wireless connection?

Question

OK, so my home computer is running Windows XP Media Center Edition (version 2002) with a Kodak 5300 AiO printer hooked up to the internet through a Motorola SBG 900 Cable Modem/Wireless Router. My dad has a laptop that runs Windows XP Media Center (same as home) my sister has a laptop that runs Windows XP Professional, and my laptop has Windows Vista Home Premium.

Whenever we want to print something, we either have to email it to ourselves and open and save it to the home computer or save it to a flash drive and open it on the home computer.

How can I configure the printer or home computer to allow our laptops to connect via the wireless router to print?

Answer 1

You need to share the printer on the PC that it's connected to.

When you add the printer, add a "network" printer.  The pc that it's connected to has to be turned on for the other computers to use.

Note if the printer is "older" there probably won't be a Vista driver for it, so getting it working with Vista through the network might be a challenge?

Answer 2

You have a couple options here:

1. Buy a print server.  This device allows you to plug the printer into the printer server via usb.  Then the print server plugs into your router, just like another computer.  Then you can always printer to the printer.

2. Share the printer on the PC that has it physically plugged in.  Just right click the printer and do share.  Then others can add the printer as a network printer.  The downside is that the PC doing the sharing always needs to be on.

Answer 3

it's better to use the cable with direct connections