What exactly is a "wireless printer"? You aren't buying what you think! (I think.)
Wireless printer. Wow! Sounds cool! Since I have a wireless network, I need one!
I install computers, printers, and networks for people and businesses every day ('cept weekends, if I can help it), and there appears to be a lot of misconception as to what the purpose of a wireless printer is and why you might need one.
Here are the 411s (there are two):
Buy a wireless printer if you
1. need a printer and it cannot be connected through an Ethernet cable to your router.
An example would be a second office in a home in another room from the router, and you can't run a cable from that room to the router. Your printer would be connected to the network wirelessly.
2. don't have a wireless network and have a laptop that you use all over the house and don't want to wire it to the printer. There're at least two sticky drawbacks to this use for a wireless printer, although I won't go into all that here and now.
Otherwise, you don't need the wireless capability in the printer.
There are a number of people who buy these printers because they have a wireless network and think they should then have a wireless printer.
Here's the rule of thumb for this type of purchase:
If the printer is going to be installed either close enough to the router to plug in an Ethernet cable or the final printer location has an Ethernet wall jack running back to the router,
you don't need a wireless printer!
The printer will be wired back to the router and it does not matter how your computer connects to the network.
The difference in cost between an HP printer with wireless capabilities and the same printer without is about $100. Don't waste your money!
Please understand this - in today's network with today's technology, unless you have a top-of-the-line wireless router, a wired connection will be faster (sometimes much faster) and more reliable than a wireless connection.
Whenever possible, go with a wired connection for speed and reliability, or spend the money for the best consumer-style wireless equipment.
Posted by Sid Plait at 1/16/2011 3:27 AM 
Categories: Technology, Networking, Wireless Networks, All
Tags: wireless printing wireless networks wireless routers office networks business networks home networks
Categories: Technology, Networking, Wireless Networks, All
Tags: wireless printing wireless networks wireless routers office networks business networks home networks
good post Sid. I learned a lot from reading it. tks.
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Yo Sid, this recent BBC News report, "Home wi-fi '30% slower' than fixed broadband", confirms what you've stated above.
Furthermore, a wired connection is 100% secure -- a few years ago, I had free access to Wi-Fi broadband for about six months, until my damn neighbour put a bloody lock on it!
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