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Which is faster? Bluetooth vs. Airport Express for Printers

i4k20c

i4k20c

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Hey,
I tried some searches and didn't get far. I was wondering if i should hook up my printer via airport express or via bluetooth 2.0. I am going to assume bluetooth 2.0 is a bit faster, but is there a noticable difference?

thank you.
 
AirPort, but I actually don't think it'll matter. Which set up would be more convenient? 🙂
 
Airport is actually significantly faster than Bluetooth for file transfers.
(802.11g is 54mbps. Bluetooth with EDR [if your printer supports such a feature] is 2.1mbps)

However, if you're mostly going to be printing text documents rather than high-res photos it's the difference between 1 second and 4 or 5.
If you plan on pushing though lots of images, it's the difference between 4 or 5 and 30-40...
So let that be the indicator.

If it was me, I had Bluetooth capabilities, but I'd have to buy an Airport Express, I'd stick to Bluetooth most of the time, and break out a USB cable for the occasionally heavy printing. But that's just me.

Hope this helps
 
I was going to get a airport express from a member about 3 weeks back for my dorm room next year, but i emailed the university to inquire if the dorm has wireless on the resident floors, and they said yes, so i told the member i wanted to decline the offer. However, i called again recently and one of the university counselors said no! 😕 I'm thinking if i can get a airport express for a good deal again, i may just go ahead and buy that. Eventually i will also be buying some nice speakers for my powerbook, so i guess i can get a pretty good wireless set up going than for a college student at least! 😛

Bluetooth would set me back: $30
Airport express with good deal would set me back: $80-100

Hopefully a good deal comes around in the marketplace.

Thank You though... 🙂
 
Well if you'd also use the Airport Express for wireless routing in your dorm room, I'd say get that over Bluetooth.

Plluuus, the music capabilities might be nice. Don't know how big your dorm room would be, but hey, it's cool to have. 😎
 
realityisterror said:
Well if you'd also use the Airport Express for wireless routing in your dorm room, I'd say get that over Bluetooth.

Plluuus, the music capabilities might be nice. Don't know how big your dorm room would be, but hey, it's cool to have. 😎
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you on this even though both my printers have BT. I had an Airport Express and used that with both my iMac and iBook and fast printing (nice when your in bed and need to print a few pages). Since my modem/router got replaced with a wireless unit I now can't print using wireless unless I get the little print sever but a BT dongle is way cheaper. I had a link for one on Amazon....http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ER&s=electronics&v=glance&vi=rebates&n=172282 Since my iMac would only be four feet away (small art room like a single dorm size) it would work okay but better for the iBook.
 
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How do you hook up a printer using Airport Express? (I don't own an Airport Express...) Is there a USB port, to which you can connect the printer?
 
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