I'm looking for a printer scanner combo that is wireless. I want to be able to print/scan from my iMac with a device that is not in the same room. I know airport express can do this for printer but not scanner. I know there are airprint supported printers. But is there such thing for scanners?
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Is there such thing as wireless scanner?
- Thread starter yalag
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I have a wireless printer/scanner myself, works fine over our home Wi-Fi. It's nothing fancy but does everything I need it to do, which is the occasional bit of printing/scanning.
It's an HP Deskjet F4500, incidentally.
It's an HP Deskjet F4500, incidentally.
Can you briefly describe your scanning experience? How do you set it up? Is it like a network printer in System preferences? Do you need third party software?
Yep, it's set up as a printer in System Preferences as one would do a wired printer, straightforward enough to do. Scanning is done through a little HP app, I can't remember if the driver was on a disk or if I downloaded but either way it wasn't a headache getting it set up.
It's a relatively cheap and cheerful thing, as I say it's nothing fancy but it does its job reliably enough. My one complaint is that it's a tad noisy when printing. I don't do a huge amount of printing at home though so it's not a massive issue. If you were doing a lot of printing day in day out that might be a concern though.
yep i do it also. i have the HP Photosmart 4780, you need third party software (provided with the device) lay what you want to print under the hood. Open the app. press scan. et voila... its on your mac.
i don't know of any stand alone scanners that provide this. its always combined with a printer as far as i know.
i don't know of any stand alone scanners that provide this. its always combined with a printer as far as i know.
There's another way to get a wireless scanner.
This is to get a wireless networked USB server from Silex and connect the USB scanner to the Silex server.
See : http://www.silexamerica.com/products/usb_device_connectivity/sx-2000wg.html
Depending on where in the world you are there are other Silex products available. Europe seems to have more than the US at the moment.
I use a Silex server with a Belkin powered hub to connect a scanner, dvd drive, camera, iphone, usb drive to my MBA in OSX and Bootcamp. All this "junk" sits on a bookcase 2meters away and connects via WiFi to the MBA.
This is to get a wireless networked USB server from Silex and connect the USB scanner to the Silex server.
See : http://www.silexamerica.com/products/usb_device_connectivity/sx-2000wg.html
Depending on where in the world you are there are other Silex products available. Europe seems to have more than the US at the moment.
I use a Silex server with a Belkin powered hub to connect a scanner, dvd drive, camera, iphone, usb drive to my MBA in OSX and Bootcamp. All this "junk" sits on a bookcase 2meters away and connects via WiFi to the MBA.
I have a Brother MFC-something all-in-one printer/scanner that I can scan wirelessly from via Image Capture. The unit has an SSID login in the preferences; once you join the wireless network it appears automatically in Image Capture as an available source. It was very easy.
I just wanted to post that One of the problems I had while setting up the wireless printer was it had a mode either Ethernet cable connection or wireless. you had to select one mode or the other matching what your using. I thought it would auto select what you had hooked up so it took me awhile to figure this out. just bringing that up for anyone that might have to do something similar.
My Epson Stylus Photo PX820FWD does wireless scanning from within OS X - I believe Lion has added this support.
EDIT: My bad, didn't realise this was a topic from 2007
EDIT: My bad, didn't realise this was a topic from 2007
I've heard lots of problems from people who use WiFi printers. Personally, I'd stay away from them for that reason. However, there's something that a lot of people seem to forget or not know: you don't need a wireless printer to print (or scan) wirelessly. You just need any (wired) networkable printer and a wired network to plug it into--and if that network also happens to do wireless, you can effectively print and scan "wirelessly" as well. So, for example, the Aiport Extreme Base Station would work for this, but so would any wireless router with a switch. You just need a spare jack to plug it into your network.
Basically any Ethernet-enabled printer should have a way to scan and print over the network connection. I have a Brother DCP-7056dn connected to my AEBS with Ethernet, and I can print and scan wirelessly via either Brother's software or Apple's provided applications (Preview, etc.). You just follow the standard procedure for adding the printer/scanner in System Preferences.
EDIT: I just looked at the most recent post (today) and the ones before that (February) and thought this was a recent thread, but since I forgot it's not 2012 anymore I guess my calculations were a bit off. Hope the OP figured this out already.
You can do the same with WiFi printers and scanners, but you'll often need special software. Most wired printers won't need this, and if you get one that supports standard langauges (PS/PCL, etc, rather than a computer-based driver-only language) you'll be significantly more futureproofed than if the you have the latter and the manufacturer decides to stop supporting it.
Of course, this just means that you'll need a wired network connection by the printer to plug it into. This is just my two cents, but I think you'll have a lot fewer problems doing this. If you have any particular printing or scanning needs (e.g., duplexing, color, etc.), I'm sure some people may have more specific recommendations.
Basically any Ethernet-enabled printer should have a way to scan and print over the network connection. I have a Brother DCP-7056dn connected to my AEBS with Ethernet, and I can print and scan wirelessly via either Brother's software or Apple's provided applications (Preview, etc.). You just follow the standard procedure for adding the printer/scanner in System Preferences.
EDIT: I just looked at the most recent post (today) and the ones before that (February) and thought this was a recent thread, but since I forgot it's not 2012 anymore I guess my calculations were a bit off. Hope the OP figured this out already.
You can do the same with WiFi printers and scanners, but you'll often need special software. Most wired printers won't need this, and if you get one that supports standard langauges (PS/PCL, etc, rather than a computer-based driver-only language) you'll be significantly more futureproofed than if the you have the latter and the manufacturer decides to stop supporting it.
Of course, this just means that you'll need a wired network connection by the printer to plug it into. This is just my two cents, but I think you'll have a lot fewer problems doing this. If you have any particular printing or scanning needs (e.g., duplexing, color, etc.), I'm sure some people may have more specific recommendations.
I have a Canon MP640 wireless printer/scanner/copier, although there are newer versions now.
I always use it over wireless - the printer is housed in a cupboard.
Its always worked straight away - never had any issues whatsoever. I can simply print and when I go upstairs my prints are waiting for me.
I can also scan wirelessly. Simply place something in the scanning bed and I can use Image Capture to scan just as though it was connected locally. Its all pretty quick with minimal, if any, lag.
I always use it over wireless - the printer is housed in a cupboard.
Its always worked straight away - never had any issues whatsoever. I can simply print and when I go upstairs my prints are waiting for me.
I can also scan wirelessly. Simply place something in the scanning bed and I can use Image Capture to scan just as though it was connected locally. Its all pretty quick with minimal, if any, lag.
I use the HP 8600... works great for wireless printing and scanning and has a ton of other nice features in a networking printer. Very happy with it so far.
HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One Wireless Color Printer with Scanner, Copier & Fax by HP
Permalink: http://amzn.com/B005O55U2Y
HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One Wireless Color Printer with Scanner, Copier & Fax by HP
Permalink: http://amzn.com/B005O55U2Y
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