Printing through Windows Machine

[brian0526]

This question has been asked and answered over and over again. But, I still can't figure this one out. I called Apple Care support and HP Support. They tell me I'm doing everything right. But, I'm still stumped.

I have an HP LaserJet 1012 hooked up to my Windows XP machine via USB. The printer is shared (I can see it from the other Windows machines on the network). I would like to print to it from my iMac running Panther. But, when I try to add the printer through "Windows Printing", it does not show in the list. So, I can't even try to add it. I've installed the software that came with the printer both on the Mac and on the PC.

Through the research I've done, I think the solution may be GIMP or CUPS or something like that. But, I'm no UNIX guru and haven't quite figured out if there's something I can do to get this to work.

What's more frustrating is I had an HP LaserJet 5MP hooked up EXACTLY this same way and it worked great (better than when it was directly attached to the Mac). I bought the LaserJet 1012 because it's three times as fast.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[brian0526]

Answer to my own question...

I finally gave up. This was much more complicated than I would have ever guessed. I had a setup working with one printer. Then, replaced that with a more "modern" printer only to find out it would not work.

There are printer server devices (which I found cost more than I paid for my printer). I ended up finding a USB switch that allows me to connect my Windows machine and my iMac physically to the same printer. There's software to switch from machine to machine. I like this solution because it's very simple. Each machine thinks it has its own direct attached USB printer. The Windows machine can still print really, really fast (while the iMac takes its time spooling). The machines are independent (the Windows machine doesn't have to be on for me to print).

The only drawback I can see would be if different people were working on the machines because the switching is not automatic. The software is pretty good in that the icon shows you if the other machine is using the connection (only one machine at a time can). But, since this is just for me, that's not a problem.

Belkin makes a few of these switches. I found cheaper ones. But, they didn't specifically say they supported MacIntosh. Plus, they switched using a button on the switch.

Hope this helps someone else.


Peace,
Brian

 

[Sparky's]

An outside alternative would be to look into a small ethernet hub, say a 5 port. I would assume both your machines (the PC and Mac) are ethernet equiped and If you could either get an ethernet card for the printer (they run around a $100 retail) or see if it's already network ready, go that route. I have 2 G3s, 2 PCs and a UMAX clone all connected to an HP 5000n laser printer, and an Epson 1520 inkjet via ethernet with no problems at all.