I am still confused about this device. I would like to hook up non-wireless USB printer all-in-one and wireless internet connection. If I plug printer with usb into Express along with cable connection am I good to go? Would be great if I can.

---

Da Good Life

If you only have one computer, and it's wireless, the AirPort Express is all you need. The DSL or cable modem plugs into the AirPort Express's Ethernet port and then the computer sees it wirelessly.

If you have more than one computer the DSL or cable modem plugs into a router and the AirPort Express either plugs into that, or more commonly, sees the router wirelessly.

So, the printer aspect of it is kind of a separate issue. My understanding is that what it does is act as a kind of print server, i.e. any computer that can see the AirPort Express can also see the printer.

Should work according to Apple's website: "Share a Single Printer — Wirelessly
Have several computers in your home but only one printer? No problem. Just connect a printer to the USB port on the AirPort Express Base Station and the printer instantly becomes available to everyone on your wireless network.(6) No longer do you need to move your printer from one place to another to connect it to this or that computer. No more dealing with tangled cables or emailing files from one computer to another that’s connected to the printer."

I think so, but we can only guess. It's too bad Apple has no info about this product listed anywhere.

If only there were a inter-network type thing, an interface that linked computers to other computers, a "world wide web" that somehow made it possible to look things up, explore a product and its features. I suppose that's just futuristic fantasy.

I guess the only way is to drive to Apple in California and see if they have any books or anything describing how the product works.

Oh wait! Maybe if you click your mouse thingie here, there might be some helpful info:

[www.apple.com]

Some recent posts here make some postings on the other side make so much more sense now.

"non-wireless USB printer all-in-one"

It's possible that it will only function as a printer, and the other all-in-one functions might not work going through the Airport Express.

Quote
GGD
"non-wireless USB printer all-in-one"

It's possible that it will only function as a printer, and the other all-in-one functions might not work going through the Airport Express.

Printer Only.

BGnR

---

"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

I still have an old scanner. Can I USB hub it to Express?

---

Da Good Life

Quote
spearmint
I still have an old scanner. Can I USB hub it to Express?

SpearMint, an honest question, how BIG is your new place that you have to have everything on WireLess?
Just plug your Printer/Scanner into a cheap hub and plug into that when you need to.
If you're not plugged in, the print jobs will just be held until you plug in.
Why this WireLess obsession?

BGnR

---

"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

Quote
BigGuynRusty

Quote
spearmint
I still have an old scanner. Can I USB hub it to Express?

SpearMint, an honest question, how BIG is your new place that you have to have everything on WireLess?
Just plug your Printer/Scanner into a cheap hub and plug into that when you need to.
If you're not plugged in, the print jobs will just be held until you plug in.
Why this WireLess obsession?

BGnR

It is a nice apartment with room but not "big." Having a new laptop with working battery and wireless printer and scanner would be very convenient to sit on different furniture and cut the horrible cable clutter. If an airport express can do this why not? Idea of a computer desk does not appeal to me particularly since I multitask internet, TV and newspaper while snacking. My sister and brother in law have adopted laptops even after having had huge LCD monitors you felt you could jump into.

Bling stuff probably too.

---

Da Good Life

Quote
spearmint

Quote
BigGuynRusty

Quote
spearmint
I still have an old scanner. Can I USB hub it to Express?

SpearMint, an honest question, how BIG is your new place that you have to have everything on WireLess?
Just plug your Printer/Scanner into a cheap hub and plug into that when you need to.
If you're not plugged in, the print jobs will just be held until you plug in.
Why this WireLess obsession?

BGnR

It is a nice apartment with room but not "big." Having a new laptop with working battery and wireless printer and scanner would be very convenient to sit on different furniture and cut the horrible cable clutter. If an airport express can do this why not? Idea of a computer desk does not appeal to me particularly since I multitask internet, TV and newspaper while snacking. My sister and brother in law have adopted laptops even after having had huge LCD monitors you felt you could jump into.

Bling stuff probably too.

You need a small desk to put the Printer and Scanner on anyway, and a place to write out your bills & stuff.
You don't have to have "Cable Clutter", you just print what you want, the laptop spools it, end of the day you take your laptop and plug the single cable into the hub and print.
Why spend $$$ you don't have chasing a dream that really won't be that satisfactory when you finally spend all that cash?
I set up a buddy with a Epson RX300M/Epson PictureMate Snap/Brother HL-1440/CanoScan35, all into one Belkin USB Hub.
He just plugs in his MacBook when he wants to print all his spooled print jobs, or wants to scan in something.
Very small table, absolutely no cable clutter.

BGnR

---

"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

If you check out Apple's docs on the Airport Express, you'd know in about ten minutes what it can and can't do. This post is more about daydreaming about what you wish it could do. (which is fun to do, I admit)

The Airport Express is an alternative way to have a wireless network in a smaller device than the Airport Base Station. It can also do the "Air Tunes" thing, which is cool, and it can allow you to access your printer, wirelessly.

If you want a device that can wirelessly control your your scanner, your camera, your TV, your toaster, your microwave, your garage door, and your vacuum cleaner, you might want to try Sears, or Radio Shack, to see what gizmos they have. The Airport Express won't do all that. But it will get you on the internet, and/or local network, and it'll wirelessly send iTunes music to remote self-powered speakers, and it'll wirelessly access your printer.

It does almost everything else an Airport Extreme Base Station can do, except carry a large number of connections. Since it's unlikely that you'll need to have any more than one or two computers using a wireless signal at once (though it could carry up to ten, I believe, if you wanted it to) the pocket-sized Airport Express will serve all your needs.

You can take it when you travel, too, i've done that.

I have a good size wire shelving rack that all my electronics go on. Big enough for everything. I do not want desk. Will immediately be covered with generations of clutter. Have kitchen bar for paying bills. The express if it is my airport that is kaput will cost $79. If it is the airport card, $29 will be the cost. The new computer to replace the well worn small 10gb storage slow 500 mhz iBook with a bad power manager is the expense. It is full and then some.

The express wireless print and net combo sounds attractive and from the comments here sounds like it would work fine. I am nothing if not about convenience. Also sitting outside on my first ever porch and computing and talking on the phone is a nice dream.

---

Da Good Life



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2007 11:25PM by spearmint.

If you're really looking for an All-In-One type printer and want to use all functions wirelessly, then you should really consider ones that are Ethernet based rather than USB based, and are designed by the manufacturer to perform all of their functions over the network, rather than trying to have an AirportExpress acting as a print server to network a USB printer.

You could probably save money by getting a non-Apple wireless router that also has a 4-port switch and would allow connecting an Ethernet printer.

An example of a network based AIO is the Brother MFC-7820N, but it's a monochrome laser printer, and you seem to be interested in color inkjets.

This printer (Brother MFC-5440cn) might do what you need, it supports Ethernet, and they list drivers for 10.2 on their website.

[forums.macresource.com]