Nothing stupid about the question.
On my system, the printer end of the cable is different than the end
that goes to the USB connector on the computer. The same is true for
parallel cables, which use a Centronix connector at the printer and a
DB25 connector at the computer.
You may be thinking of the difference between a cross-over cable
(transmit/receive pairs switched on one end) for connecting
peer-to-peer networked computers, as opposed to the pin for pin cables
that connect computers to routers. It seems the USB printer cables are
keyed in the sense they have different connectors on either end.
Don't get sucked in by over-priced cables that advertise gold-plated
pins, or whatever. That's a scam. I'm an electronics tech and I do
cabling as part of my job. Gold-plated connectors might be useful on
some printed circuit boards where voltage drops are critical.
As an example, Future Shop in Canada charges $30 Canadian (about US
$20) for a gold-plated USB cable. I found one for $12 Canadian that
works just as well. There's nothing critical in the cable wiring or
the connectors that requires paying three times the price.
