Jethro said:
I have a USB printer and two machines. Can I connect that printer to
a USB hub, and then connect both machines to that same hub, and then
print from both machines to the one printer?
Nope.
I am trying to avoid manually switching wires to allow the two
machines to print on the one printer (which I do now).
The simplest way to do this is to install the printer on one of the
machines, then share it. Any computer networked to that computer should
then be able to use it. Some caveats:
1) Most, but not all, printers can be shared on a network. Unsharable
printers, in my experience, tend to be older (a few years at least) so
you'll probably be ok.
2) Not all features of the printer are necessarily available when using
it from a networked computer. In particular if you have one of those
all-in-one printer/scanner/fax machine doodads, you will likely not get
the full software install when you add the shared printer to your
networked computer. This isn't necessarily bad because printers tend to
have overburdened helper applications in my opinion, but it might cut
that computer off from some feature you consider essential.
3) The computer that is actually physically attached to the printer must
be on and operation for any networked computers to use that printer.
If caveat #3 is a problem, you can look into print servers. They permit
you to just put the printer up on the network without any dependency on
a computer. (Some printers can just do that by themselves.) I've
considered this option, but have been reluctant because the
manufacturers of those print servers are pretty catty about vouching for
their hardware's ability to work with a specific printer.
