Looking for ethernet-based print server with USB and Parallel plus Support of all Printer Features...

Hello,

I have the following printers that I wish to share on my home network
without dedicating a PC
to be a "print server." The problem is that everything I've found so far
will not support "special features"
of some of these printers. It would seem to me that if the necessary printer
software is installed on each
computer, then I should be able to send ANY AND ALL COMMANDS to a network
printer thereby
ALLOWING ALL FEATURES OF ALL PRINTERS TO WORK JUST AS IF IT WAS ATTACHED
DIRECTLY TO THE PC DOING THE PRINT...

Here is what I have currently:

HP LaserJet 1100A (parallel port; used for most normal printing)
Lexmark Z-52 (USB port; used for color printing on ordinary paper)
Epson Stylus Photo R200 (USB port; used to print photos of various sizes and
also direct ink-jet CD labeling)
ScanMaker X12 USL legal-size flatbed scanner (USB port or SCSI ports)

The problem is that I cannot get the special features (like CD printing) to
work with the print server despite having
all the software necessary to accomplish this. I cannot set properties such
as paper type, color mods, etc. And I
cannot get information back from the printer like how much ink is left,
execute print head alignments, or print
nozzle cleaning functions. Does anyone make a dedicated print server device
that attaches to the Ethernet and will
support at least one parallel and three or more USB devices (INCLUDING ALL
FEATURES OF SUCH DEVICES)?

It would seem to me that the printer/device software which sends all the
correct commands to the printer/device (a la,
a stream of binary data should be able to send that binary data over the
Ethernet UNCHNAGED to the print server
WHICH simply passes it on to the printer in question without interfering
with, attempting to interpret or translate, or
modifying that binary command stream IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. This would seem
to make sharing ANY
Parallel, USB, or Firewire device (like scanners, disk drives, cameras, and
so forth) over my network WITHOUT
ANY LOSS OF FUNCTIONALITY something that should be possible to do!!!!!!!

Just define a "virtual USB port" (or whatever) that appears to each PC like
a REAL USB port, but underlying that the
driver for the "virtual port" knows how to redirect and send the data over
the Ethernet to the server and the appropriate
"virtual port" on the other side where it is routed to the "real" port to
which the device is connected on the server side.
Seems this approach would allow genuine network sharing of essentially ANY
device...

IT WORKS (MOSTLY) IF I USE A DEDICATED PC AS THE SERVER AND SHARE OUT THE
DEVICES
FROM THERE; SO SOMEBODY SHOULD BE ABLE TO BUILD A NETWORK SHARING DEVICE
THAT
COULD, IN EFFECT, SHARE ANYTHING....


What am I not seeing here - please explain...



Thanks,

- G

"G.L. Cross" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I have the following printers that I wish to share on my home network
without dedicating a PC
to be a "print server." The problem is that everything I've found so far
will not support "special features"

A well known problem with printer servers. Usually it's the back channel
that doesn't work (eg ink status, paper out etc).

If you really need all that then it might be worth finding an old PC for the
job. Even then sometimes the network version of the driver isn't as good as
the directly connected version.

"G.L. Cross" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I have the following printers that I wish to share on my home network
without dedicating a PC
to be a "print server." The problem is that everything I've found so far
will not support "special features"
of some of these printers. It would seem to me that if the necessary
printer
software is installed on each
computer, then I should be able to send ANY AND ALL COMMANDS to a network
printer thereby
ALLOWING ALL FEATURES OF ALL PRINTERS TO WORK JUST AS IF IT WAS ATTACHED
DIRECTLY TO THE PC DOING THE PRINT...

Here is what I have currently:

HP LaserJet 1100A (parallel port; used for most normal printing)
Lexmark Z-52 (USB port; used for color printing on ordinary paper)
Epson Stylus Photo R200 (USB port; used to print photos of various sizes
and
also direct ink-jet CD labeling)
ScanMaker X12 USL legal-size flatbed scanner (USB port or SCSI ports)

The problem is that I cannot get the special features (like CD printing)
to
work with the print server despite having
all the software necessary to accomplish this. I cannot set properties
such
as paper type, color mods, etc. And I
cannot get information back from the printer like how much ink is left,
execute print head alignments, or print
nozzle cleaning functions. Does anyone make a dedicated print server
device
that attaches to the Ethernet and will
support at least one parallel and three or more USB devices (INCLUDING ALL
FEATURES OF SUCH DEVICES)?

It would seem to me that the printer/device software which sends all the
correct commands to the printer/device (a la,
a stream of binary data should be able to send that binary data over the
Ethernet UNCHNAGED to the print server
WHICH simply passes it on to the printer in question without interfering
with, attempting to interpret or translate, or
modifying that binary command stream IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. This would
seem
to make sharing ANY
Parallel, USB, or Firewire device (like scanners, disk drives, cameras,
and
so forth) over my network WITHOUT
ANY LOSS OF FUNCTIONALITY something that should be possible to do!!!!!!!

Just define a "virtual USB port" (or whatever) that appears to each PC
like
a REAL USB port, but underlying that the
driver for the "virtual port" knows how to redirect and send the data over
the Ethernet to the server and the appropriate
"virtual port" on the other side where it is routed to the "real" port to
which the device is connected on the server side.
Seems this approach would allow genuine network sharing of essentially ANY
device...

IT WORKS (MOSTLY) IF I USE A DEDICATED PC AS THE SERVER AND SHARE OUT THE
DEVICES
FROM THERE; SO SOMEBODY SHOULD BE ABLE TO BUILD A NETWORK SHARING DEVICE
THAT
COULD, IN EFFECT, SHARE ANYTHING....


What am I not seeing here - please explain...



Thanks,

- G



What kind of network do you have (NOS, topology etc.)?
Print servers support x number of print devices based on the type of
network.
Are you saying you have you installed the software ( drivers and utilities)
for every printer on every PC?

Nick