Weekend ProjectGet to grips with someserioustech tinkering toboost your computer andotherdevices58 18 Sept - 1 Oct 2019
on your network.
However, there are acouple of
downsidesto be aware of. Most wireless
print servers are afew years old, and
therefore may not be fullycompatible
withWindows 10 – oreven your printer–
so it pays to do someresearch beforeyou
buy. Also, given thecost, it may actually
be cheaperto replaceyour outdated
printer with a newer wireless model.
Shop aroundto see what’s available.Howto... Make any printerwirelessWayne Williamsexplains how you can convert an old wired printer
into a wireless model, so you can print from any device
Add a wireless print server
Most modern printers nowcome with
built-inWi-Fi, but ifyour old-school
printer doesn’t offer this, there are
variouswaysin whichyou can add it
yourself.The first and easiest option
- but also the mostexpensive – isto buy
a wireless print server, such as TP-Link’s
TL-WPS510U (£50,bit.ly/tpl484). You
plug this intoyour printer’s USB port and
can thenconnectto it from any device
Before Wi-Fi becamea
commonfixture in our
homes, your printer
would beconnected to
yourPCvia acable. If you
wantedtoprintsomething
fromanother device, you’d
havetofirsttransferthe
filetothe PCconnected to
the printer(viaemail, SD
cardor USB stick,for
example), thenprint it
fromthere.
Nowadays, you can
connect toa wireless
printerfromanywhere,
usingalmostany device.
If your printerdoesn’t have
wirelesscapabilities, there
are several waysyou can
add this functionality.
Inthis issue’s Weekend
Project, welook atthe
various options available
toyou,from addinga
wirelessprintserverto
harnessingthe power of
the cloud.If you havea
RaspberryPi, you can even
use this tobuild yourown
printserver.If you own a Raspberry Pi,you could
consider turning this into a wireless print
server.You don’t need the latest version- an older model will do, and these are
very cheapto buy.Weshowyou how
to set this up in our MiniWorkshop, right.
It essentially involves installing and
configuring the CUPS(Common UNIX
PrintingSystem) print server software
from Apple that’s typically used on Linux
and Unixsystems.
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