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Is it possible to connect an old printer to a wireless router with a USB print server via a Centronics to USB adapter? Will this work?

5 Answers 5

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My customers have had good luck with the "Cables To Go 6-Foot USB to Parallel Printer Adapter Cable". It runs about $15 at major online retailer such as Tiger Direct, Provantage amd PC Connection.

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  • So they have been able to connect their parallel printers to a USB router successfully? Any additional configuration problems?
    – user6663
    Aug 21, 2009 at 2:00
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What printer, what OS, what type of cable (a number would help)?

My first guess: no, because either the printer won't be able to receive whatever you send to it or the router won't recognize your printer being there.

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    If you get the right drivers it MIGHT work
    – Ivo Flipse
    Aug 19, 2009 at 6:47
  • It is an HP Laserjet 5, my laptop has Vista Home Premium 64 bit and the desktop has WinXP SP2.
    – user6663
    Aug 21, 2009 at 1:57
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    Why not order a used Jetdirect card off eBay? I see 3 for under USD 15. No adapter cables, no driver issues (Jetdirect is mature), and you get to save your USB print server.
    – hyperslug
    Dec 22, 2009 at 11:46
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The USB Print server probably won't be able to handle the centronics->USB adapter. If it does...well you're in luck.

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it could work. but there are some things making it more unlikely.

the print server may not be able to properly translate the request into the format the printer needs in order to understand how the document is supposed to look, and even if it did the centronics adapter may not relay the request in properly, as it may be using a propriety protocol between itself and it's device driver. the computer can get it, (possibly automatically as windows searches online for the driver as it always does when you plug in a usb device it doesn't have the driver for)

but the print server can't use a windows driver so it doesn't get clued in on the special way to talk to the printer and thus can't.

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Despite the negative comments I see here, you can be confident about the converter and the printer working together. I use some without any problem. This is cheap equipment, but works well.
Note this is a USB to parallel, not parallel to USB.

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