IOGear USB 2.0 Print Server, 1-Port GPSU21 (Silver) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The print server hardware worked fine, but the setup software
caused a few problems as a result of oversimplication.

I was able to get the server going with a Brother HL-5150D USB
printer on a home network with 4 computers (3 wireless, 1
ethernet), an all-in-one networked device and the USB
printer itself. This is using a mixture of computers with
different flavours of Windows XP. The print server is wired to
a router using DHCP. I did not chose to put the print server on
a static address (as the manual prefers) since that does not
reflect my network setup (home networks are usually DHCP).
I encountered problems because:
(a) My software firewall first caused the installer to crash.
I wanted to avoid turning it off entirely, but
to no avail. I was able to leave my router's hardware
firewall on but had to turn off my software firewall
for the installation. The manual asks that firewall
be turned off at installation, but I find that drastic.
I guess I should have cut off my internet connection when
I did this.
(b) I installed my printer drivers and print server back-to-back
without rebooting the computer in between. The manual
allows for this but I was not able to avoid the "the
segment of the print server is different from your
computer" error no matter what I tried. So I rebooted
and started the print server install a second time over.
Worked fine. The manual's guidance for this error was
incorrect in my case.
So, if what I've learned applies:
(i) install the printer driver as a normal USB
printer on your computers first.
(ii) reboot the computers
(iii) install the print server software.

Did this for all computers on the network, and
now I can print from anywhere (note that I did not
reconfigure the print server hardware each time, only
on the 1st computer, but I don't see the harm if one
does it for each computer as long as one is consistent
in placing the same settings each time).
(c) The installation of the print server software caused
my printer settings to go from "Use Printer Online"
to "Use Printer Offline". My printer swallowed all
my jobs because of that and no pages were coming out.
To remediate this go to the "Control Panel", "Printers",
"Viewed my installed printers",
right click the printer and select "Use Printer Online".
Did this for all computers.
Everything worked after that, with all firewalls reenabled.
Some day in the future, the network will go down
(power outage or other), and DHCP router might
assign a different dynamic IP address for the print server.
If that is the case, I'll have to point my computers to the
new IP address. To findout what your computer thinks the
printer address is: "Control Panel", "Printers",
"View installed printers", right click the printer and
select "Properties". Select the "Ports" tab,
then "Configure Port". Then compare the IP against the
new address your router gave to the print server
(go to your router's web page to find out). If they don't
match then you'll need to reconfigure. That said, I tested
a new IP address on the print server by power cycling it.
I then rebooted the computers and found that the new print
server address had been matched automatically on my
PCs. So things can fix themselves even if the network goes
down (the name of the port was still had the old address,
but the actual address it used was the new one...)
I've not tried this with IPP printing (remote location
printing, not did I test it under Linux or Mac).
The print server's web access is rather primitive.
But it has all I need. I intend to use this with Linux too.
The device worked as advertised and I am satisfied with it.


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IOgear GPSU21 Print Server GPSU21 Print Servers - Wired

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D-Link DP-301U 10/100TX 1-USB Port Print Server Review

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(More customer reviews)Check this site to see if it is compatible:
http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=1263&question=DP-300U%20/%20DP-311U%20/%20DP-301U%20/%20DI-704UP%20/%20DI-824VUP%20/%20DP-311U_revB


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D-Link DP-301U 10/100TX 1-USB Port Print Server

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Brother HL-2700CN Color Laser Printer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is another good product from Brother. We use a number of different types of printers in our business and this is the best of bunch.
We have an all Mac office, and set-up was a breeze. We've networked it, and it also works well using the Mac's built in printer sharing over a wireless network.
Color is great, with the right resolutions you get good photographic reproduction. We use it very effectively with brochures.
One of the downsides is that accessories are expensive. Another is that in operation it is a little noisy. While in operation it makes a number of clunks and bumps, something to do with the switching between the various cartridges I think.
All and all though a very good machine. And by the way shop around a little for toner. It can be had for a lot less then the list price.

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A network-ready color laser printer from Brother International, the HL-2700CN is a high-quality printer with fast print times and a number of other timesaving features. Print resolutions for both color and black-and-white run as high as 2,400 x 600 dpi, while print speed range up to 31 ppm for black-and-white and up to 8 ppm for color, delivering large print runs quickly and efficiently. A 300 MHz processor and 64 MB of standard memory (expandable to 576 MB) also help ensure that the printer runs smoothly when handling a large job. For direct PC connections, the HL-2700CN comes with parallel and USB ports, while the 10/100 Base-T Ethernet port allows you to connect the printer to an existing network.
The printerhas a 250-sheet output capacity, and the 250-page input capacity can be expanded up to 780 sheets with the addition of a second paper tray. You can print on paper, transparencies, labels, and envelopes, with sizes including letter, executive, A4, A5, and B5, while an optional paper tray allows you to print legal-size documents. A wide range of printer emulations also helps to integrate the unit seamlessly into your network environment. Compatible with PC, Mac, and Linux operating platforms, the HL-2700CN comes backed by a one-year limited warranty.
What's in the Box Printer, standard paper tray (pre-installed), quick setup guide, CD-ROM, toner cartridges (pre-installed black, cyan, magenta, yellow), waste toner pack, AC power cord, OPC belt cartridge; printer cable not included

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Brother MFC-8860DN Flatbed Laser All-in-One Printer with Duplex Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought the 8860DN a couple weeks ago to replace my aging HP 3330. While I'm quite happy with much of the 8860DN, there are a few things that could use improvement. Some of these can be addressed in software, others I fear are hardware issues.
BTW, I'm on my second machine because I thought some of the issues with the first warranted a replacement. Now I know its a "common" issue.
1) The print engine creaks and makes popping sounds as the fuser heats and cools. Even the demo machine in Office Depot does the same thing. The creaking is really annoying if you sit near the machine. A Brother senior tech rep tells me this issue is common to many Brother lasers. Well, gimme a break because HP and others don't creak! **UPDATE** Brother Corporate office tells me the popping sounds are considered "normal" by the engineers and at this time they have no plans to fix. Pathetic if you ask me. I think most users will agree!!!
2) The scanner ADF head will sometimes make odd sounds when its scanning the last page of a multi-page scan. It sounds as if the motor or gears need lubrication.
3) I've had the COPY function lockup on me a couple times (other fucntions continue to work) and the only way to correct is to power cycle. Cause is unknown but the clowns at Brother support tell me to keep power cycling the resolve the problem. IDIOTS!
4) The IFAX feature is not very well explained and is somewhat odd in the way it works (or tries to work). I've yet to really figure it out. As an alternative I use the FAX FORWARD TO EMAIL function which works well.
5) A PC software bug: When scanning multiple pages its impossible to multitask since the scanner interface takes the focus away from whatever you are doing everytime it begins scanning a new page. Brother apparently knows about this issue and will correct in the next software version.
Other than the above isues, I'm fairly satisfied in the short time I've been using this MFC. If I may comment in response to one of the previous reviews, the beep sound is adjustable and I believe if the user took the time to read the manual, he'd be quite happy with the level of customization available on this machine (I rarely hear of people complaining about too many features). Oh, and yes as stoneaged as it sounds, some people still do occasionally receive faxes.
As far as I'm concerned, the print speed is excellent. Even complex pages print quickly with nearly no delay between pages. A huge improvment over my old HP. Also, I find the scan speed on non complex scans to be excellent. Complex and high res scans are somewhat slower, but they are with many scanners (and certainly about every multifucntion I've run across). Print duplexing is another very nice touch and I'm surprised it works as well as it does. The 8860DN gets the job done and it does them well overall.
Things about the 8860DN I prefer over the new HP 3390 I compared it to.
1) 8860 has a legal size scan plate
2) 8860 will fax forward to email
3) 8860 is $150 less with approx. the same cost per page in consumables.
4) 8860 does duplex scan, copy

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The MFC-8860DN has a convenient flatbed design that accommodates either single sheets or bound documents for copying, faxing, or scanning. With the ability to function as a digital copier, the unit supports reduction and enlargement of documents from 25 to 400 percent in one percent increments, makes up to 99 copies, and includes sorting functionality. Copies up to legal size can be made from both the glass and the automatic document feeder. Print and copy speeds up to 21 pages per minute keep up with busy offices, while outstanding resolution of up to 1,200 x 1,200 dpi gives each document exceptional legibility.
The MFC-8860DN features two sided (duplexed) printing, copying, scanning, and faxing. You can take a typical document file and simply choose to print it as a duplexed document right from the MFC-8860DN's print menu, with the orientation you prefer. Your selection then happens automatically, without the need to reload the paper to print the other side. You can also copy or scan two sides of the same document and either print the copy or store the scan as two single-sided pages, or as a single two-sided page. Or, you can copy or scan two single-sided documents and produce a copy or store a scan as a single two-sided page. You can even scan a two-sided document for faxing with only one step and it will be received as two single-sided pages.
As a full-function stand-alone fax machine, the MFC-8860DN supports up to 340 total speed dial locations, and also incorporates dual access and broadcast faxing features. It stores up to 600 pages for Quick Scan faxing or out-of-paper fax reception. Stand-alone fax and copy operation is standard, so no computer is required.
When operating as a scanner, the unit is capable of color scanning up to 9,600 dpi interpolated resolution (up to 600 x 2,400 dpi optical). For Windows and OS X 10.2.4 or greater based users, there is an easy-to-use "scan to" button for scanning directly to an FTP site, image application, OCR, E-mail application or file. Save time and reduce errors with instant direct access through your network connected MFC-8860DN to a virtually infinite number of e-mail and fax addresses stored in your LDAP network address books. Simply use the large, clear 5-line LCD display on the MFC-8860DN's control panel to view the contacts stored in your network address books and scroll to select the address you need. Then you can quickly send faxes and Internet faxes to your selection, and perform scan-to-e-mail-address functions.
The MFC-8860DN provides the ability for an administrator to set various levels of password protected access to certain features, for each of up to 25 different users per machine. Through this feature, you can restrict specific employees such as part-time workers or interns from access to scan-to-e-mail functions or other avenues for sending data outside your walls.
The color scanner function comes bundled with document management and OCR software. ScanSoft PaperPort SE with OCR software is available for Windows and Presto! Page Manager is available for Mac users. Meanwhile, The MFC-8860DN is supplied with built-in wired Ethernet networking. The unit is compatible with both PC and Mac operating systems (Windows 98/NT4.0/2000/Me/2000/XP and Mac OS 9.1-9.2, OS X 10.2.4 or greater). Standard emulations of PCL6 and BR-Script3 (PostScript3) are included as well. Brother provides a one-year warranty, covering parts and service.
What's in the Box Multifunction unit, paper tray, multipurpose tray, TN540 Standard Yield Toner Cartridge (3,500 Pages), DR510 Drum Unit (20,000 Pages) CD-ROM with drivers and utilities, printed user's guide, warranty information

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