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dazz williams · 05-24-2006, 07:09 AM

Here's a question I'm not sure has an answer given the limitations of the situation; but I thought I'd ask since a forum full of heads is better than just one.....

I help an SMB with all their computer stuff. In their main office they have a couple rooms of computers for their employees to use (which are all networked on the LAN), as well as some employees having their own computers in their own office (also networked on the LAN).
Let's assume that all computers are PCs with WinXP Home (because all the ones that matter here are such).
In one public computer room there are 3 computers and 2 printers. The idea is that these 2 printers only be shared amongst the 3 computers in the room since they're not very heavy duty and weren't made for the whole office to be printing to them. We have a large Canon printer that the whole network can print to, but it's accounted and thus costs them money. Therefore, some of them who know how to search for a network printer have added the 2 smaller printers and are printing to them (since it's free for those 2 smaller computers). [note, the large Canon printer is attached directly to the network via an ether cable, the 2 smaller printers are attached to 2 of the 3 computers in that one room and those computers share the printers to the network)]
It's not a big deal, other than the fact that the smaller printers are not made for everybody printing to them and will jam much more easily, and I'm actually more curious as to if it's possible. I did some research but any solution I found involved using the printer's Security tab/options and specifying certain users, but this is not available in WinXP Home.
Is there a way to share those 2 smaller printers with just the 3 computers in that room (which all happen to be the only ones into the router in the room, if that matters/helps) w/out allowing other computers to access the printers? I mean, other than periodically going to every computer in the office and deleting the 2 printers in the Printers and Faxes... which I can't anyways cause some ppl own their own computers.
Just throwing that out there, any ideas?
dazz.
PS - I don't know why the computers here all have WinXP Home for the most part... were like that before I came here. I would've suggested Pro because of all the networking.

05-24-2006, 07:09 AM	#1 (permalink)
dazz williams Jade Phoenix Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 41	controlling shared printers Here's a question I'm not sure has an answer given the limitations of the situation; but I thought I'd ask since a forum full of heads is better than just one..... I help an SMB with all their computer stuff. In their main office they have a couple rooms of computers for their employees to use (which are all networked on the LAN), as well as some employees having their own computers in their own office (also networked on the LAN). Let's assume that all computers are PCs with WinXP Home (because all the ones that matter here are such). In one public computer room there are 3 computers and 2 printers. The idea is that these 2 printers only be shared amongst the 3 computers in the room since they're not very heavy duty and weren't made for the whole office to be printing to them. We have a large Canon printer that the whole network can print to, but it's accounted and thus costs them money. Therefore, some of them who know how to search for a network printer have added the 2 smaller printers and are printing to them (since it's free for those 2 smaller computers). [note, the large Canon printer is attached directly to the network via an ether cable, the 2 smaller printers are attached to 2 of the 3 computers in that one room and those computers share the printers to the network)] It's not a big deal, other than the fact that the smaller printers are not made for everybody printing to them and will jam much more easily, and I'm actually more curious as to if it's possible. I did some research but any solution I found involved using the printer's Security tab/options and specifying certain users, but this is not available in WinXP Home. Is there a way to share those 2 smaller printers with just the 3 computers in that room (which all happen to be the only ones into the router in the room, if that matters/helps) w/out allowing other computers to access the printers? I mean, other than periodically going to every computer in the office and deleting the 2 printers in the Printers and Faxes... which I can't anyways cause some ppl own their own computers. Just throwing that out there, any ideas? dazz. PS - I don't know why the computers here all have WinXP Home for the most part... were like that before I came here. I would've suggested Pro because of all the networking.