Built-in Wi-Fi in printers could make a tech's job easier
It hasn't been too long that printers with Wi-Fi were about as rare as having one of those bulky cell phones in the early '90s.Now new printers that connect anywhere could be a new tool for copier sales and service techs who have laptop wireless capability and may want to print out text or maybe a photo or two.
Both Canon and HP wireless printers have a text mode, plus come with photo-management software on them. Canon's iP4000R ($230), iP6000D six-color ($180), iP5000 ($200)] and iP8500 PIXMA eight-color ($350) inkjet photo printers have 802.11g Wi-Fi capability (the broadest-band Wi-Fi), The iP6000D prints direct from infrared-equipped cell phones.
HP's Photosmart 375 Compact Photo Printer ($199) previews, edits and prints 4 X 6 " photos wirelessly from Bluetooth-enabled PDAs, camera-enabled cell phones, and other wireless-enabled devices.
The PIXMA has to first be connected to the computer to configure it before it can find the Wi-Fi network, plus Canon software is also installed on the computer.
Want wireless on another printer? You're in luck if your operating system is Microsoft Windows 98 SE or newer. The Belkin 802.11g Wireless USB Print Server (about $100) has USB ports for linking printers to a Wi-Fi network, and the Linksys Wireless-G Print Server (about $90) can connect one printer.
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