When you have one computer to connect a printer to, it is relatively easy to do. Suppose you live in a household with several people with computers. All of them might at some point want to print something. One way to accomplish this is to place the file you want printed on a flash drive, and bring it to the computer the printer is attached to. If the printer has a USB port, plug it directly into the printer.

Another method would be to have a printer dedicated to your home network. If you are on one of the network computers and want to print a file, you actually send the information over the network to the host or server computer. Suppose you are working in this instance, and send your file to be printed and the server computer is not on. Your file will not print.

Another problem with the network printer is that occasionally you might have only limited access to the printer.

The solution would be to switch to a wireless printer. As long as you have a wireless network available in your home or office, it is relatively easy to add a wireless printer into the mix. As long as the printer is located within range of your Wi-Fi network, you are in business.

Let’s take a look at some other advantages of going wireless. Well, for one thing, there are no wires! One problem with setting up computers are all of the wires. They can cause your work place to look cluttered, and attract dust. Going wireless will eliminate this problem. When you are using a standard network printer, the computer it is attached to must be on. With a wireless printer, only the printer needs to be powered up.

With a wireless printer, you are not limited to having your printer next to your desk. If someone else in the house or office has a large print job, then the printer can be moved closer to them. If you have a teenager who needs to print out a report for school, you can let them have the printer in their room, so that the printing will not interfere with watching television or socializing. If you have a friend or colleague over with a document on their laptop they would like to share with you, they can connect to your wireless printer, and voila, the document will print.

There are also advantages to having a wireless printer in the office. When attaching a printer to the network in an office environment, routers, switches and cabling are usually involved. With a wireless printer, naturally you eliminate this equipment, and also save the company money in the long run. In this economy, saving money in IT costs might just make you the company hero.

Wireless printers are generally not that much more expensive then a printer that needs to be attached to a computer. They cost somewhere in the $100.00 to $400.00 range. You may pay more if the printer is an all in one, however the savings overall to a business makes these costs negligible.

Having the convenience of getting rid of the wires, and portability should help to defray the costs to the home user as well.