Question about printing from a PPC

[JackTheTripper]

How would you go about doing this. Say you need to print an email or word doc. Can you buy a cable to go from the PPC directly to a printer? I know you can do this wirelessly via bluetooth or IR but I'd really like a wired solution if possible so I could print from pretty much anywhere.

How about if the printer is hooked up to a PC with a wireless base station?


Thanks in advance.

[pocketpcdude1024]

I have a program called PrintPocketCE (http://www.fieldsoftware.com) that, in addition to being able to print via Bluetooth and IR, is able to print to a network printer or a printer attached to a networked PC. This includes both WiFi and ethernet, btw. :wink:

[JackTheTripper]

Thanks.

Clarification.... I would be mobile so I wouldn't have my cradle. Would I just need a sync cable and plug into the PC that the printer is connected to? But that PC would need to have Active Sync installed, right?

Basically, I'm looking to be able to not have to bring a lap top into the office every day but have important docs on my PPC so if I need to print a hard copy I can.

Thanks.

[pocketpcdude1024]

I'm afraid that you'll need to connect to a network with either an ethernet or WiFi card. :( I don't know if this is true, but I've heard that there are special cables that simulate a network between two devices (ad-hoc) without actually going through a hub or LAN. A USB connection won't do, I'm afraid. :? Which bring me to my second point - couldn't you sync over the emails or word documents to the computer with the printer and print them from the desktop? :D

As a side note, this may be exactly what you need: :wink:
http://www.bachmannsoftware.com/infrareadydetailsCE.htm

[JackTheTripper]

Which bring me to my second point - couldn't you sync over the emails or word documents to the computer with the printer and print them from the desktop? :D
I'm hardly ever in the office. I work from home most of the time and go to either the office or a clients office almost every day. When I'm at home, printing is no prob. I could even find a solution for my office, but I was wondering about printing at a clients office. It would be so easy if I could just find a printer, plug it into my PPC and print.

That IR adapter looks like a good posibility, unless the client's printer is USB only.

Thanks.

[Sven Johannsen]

If you can count on the client having a LAN (wired) you can get a network card for your PPC an plug into one of the hubs or switches. The network would need to supply IP addresses via DHCP or you would have to know the subnet and mask. At that point you could print to any networked printer.

Wireless of course requires the client to have a wireless LAN, and IR requires the client's printer to be IR capable.

Any of these options also require the printing solution you choose, HPs, PrintCE, whatever, to support the particular printer the client has.

The USB option (just a sync cable) is only valid if the client has AS and drivers for your PPC installed on one of his computers. You would connect as a guest and move the file to the desktop for priniting. There is no USB printing solution that does not require AS.

[KidKomputer]

Why don't you just save your docs to a flash card and carry around a flash card reader. You could just plug it into your clients PC and print from there. I'm pretty sure XP and 2K machines don't need a driver for flash readers, or look for a reader that dosen't require one.

[JackTheTripper]

Thanks all. I think my best bet is to get one of those usb/SD card readers that I can plug in anywhere.