Going wireless means you can enjoy the reason you bought your notebook to begin with—to be free and connected at the same time. Enjoy mobility, no wires and shared printing.
» Get a new wireless printer. See HP's wide selection of wireless printers. » Get an HP Wireless Upgrade Kit here and turn your current printer into a wireless solution. » Continue reading this article for more details on the benefits of wireless printing and how to do it.
Benefits of wireless printing
Going wireless means you can enjoy the reason you bought your notebook to begin with—to be free and connected at the same time.
Wireless printing is convenient for many reasons:
Mobility You bought your notebook for a reason: to be unencumbered. A wireless home network gives you that freedom with 300 feet of coverage. Print from anywhere in the house (or from the backyard, for that matter). Take out the extra step of having to e-mail documents or photos from one computer to another just to print them.
No wires Free yourself. No need to bother with a tangled mess of cords trying to connect your computer and printer.
Shared printing No need for the whole family to fight over the same computer anymore. Every computer on your wireless network can connect to the same printer (instead of having to be physically connected to the printer).
With a home wireless network, several people can print to the same printer from anywhere in the house.
Differences between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are wireless solutions, but there are two primary reasons these technologies are different.
Range Wi-Fi has a range of around 300 feet, so you can position your printer in a central location for everyone to use.
Commonly, Bluetooth printing works best at a distance less than 30 feet. So, you’ll want to position your printer relatively close to your Bluetooth-enabled device.
Transmission rate Wi-Fi sends data at a brisk 55 Mbps, so you can print quickly and send larger files, like photos, to the printer without bogging down the network.
Bluetooth is a bit slower, but more common in portable devices, such as cell phones and some digital cameras.
Connect your existing printer to a wireless home network
For printers without built-in wireless, the HP wireless printing upgrade kit is the ideal solution. It works with nearly all HP printers and PCs—even many non-HP printers. And setting up this kit couldn’t be easier.
Step 1: Turn off the HP printer.
Step 2: Use the USB cable to attach the printer adapter to the USB port on the back of your HP printer (pictured at right).
Step 3: Plug in the power cord to the printer adapter.
Step 4: Turn the printer on.
Step 5: Insert the HP Wireless Printing Upgrade Kit software CD into your computer’s drive.
Step 6: Click Install and follow the onscreen instructions.
In a few easy steps, you’re ready to print wirelessly!
NOTE: Currently, this product is not Mac compatible.
Add Wi-Fi capabilities to your printer with an easy-to-install kit.
Your wireless receiver plugs into your printer’s rear USB port, while the transmitter plugs into one of your computer’s USB ports.
Add Bluetooth to your printer
With Bluetooth available on many cell phones, PDAs, laptops, and digital cameras, adding it to your printer is the perfect printing solution for photos stored on these devices.
Setting up an HP Bluetooth adapter on the printer side is easy: simply remove the cover and plug it into a USB port on the front of your printer.
The next step is to pair your device with your printer. Follow your device’s manual for this process (usually a couple of simple steps in itself).
Add Bluetooth to your printer with a simple plug-in device like this one from HP.
Upgrade to a new printer with built-in wireless
The list of wireless devices is growing everyday: digital cameras, phones, PDA’s, and more. Future-proof your next purchase and be free of the mess and frustration of cords forever. Buy an HP Photosmart All-in-One with Wi-Fi built in (some models even have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on board). Setup is simple and everyone in the house can print wirelessly to the same printer.
Explore our Wireless printer buying guide to find the model that’s perfect for you. Here are a few of our favorites:
Make sure you understand these commonly used terms. Wireless Router: Device that connects all your network devices (Desktops, Notebooks, Printers) and also connects them to the internet via your broadband access point. SSID: Wireless network name. Wireless routers have a default SSID which may be the same for every router made by the manufacturer. This should be changed to something unique and meaningful to the user to distinguish from other wireless routers in the area. Encryption: A way to protect the user's wireless network from unwelcome users. Only devices that know the name of your wireless network can find and decode network communications. The most common types of encryption are WEP and WPA. WEP Key: Easily cracked and not recommended unless using an older device that only supports WEP key. WPA Passphrase: More secure and should be used whenever possible. The longer the passphrase, the more secure the wireless network. Mac Address Filtering: It is assumed these measures will increase security, but this isn't true. Enabling Mac address filtering and disabling broadcasting of the network name will make the setup and use of the wireless network more difficult.
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