Will the PM1115UW wifi print server work with a brother multifunction laser printer on the USB port? Not just print but also Scan.
Hello @ERstanfo,
Thank you for taking the time ask your question here on the StarTech.com Community.
The short answer here is that the PM1115UW should work fine with a multifunction printer for printing tasks, but it will not support any scanning functions.
I would like to take a moment to qualify this answer to be sure about how we expect the PM1115UW to function and understand how I came to this conclusion.
Protocols
The PM1115UW along with the PM1115P2 and the PM1115U2, are network printer servers designed to make printers accessible on a network using existing network printing standards like LPR, IPP, and RAW 9100. As, the particular protocol support does vary by device, be sure to check our technical specifications.
Description
LPR is for Line Printer Remote protocol and is an older (1983) network printing standard that is supported on most operating systems. It is a good choice for broad printing support over a network.
IPP is for Internet Printing Protocol and is a newer protocol and it also has broad printing support and includes management features.
RAW 9100 is a printing protocol that appears to be very simple and closer to a TCP (network layer 4) level option for printing.
Scanning?
Sadly, none of these protocols appear to have any standard provisions for scanning. There appears to be a candidate for scanning support for IPP but it is not implemented and I would not expect it to be added to any of these printer servers if it is added to the standard.
Conclusion
What this means is that none of our printer servers will support scanning on a multifunction printer. As long as the printer connected to the PM1115UW or our other printer servers supports standard USB, or in the case of the PM1115P2 standard IEEE 1284, printing functions we would expect it them to print documents correctly but there appears to be no standard protocol that will allow scanning over these devices.
Alternatives
If you are looking for a solution to use a scanner or a multifunction printer with a scanner over a network there are a few things to consider.
Many new printers may have a network port or even wireless capabilities that can allow multiple computers to be connected over a network. I have recommended using a simple wireless repeater with a LAN port when we have had them in the past for connecting a network wired printer to a wireless network.
Another solution is to look into a USB device server that will share the entire USB device over the network. We currently do not USB device servers, but there are other manufacturers that provide them. Many require drivers or software and you may want to check their requirements if you need multiple devices to be able to connect at the same time.
Sadly, we do not have support or recommendations for these options at this time. Check back with our new products from time to time as we do have new I.T. connectivity solutions arriving all of the time.
Questions
Finally, I hope that this answer, based on my understanding of these products has made it clear how we expect them to function for you and has answered some other question too!
But please do not hesitate to ask if there is anything else you would like to know about our printer servers.
Sincerely,