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wireless printers - any disadvantages?
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Posted June 28, 2012 at 9:52AM
Are there any disadvantages to buying a wireless printer? I favour Canon, and am undecided between the Canon Pixma 4950 and the Canon Pixma MG4150, both of which have scanners included.
My previous printer was a Pixma 4200.
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Posted June 28, 2012 at 10:07AM
Wireless Printers are no different in printing performance than wired ones. They can sometimes be tricky to set up for multiple users but once set up I have found no drawbacks at all - perhaps a marginal delay before printing starts but nothing significant.
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Posted June 28, 2012 at 10:24AM
Some devices won't scan wirelessly.
Some HP devices won't.
However, I have a Pixma 6150 with which I have no problems
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Posted June 28, 2012 at 10:26AM
You may need to avoid 64-bit IE9 if you are using Windows 7, but the 32-bit version is safer all round in any case.
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Posted June 28, 2012 at 1:27PM
I have Win7 64Bit and use a Epson SX445W Wireless printer, IMHO the printer is just excellent - and cheap too!
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Posted June 28, 2012 at 2:16PM
Certainly Windows 7 64-bit is fine but IE9 64-bit does not work, certainly not with HP. However, running Windows 7 64-bit is fine but IE9 32-bit works fine.
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Posted June 28, 2012 at 5:14PM
My Epson SX235w works with XP on my Desktop and Win7 64bit from my laptop with no problems.
Scanning works wirelessly OK from the desktop but haven't tried it from the laptop as I use it from another room and it isn't really practical.
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Posted June 28, 2012 at 10:35PM
Ah... good point about the 64-bit possibly having problems with some systems. I use Vista.
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Posted June 29, 2012 at 9:36AM
sheila.weston - the reference to 64 bit made by xania concerns only the 64 bit version of the IE9 web browser and has nothing to do with the operating system. I use an old Canon printer on Windows 7 64 bit and that previously worked on Vista 64 bit. IE9 defaults to 32bit on my system so xania's concerns do not apply to me (or probably to most users).
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Posted July 1, 2012 at 11:52AM
The only disadvantage is, they could be used as a gateway into your system. Just like any wireless device, there is potential for someone to hack in to your network. So there is a security issue, which is why many businesses won't use them.
While the risk is minimal, you should be aware of it.
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Posted July 1, 2012 at 1:39PM
Couple of points.
LastChip is right about the security but most systems come with in-built passwords which SHOULD give adequate protection for the home user.
Nit sure asbout chub_tor's point. My system came with both versions and the temptation is to go for the 64-bit version. The word on the street is that 32-bit is safe and some fuctions fail on 64-bit. However, IE10 is on the horizon, and, of course, there's always Crome, Firefox............
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