Do Network printer need servers?

[re...@this.newsgroup.com]

What happens with most printers if more than one computer tries to print to
the network printer directly, not through a printer server?

Is it necessary that one of the computers on a P2P network be designated as a
server and other computers print through it?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

<re...@this.newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:2ikra2t2es55016mj...@4ax.com...

No. Our old setup used to be that you had to have the computer with the
printer turned on to use the printer. Our new HP1320 is just on a hub and
accessible at all times from every computer on the network.

This may vary with certain printers and network protocols.

[Fred McKenzie]

In article <2ikra2t2es55016mj...@4ax.com>,
re...@this.newsgroup.com wrote:

Reply-

By definition, a "network printer" either has its own server capability
included in the network interface electronics, or is actually connected to
a separate server computer. One job prints at a time, first-come
first-serve.

Some installations prefer to use a computer as a server in addition to the
printer's built-in capability. Such a server computer can spool print
files from several sources, and send them to the printer when the previous
job has been completed. If your system includes a large number of users,
it makes sense to use such a setup.

A small number of users may not notice any difference other than a slight
delay for the print job to be transmitted a second time to get from the
server to the printer.

Fred