Network printers vs. USB printers

A Network printer is a printer that connects directly to the network either by Ethernet cable or wirelessly. A network printer can be shared and used by everyone connected to the network. An advantage of this is that a company does not have to have a printer for every computer; many computers can share a single printer. For example, a college may have twenty computers in a computer lab; instead of purchasing twenty printers they can have one or two and everyone can share them. A disadvantage of network printers is that if too many computers print to the printer at one time, the other jobs get queued, sometimes requiring long wait times.  Another disadvantage is when the printer is located in another part of the building you would have to walk to get to it, and if you are printing something confidential another person may see it in the printer and read it.

On the other hand, a USB printer connects directly to one computer via USB and is not shared by others. This allows for timely printing without waiting for others as well as printing confidential reports not to be seen by anyone else. Another advantage of a USB printer is that it is local to you and usually sits within six feet of your workstation. Disadvantages of USB printers are the cost of many printers if the company has a lot of computers used for printing. A separate printer must be purchased for each computer. Another disadvantage is that the ink cartridges on USB printer are not as efficient as the ones found in many network printers. Network printers tend to be larger and capable of printing bigger files more efficiently.

Article written by MyComputerAid.com