Can I network a printer on Com1?

[Scotta98]

Hi Guys,

I hope someone in this forum can help. Here is the situation. I use FedEx for my shipping needs and they provide a Zebra LP2844 model thermal label printer. It is attached to a Win2K box on COM1 per their requirements.

What I would like to do is network that printer so other XP & 2K workstations can print to it but like I said, FedEx only allows you to set this up with a local COM port. The question is, is it possible to create a com port on an XP/2K box that will print to the label printer on another workstation? Unofficially, FedEx say it is possible.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Momozone]

Yes it can be done.

All you need to do is share the printer and give it a name (example: fedexprint)

On the other PC's that you want to use this printer
goto Start>Run

In the run command type

\\your_pc_name\printer_name

Example if your PC was called localpc:

From other PC on the network goto start>run

type \\localpc\fedexprint
hit return... This will then add this printer to that PC... You may be prompted for drivers.

Let me know if this helps.

MoMoZoNe

 

[Scotta98]

Thanks for the effort.

Unfortunately, although it adds the printer to my printer directory, it does not appear to help. In a nutshell, I need BOX1 COM1 to print to the printer attached to BOX2 COM1.

 

[Momozone]

Ah I see.... Your not using novell by anychange are you?

If so you can push a shared printer to act as com1 through it?

Your computer will then think its com1 when its actually a tcp/ip port.


Have you looked into port redirection? You can tell you computer to map the tcp/ip port however, redirect it to com1....



MoMoZoNe

 

[Scotta98]

Hi,

No, not using novell. I have not looked into port redirection but it sounds like what I need. COM1 to redirect to COM1 on another machine although because the printer is on a COM port anyway I dont think tcp/ip will work regardless.

 

[franklin97355]

Some one recently recommended using the net command. Something like net use com1 \\localpc\fedexprint

 

[Momozone]

novell uses a form of port redirection that you can select a network printer and assign it to your local com port.

Example:

Box1 has Printer on Com1

Box2has printer mapped as local com1 which redirect through tcp/ip
Box2 will then think that the mapped printer is actually connected to com1 locally.

Not sure if this is what you want but hope it helps


MoMoZoNe

 

[ferndoc]

Please let me be perfectly clear -- I've been wrong before!

But it sounds as if your Fedex label printing software assumes the printer will be on COM1. It sounds like the printer attaches only to a serial port and because of the Fedex software that would normally be COM1. But I don't think you want to "redirect COM1 to COM1 on another machine". Rather, you want to redirect COM1 to a shared network printer which happens to be connected to COM1 on another machine.

There's a bunch network code that knows how to share a printer regardless of the port and a DOS command interface that knows how to intercept a port and redirect the data flow through the network. Although TCP/IP will be automatically employed (assuming no other protocols are installed as default and NETBIOS over TCP/IP has not been excluded in network properties), no TCP/IP setup should be required and to consider it would just confuse the issue. If you can share files among the computers you should be able to share printers.

So the first step (assuming networking is installed and "file and printer sharing" is enabled) is to get the COM1 printer on the remote machine installed and shared and give it a name (printer, properties, sharing). The next step is to try the net use command as suggested by franklin97355. One of the operands of the command is "port" and though serial ports are not specifically mentioned, I'm as certain as a rusty memory allows that it used to work in the DOS world -- and I'm guessing that it still does.

Under this happy scenario, the printer or (several printers) could actually be connected to any com port or ports on the other machine -- and any of them could be the target of "net use" (but nobody using the remote machine itself could easily print on anything but COM1 because of the Fedex software).

 

[Beowulf005]

I have located some software that will connect you com1 port to com1 port on a different PC using tcp/ip.

Have not used it just googled it.

Advanced Virtual COM Port

Gl
Brian