Hello
I have a printer directly connected to a PC by usb , the printer does not have a network connection.
I know that the printer can be shared with other people in the office , and I know that the PC it is connected to must be on but must someone be logged into that PC ? If the user of that PC logs off can the printer still be used by other on the office lan?
Thanks in advance .
Charlie

All pcs are xp , we do have some network printers in the office already.

The PC itself does not have to have a network connection to share it on the LAN. If your PC is on the LAN and you SHARE this printer then others can use it.

Others can share your printer by defining a "network" on their PC. The "Add Printer Wizard" takes care of installing whatever is necessary to communicate to your PC and printer.

You are right, once you turn off your PC, then this printer is no longer accessible by anyone else.

Thank you , must some one be logged on to the PC for this to work though , if the user of the PC logs off and the Monitor is showing the windows login screen is the shared printer still available for others to use?
I appreciate your help.
Charlie.

Yes, the printer will be available if nobody is logged on to that computer, as long as it is powered on.

When you boot a networked PC after Windows starts to load you generally see a message about establishing network connections. That process is opening the lines of communication between the PC and the network. One of the those lines of communication is making shared resources available to the network. This is done before a user logs into the network.

Go to start - settings - printers and faxes - right click the printer and click share.

If you do not want to leave this PC running all the time, another option is to purchase an Enternet to USB print server.

These print servers aren't so bad. Keyspan | Products | USB Products

You can restrict the resource if necessary. If you get the right USB server you can even share any serial device such as scanners. It doesn't work for streaming devices like video and audio.