Pros and Cons.
There are a lot of benefits of running a Network Printer but the most obvious one is the fact that there is no need for it to be plugged into a computer, therefore, making it only dependent on power and the local network. With a shared printer, it is directly connected to a computer and then shared to the local network by that computer. The problem with this is, it is completely dependent on that computer being powered on and functional. If the computer is down, so is the printer.
Now if the shared printer is being shared by a computer that is being used every day for work, it is vulnerable to a lot of things which increases the chances of that printer being unavailable for the rest trying to access the printer. Not good – I know. However, I’d like to mention that one main benefit of a shared printer is that the drivers are managed by the computer it is connected to, making it easier to deploy across the network. So for example, after setting up the printer on the host computer and sharing it, I can go to a client computer on the same network and add the printer easily without having to go through installing drivers separately which I would have to do if the printer was connected by ethernet to the network or by wifi. Note that this may differ between Mac and Windows platform.
The ideal environment for a shared printer.
If you have a file server in your work environment that is always on, this I feel is the perfect home for a shared printer. No one is using the server as a workhorse which decreases its vulnerabilities by a large percentage compared to a computer being used by users on a daily basis for lots of tasks. A file server gives your shared printer the benefits of a network printer without giving up the ease of driver management. Another added benefit, from my perspective, is that whoever is managing the file server is sort of forced to keep it in working order knowing that a printer is dependent on it. I understand this may be frowned upon as many feel a file server should be something you set and forget.. but I also feel a little housekeeping wouldn’t hurt either. And it gives your file server another purpose… it’s a hybrid print server as well.
Additional Reading:
- https://www.connectivitycenter.com/the-benefits-of-print-servers.html
- https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-server-based-printing-70456.html
- https://www.cyclope-series.com/resources/documents/Why_Use_a_Print_Server.pdf
- https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-advantage-of-printer-sharing
- https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln286265/setting-up-for-shared-printing-on-windows-operating-systems?lang=en
- https://www.bayt.com/en/specialties/q/17638/what-is-the-difference-between-shared-printer-and-network-printer/