Need help with wireless printer

TLMCDANIEL62 · 18 Dec 2012

I bought a new wireless Epson Workforce 545 printer. It has worked without flow for quite some time (nearly a year). Now all the suddenly it wont print.I have it as a shared printer. There are three other family members on the network and all three others print without any problem. Mine worked fine and now wont print. It goes through the motions and then times out. All it says is "printer error". Nothing has changed. I have not installed anything new or made any other changes. I uninstalled it and then re installed it using the manufacturers software. It appears fine until you print. Where do i go from here?

DeaconFrost · 18 Dec 2012

I'm confused about one part. Is it connected by network to all computers? You say you have it as a shared printer, but that would only be the case if it was connected to one computer by USB. If it is all wireless, then it sounds like you need to check on the port your computer is trying to print to.

For any and all network printers, I always hardcode them with a static IP address. This avoids any issues where a new address would get assigned to the printer, leaving some computers unable to connect to it without being reconfigured.

TLMCDANIEL62 · 18 Dec 2012

My apologies. I used the term loosely. The printer is a wireless printer. It is used by all users on the network. How do i do what you said ? I am not the sharpest on these issues. What i don't understand is that it worked fine when i first installed it with the software. Nothing has changed, but it wont print.

Mark Phelps · 19 Dec 2012

There are a couple of different interpretations of "shared" with regard to networked printers.

The first is that the printer is connected to a PC (usually through a USB cable) and that PC shares the printer across the network.

The second is that the printer is connected to a printer server box, or it has a network cable connection of its own, and that printer is shared across the network -- but is not connected to any PC.

Need to know which of these is the case.

bobafetthotmail · 19 Dec 2012

"wireless printers" are printers with their own wireless transmitters. I assume it is set up on its own.

I think Deacon Frost's theory has some traction, but I always wired printers as well so I don't know how to give it a static IP, probably from the router's control panel.

TLMCDANIEL62 · 21 Dec 2012

My printer is not connected to a computer. It is all by itself. It communicates through my wireless network.

essenbe · 21 Dec 2012

I don't know if this will help, but I had a similar set up. But, to set it up, I had to connect it by USB to my desktop computer. It went through a process of installing the software, connecting to the router, giving it the password to the router and ensuring it was connected. Then I disconnected the USB and it became a wireless network printer. But, it had to be connected by USB to establish that connection. The computer, (hard wired) had to allow it connection to the router. My understanding was, the other wireless computers in the network could connect wirelessly. The hard wired computer, without wireless capability, has to connect through the router.

Golden · 21 Dec 2012

My experiences with my Fuji Xerox were very similar to Essenbe's - first a wired setup & install, and then the wireless connectivity worked for me.

DeaconFrost · 21 Dec 2012

The trick is finding out the address range your router is using for DHCP, such as 192.168.1.100-254 or so. Then, pick something outside of that range. My router is obviously 192.168.1.1, so I made my server 192.168.1.2, and then I hardcoded 192.168.1.3 in for my printer. I also put a label on the printer showing that address, in case I was to forget. Now, once you have that set on the printer, usually on the screen (if it has one), or you may have to connect it to your computer if it doesn't have a screen, any computer on the network should be able to connect to the printer, have the drivers installed, and work fine.