Keyspan PS-4A 4 Port Print Server

Average customer rating: 3.5

everything works fine
This works great, but ....
Keyspan PS-4A 4 Port Print Server
One-of-a-kind gem
Well, not so hot.. better options...

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Keyspan PS-4A 4 Port Print Server

Manufacturer: KeySpan
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B0009V2ZQC

Related Categories:

Wireless AV Systems

Product Description

This 4-Port Print Server makes it easy to share USB printers on a network in a home, office or classroom. This server transmits print jobs to printers. It also reports ink and paper status back to the PC/Mac.It connects as many as 4 USB printers, transmits print jobs to attached printers, and reports ink/paper status back to the Mac/PC.

Customer Reviews:

everything works fine.......2007-03-30

as soon as i installed the software it recognized the server .. only one problem with a printer that had a parallel to usb cable converter (think the problem is with the cable because it worked fine the first time and after restart don't know what happened).. the usb printers work fine.

This works great, but ...........2007-03-09

Pro. works great. supports bi-directional communications (ink level) very well. Be sure to turn off windows firewall or you'll cuss without fear of retribution.

Con. no scanner support. requires installed software on each computer. just a little tricky to install, but not too bad.

The USB server from keyspan does the same thing plus FULL USB support, even external drives, cameras, scanners, etc. It costs only $30 more. I think the print server was crippled to be price competative with other TCP/IP print servers. Keyspan's web site doesn't do a very good job of describing all the differences.

I had the Netgear print 4 port print server before and liked the feature that installed necessary software on the PC from the device itself. no need to keep a CD around. But it has limited support for reporting ink levels.

conclusion. If I get another print server, I'd get the Keyspan full USB server for a few dollars more.

Keyspan PS-4A 4 Port Print Server.......2007-01-13

Good product that allows for up to four printers to be used. Low cost.

One-of-a-kind gem.......2006-12-28

This isn't my first print server. I also had good luck for many years with a Netgear PS111W ethernet/parallel port device paired with my trusty & much-loved HP 990cxi printer. The PS111W never gave me a problem except for an aborted install of it's setup program in Windows 98SE that completely clobbered the partition and necessitated a re-install. Anyway-after adopting a PowerMac G-4 AND an HP 7350 Photosmart printer ,the need to share devices with both machines presented me with a problem. I also desired to place the printers somewhere much handier & safer than in the footwell of my very small workstation. I spent hours pouring over tons of reviews & manufacturer's websites. Nothing I saw was really ideal for me or my "gotta have it all" attitude towards the functioning of computer peripherals. I was willing to accept (grudgingly) the inability to access embedded driver services like diagnostics & ink level indications (The Netgear didn't handle these either) ,but the idea of doing without duplex printing was unthinkable. And that eliminated most (all?) of the wireless devices I saw.

Enter the Keyspan. I don't recall how I discovered the PS-4A but it's the print server that more than a few of us have been hoping for. The install in OS X & Windows XP was seemless. It recognized both printers in either OS and all funtions work as if they were directly connected to the computer's USB ports. Diagnostics ,test pages ,ink levels ,driver updates...duplexing. Everything! There is no signifigant delay to the start of a print job and to date I've only had one problem. HP's driver update tool caused a panic in OS X (and given how troublesome many HP printer drivers for OS X are ,I can't pin it on the Keyspan) ,but it recovered without fanfare. I especially enjoy the automation option on boot up-it helps not to have to set aside a printer to make use of it. If it were wireless Keyspan would own this segment. But even amongst the ranks of wired devices,it has no peer.

And It's made in the U.S.A. 8*)

Well, not so hot.. better options..........2006-11-02

Well, I bought one of these and thought it was fantastic. It was fantastic until I needed a driver update, then these guys decided to drag their feet on vista support, and still now don't fully support it. After being told that drivers would "be ready when they are ready" I decided to look for other options. I get very VERY tired of manufacturers dragging their feet on drivers and support.

I searched and came across a better unit by SILEX. It has full support for vista (both 32 bit and 64 bit) as well as Mac OSX. It has all of the features of this Keyspan unit plus some and the driver/setup software is easier to install and use to boot.

The silex unit has part number SX-2000U2 and its available right here on Amazon.com.
USB2.0 High Speed Device Server Compatible with Various USB Devices.

-J

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