What Is the Difference Between a Wireless & Network Printer?

Wireless and network printers both can be shared

A wireless printer can serve as a network printer, but a network printer doesn't necessarily have to be wireless. It's not as confusing as it sounds; the two types of printers can be related.

Network Printers

A network is more than one computer joined together. Networks can be wired or wireless. Once joined, network computers share data with each other and they can also share one printer--the network printer. A network printer can be wired or wireless, but it prints for all the computers on the network.

Wireless Printers

Wireless printers can be used as a stand-alone printer connected to only one computer, or it can be connected to a network to service several computers. Network printers always serve more than one computer, but wireless printers can serve one or many computers.

Expert Insight

If you set up a wireless printer as a network printer, you may want to install a print server. Print servers are small devices installed to the network printer to manage all the incoming print jobs. According to Netgear, print servers can make printing more efficient by reducing the data load on network computers.

References

• HP: Learn the Basics About Network Printing
• Netgear: Print Server Information and How To's