usb or parrallel

[Six Eyed Smily]

which interface should i use? (my printer can use either) if it helps, my prinbter is an hp deskjet 940c.
free usb/parrellel ports are not a problem

[Sandman72]

I'd say USB. I believe its faster. Then again, if you are putting the printer on a home network and the router has a print server (which is probably parallel) then I would go with parallel. In a stand alone machine definitely USB.

[Matridom]

I'd use parrallel... all newstuff uses USB so i'd take usage of the port. Also, has stated above, it's great for networking.

[kato]

My first choice would be the printer port, because not much else runs on Printer ports these days. It's true the USB interface is faster and offers more bandwidth than the printer port, but it's not really noticeable with a printer.

I set up a hp laserjet 1200 for small office. I built a very minimal computer (p133 with WIN95) on it to act as a print server and scanner kiosk for their office. With the printer hooked up via printer port, they got lots of spool 32 errors which I could not make go away. Hooked it up via USB and it ran rock solid with only one reboot required in 4 months, and it was no problem to share it on the network. So if you do go with USB you can still share the printer over the network.

[freddy]

[quote]Originally posted by Six Eyed Smily:
<strong>which interface should i use? (my printer can use either) if it helps, my prinbter is an hp deskjet 940c.
free usb/parrellel ports are not a problem</strong><hr></blockquote>

as you hav,nt said what o/s your using (usb on 95 is crap),,or if you are connected to a network,,,etc ,,,,then look in your bits drawer for a parallel cable , or a usb cable ,,,,,the one thats "pops" up first ,,,use it ,,,,

the printer u are using will work equally on either.
I have the same printer here ,,AND ,,,there is no difference ,,,apart from i can pull the USB cable out and stick it in yer camera.

do yer own thing


freddy

[DonJ]

The following info was taken from one of HP's website concerning which interface to use on their ScanJets:
"According to testing performed by our lab, USB is generally faster than parallel. Parallel transfer rates are 550 kilobytes (KB) per second while the USB rates are 750 to 850 KB per second. If source and host are equal, USB is between 35% and 50% faster than parallel. Remember, there are many variables that need to be considered. For instance, the number of peripherals connected to the computer will affect speed"...yadda-yadda-yadda...
So, if speed is your primary concern, and it usually is, then USB is the way to go. Remember, HP strongly recommends against diasy chaining their bi-directional products through other devices such as scanners, USB keyboards, etc.
Also, go here to read up on <a href="http://www.hp.com/cposupport/printers/support_doc/bpd06111.html" target="_blank">USB Overview</a>. Some good background info there.
Hope this helps out in your decision making...

[Six Eyed Smily]

thanks ill continue with the usb.
i just heard someone say that parrellel gave better quality, but I take it thats not true.

[Draggar]

[quote]Originally posted by kato2274:
<strong>My first choice would be the printer port, because not much else runs on Printer ports these days. It's true the USB interface is faster and offers more bandwidth than the printer port, but it's not really noticeable with a printer.
</strong><hr></blockquote>

Well, getting the data to the printer will be faster, but it will still take just as long to print.

Stay with the parallel port.

[Draggar]

[quote]Originally posted by Six Eyed Smily:
<strong>thanks ill continue with the usb.
i just heard someone say that parrellel gave better quality, but I take it thats not true.</strong><hr></blockquote>

You might want to ask them what they were smoking... ;)

Honestly, no quality difference between USB and parallel.
The person who told you that either thought they say a quality difference, used a parallel to USB adapter (which might cut down on quality), or made another change on the printer and forgot to mention it (like a new ink cartridge...)