The Wireless Office
Wireless networking can add a lot of flexibility and ease to your office or workspace. The convenience of wireless printing makes daily document management tasks simpler for either a small home office or a larger, more traditional office setting with multiple employees. Many offices have multiple computers – desktops, laptops and personal smart-phones or netbooks. Being able to wirelessly print documents from multiple sources allows the users to increase their productivity and work in a streamlined environment.
Wireless printers, when networked properly, allows multiple users to send a command to print from a number of different networked sources. For example, a person in a back office and an employee on the front sales floor can both send a command, wirelessly, to a printer in a central location. There are no wires traveling throughout the walls or taped to the floor, because wireless technology sends these signals through a secure Wi-Fi network.
Without the wires, your office or home office becomes much cleaner and people are less likely to be injured by tripping over wires. Furthermore, you won’t have to worry about the multitude of wires attached to your computer. Without a printer being physically plugged into your computer, you free up USB ports for other computer peripherals. Laptops can be used anywhere within the range of your network’s Wi-Fi signal and conveniently send documents to be printed in one central location.
Wireless printers can save your office money. If you currently have individual printers for each computer user, you’re spending a lot of money on ink or toner – not to mention printer maintenance. Using one centralized wireless printer significantly cuts down on the money you spend on maintenance and upkeep, as well as energy bills and ink/toner usage.
Wireless technology is constantly evolving. Today, it is possible for some digital cameras to wirelessly find a printer and send photos to it for printing. Other media devices can also wirelessly connect to your printer, giving your home or office a clean, modern appearance and simple, easy-to use wireless networking. If you ever decide you need to move your printer or your computer, you won’t have to worry about the cables and making sure they can be ran correctly. All you need is the power cable to have a wall outlet. The network connects your PC to your printer through wireless technology.
There are different standards for wireless networks, the most common being wireless Ethernet (802.11a, b, g, or n). Another wireless option is Bluetooth, but that has a more limited range. Wireless printers have become very popular in the past few years as more and more people discover the benefits of having a clean, streamlined work environment and Wi-Fi connections become more commonplace. The price of wireless printers has dropped, making them a wise economical choice for your home or office.