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AirPort Extreme printer compatibility; Brothers also work

AirPort Extreme printer compatibility; Brothers also work

CNET staff
2 min read

Apple has posted a running listing of the printers that are compatible with the newly introduced AirPort Extreme (802.11g) wireless networking standard. The page states:

"Before connecting your USB printer to the AirPort Extreme Base Station, first connect the printer to a Macintosh computer and print a test page. Once your printer is connected to the base station, check to see that the printer is listed in the printer list in the Print Center (Applications/Utilities/Print Center). If you have problems printing at the highest quality setting, try printing at a lower setting. Error and status messages may not be available. For example, you may not see messages such as 'Out of Paper' or 'Printer Busy' when the printer is connected to the AirPort Extreme Base Station. To use printer utilities, you must connect the printer directly to the Macintosh computer."

Currently only Hewlett Packard, Canon, and Epson printers are listed for compatibility. However, David Green reports that his Brother printer works flawlessly:

I am running a Brother HL-1240 monochrome laser printer through the USB port on the new Airport Extreme Base Station, and printing from a 400MHz Ti-book and a 14" iBook. (Both computers have the old Airport card, of course.) Even though this printer is not on the official Apple compatibility list, it works like a dream. No problems at all. I can't begin to describe how cool it is to be able to print from anywhere in the house/office without having to plug in.

Feedback on this issue? Drop us a line at late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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