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Author Topic: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi  (Read 3885 times)

mhaffey

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Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« on: April 09, 2017, 07:35:40 pm »

I did a search for this and didn't come up with much.  I have one of the rolling cabinets Kevin recommended as a printer stand for the P800 arriving tomorrow and this will lead to me changing the location of the printer.  It will now be significantly further away from the computer than it is currently.   Although it won't exceed the 15' foot USB limit it still seemed like it might be preferable to use WiFi rather than USB.  I would be interested in hearing from those who have done this regarding how well it works and if there are any pitfalls to consider.  The printer will be within 6' or so of my router and it would also be quite reasonable to connect it to the router via ethernet. 

Thanks for any info.

Mark
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rdonson

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2017, 08:44:54 pm »

My P800 is about 6' away from my computer and Wifi works just fine for me. 
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aduke

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2017, 12:08:09 am »

My P800 is nearly 3 feet from both of the computers while the router is about 30 feet and two rooms away from them. Not had any problem communicating with the printer.

Alan
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Garnick

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2017, 07:47:09 am »

I did a search for this and didn't come up with much.  I have one of the rolling cabinets Kevin recommended as a printer stand for the P800 arriving tomorrow and this will lead to me changing the location of the printer.  It will now be significantly further away from the computer than it is currently.   Although it won't exceed the 15' foot USB limit it still seemed like it might be preferable to use WiFi rather than USB.  I would be interested in hearing from those who have done this regarding how well it works and if there are any pitfalls to consider.  The printer will be within 6' or so of my router and it would also be quite reasonable to connect it to the router via ethernet. 

Thanks for any info.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Not sure why you mention a 15' USB limit.  Yes, it was once thought that a 10' USB cable was the limit for a printer, but that has not been the case for many years.  Unless Epson has built in some sort of restriction to the this "limit" on the P800 you can certainly go further than 15'.  For many years I used three 15' Active USB Extention Cables to drive my Epson 9900, with no issues at all.  Those cables and another 6' cable at the printer end amounted to a total of slightly over 40', so 15' and longer should not cause any problems.  However, as I mentioned, if Epson says no, why not just try it at least.  Ask if the cables can be returned if they don't work for you, but I can see no reason they wouldn't.  Here's a link to the cables I have described, just as an example - http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/iogear-iogear-16-ft-booster-extension-cable-gue216-gue216/10173373.aspx?

Gary
   
« Last Edit: April 10, 2017, 11:32:34 am by Garnick »
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #4 on: April 10, 2017, 09:35:00 am »

My old Epson 3800 was always connected via USB (about six feet from my router). When it died and I upgraded to a P800, I expected to use the same USB cable. But because WiFi was possible, I decided to try the P800 on WiFi first, and I've been running it that way for over six months with no problems whatsoever.

In fact, the reason I haven't responded to this thread sooner is that I had forgotten that the new printer was on WiFi instead of USB.

I suggest that you try it. The setup is easy, and it will be easy to switch to USB if you ever find a reason to do so.

-Eric
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mhaffey

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2017, 11:56:11 am »

Hi Mark,

Not sure why you mention a 15' USB limit.  Yes, it was once thought that a 10' USB cable was the limit for a printer, but that has not been the case for many years.  Unless Epson has built in some sort of restriction to the this "limit" on the P800 you can certainly go further than 15'.  For many years I used three 15' Active USB Extention Cables to drive my Epson 9900, with no issues at all.  Those cables and another 6' cable at the printer end amounted to a total of slightly over 40', so 15' and longer should not cause any problems.  However, as I mentioned, if Epson says no, why not just try it at least.  Ask if the cables can be returned if they don't work for you, but I can see no reason they wouldn't.  Here's a link to the cables I have described, just as an example - http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/iogear-iogear-16-ft-booster-extension-cable-gue216-gue216/10173373.aspx?

Gary
 
I seem to have outdated info on USB lengths.  I was told the 15' limit several years ago when I was setting up printers in my office.  Thanks for the updated info.  I also didn't know what the limits are for 3.0 as this was quoted for 2.0.
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Farmer

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2017, 08:10:05 pm »

The standard for USB is 3m to 5m depending on the device.  Other cables/devices/etc. that can improve that are outside the spec.  They mostly work (as noted by Gary) but if you have problems communicating with the printer (or any other device) and you're not using a single, simple USB cable within spec, that's the first place to look.
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #7 on: April 11, 2017, 09:44:16 am »

no issues running the p800 on wifi for me either, about 20 feet from the access point, although I don't think distance from that matters, as long as the signal is strong.
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RoyH

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2017, 11:45:15 am »

I'm curious for those of you using Wi-Fi, how is the speed of printing for you? I asked because I started with Wi-Fi for my P800 when I upgraded from the 3880 but the printing speed was incredibility slow, i.e. lots of printer head pauses, obviously data transfer pauses. The printer wasn't that far away from my router so I just switch to a network connection which dramatically increase the printing speed.

I print primarily from QImage.

Thanks,

Roy
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2017, 01:23:23 pm »

I'm curious for those of you using Wi-Fi, how is the speed of printing for you? I asked because I started with Wi-Fi for my P800 when I upgraded from the 3880 but the printing speed was incredibility slow, i.e. lots of printer head pauses, obviously data transfer pauses. The printer wasn't that far away from my router so I just switch to a network connection which dramatically increase the printing speed.

I print primarily from QImage.

Thanks,

Roy
To me this sounds like possibly a signal strength issue. My WiFi printing speed on my P800 is indistinguishable from the printing speed I was used to on my 3800 using a USB cable. If anything, the P800 is faster, ad I have never had any hesitation or delays printing.

Eric
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RoyH

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #10 on: April 11, 2017, 02:46:23 pm »

To me this sounds like possibly a signal strength issue. My WiFi printing speed on my P800 is indistinguishable from the printing speed I was used to on my 3800 using a USB cable. If anything, the P800 is faster, ad I have never had any hesitation or delays printing.

Eric

Thanks Eric,

I didn't try any troubleshooting at the time because it was just as easy to just 'plug it in'. I would be hesitate to find it a signal strength issue as the printer was only about 6 feet from the router and there were no issues with any other devices throughout the house that used Wi-Fi. It fact I routinely stream HD video over this Wi-Fi to devices at the other end of the house. However, I am planning some changes that may make it less practical to run cables so I may need to try the Wi-Fi connection again so some specific troubleshooting may be in order.

Again thanks!

Roy
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #11 on: April 11, 2017, 09:46:37 pm »

To me this sounds like possibly a signal strength issue. My WiFi printing speed on my P800 is indistinguishable from the printing speed I was used to on my 3800 using a USB cable. If anything, the P800 is faster, ad I have never had any hesitation or delays printing.

Eric
same here.
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francis_walden

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #12 on: April 11, 2017, 10:16:42 pm »

My experience matches RoyH’s. My CPU is six feet from the printer and the wireless router about the same distance, the three arranged in a triangle. Printing starts off normally but then gets bogged down with lots of very slow head passes (one every two seconds or so) in the middle of prints. I called Epson and they said that this is normal operation and suggested that I switch to USB. I suspect that the problem is related file size. If you’re making 17 x 22" prints at max dpi, printing can be very slow.
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Clark

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #13 on: April 12, 2017, 04:39:12 am »

I have had similar and worse experiences using wifi to those here describing slow printing. My printer would not only print slowly but fairly regularly lose it's connection, despite the signal strength being indicated as "excellent".

Why not try the wifi? Especially having already become familiar with the speed and regularity of a wired connection, you should be able to recognise any difference in performance easily. Look out for slower printing and pauses, and if you experience loss of connection, I would go the cable route. Ethernet is another, possibly cheaper choice than USB.
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rdonson

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Re: Printing with Epson P-800 using WiFi
« Reply #14 on: April 12, 2017, 11:40:26 am »

The P800 uses 802.11 b/g/n wifi on the 2.4Ghz band. It has 100BASE-TX/10 Base T standard ethernet.   It uses USB 2.0 which, in theory, is the slowest method available (480 Mps) but adequate. 

If you're in an environment with a LOT of devices on the 2.4GHz wifi band then interference may be an issue.   If you've got a Mac and you'd like to see what your wifi spectrum (2.4 and 5 GHz) looks like I can recommend the app, WIFI Scanner, from the Apple App Store. 
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Regards,
Ron
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