I’ve got a new MacBook with built-in Airport that I operate wirelessly. I’ve also got an old Brother printer that doesn’t have wireless capability.
How do I set it up so I can print from my computer wirelessly? Is there some sort of receiving unit that I can plug the printer into?
You have to have a way to plug the printer into your wireless router… by USB probably. If your router doesn’t have a USB port for printer sharing, you’re SOL.
I’d get the Airport Extreme from Apple for this.
There are wireless print servers that are wireless on one end and USB on the other end. They’re not without their problems, and they’re fairly expensive at around $75-100. There are also wireless routers that have USB printer ports. I don’t know that an Airport would have this.
This sounds like a perfect time to get a wireless printer. HP makes a wireless/wired network inkjet printer - their Deskjet 6980 sells for $150 and has built-in wifi b/g.
If you have a desktop computer at your home as well as your shiny new laptop, you can do what I’ve done: plug the printer into the desktop computer and have that computer share the printer. Plug the desktop system into the same wireless router that your laptop uses. Connect to shared printer and print to your heart’s content.
Failing that, and barring getting a new printer, you’ll need a router that doubles as a wireless print server, or a standalone wireless print server.