{"id":5,"date":"2020-01-25T21:27:41","date_gmt":"2020-01-25T21:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.mobilitio.com\/?p=5"},"modified":"2020-02-05T00:08:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T00:08:54","slug":"add-printer-wifi-rpi-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tech.mobilitio.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/25\/add-printer-wifi-rpi-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"How to add WiFi to a multifunction printer using Raspberry Pi – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Add wifi to printer!<\/h1>\n

Dear reader, I got a good but old photo-quality printer, but it was missing wireless connectivity. Even if its tradeable value is around 50 euros, it still works very well. I also avoid generation of unnecessary waste, so you might think this a “greenish” project, as a no new printer needs to be produced in China and hauled to Europe. Now, add wifi to printer!<\/p>\n

\"Printer
Epson RX 520 printer scanner device<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The raspberry Pi came to rescue, bought it from Amazon for about 22 euros and 4 euros for the case. Despite being an economical option, I’m glad that the original Raspberry Pi’s are made in Sheffield, England, which still qualifies to geographical Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Raspberry
The fast but small Raspberry Pi 3 A+<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This <\/span>is a recipe how to make a wireless (WLAN\/WiFi) printer and scanner from a plain USB printer\/scanner. To accomplish this, a\u00a0 Raspberry Pi with Raspbian Linux and free server software cups<\/em> and sane<\/em> are used.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s is <\/span>updated, comp<\/span><\/i>leted and checked <\/span><\/i>for<\/span> Raspbian buster<\/b> operating system, I have collected information from many sources as there were\u00a0no<\/em> single, updated source to accomplish my mission to equip a USB printer with WiFi. This is important, it saves a good printer to go prematurely to waste! You may save a tree, as you reduce the of use nonrenewable resources<\/b>! Especially, if you don’t give up printing, use of computer, buying a Raspberry pi…. \ud83d\ude00\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The journey is lenghtly, so prepare to spend a few hours with this! I’ve split the story to four parts. Easy? Yes, if you can already do something with Raspberry shell. In other words, this is for those who are past the first beginner steps, and can work with a command line. For people who see this difficult or troublesome I’d be happy to make and sell these for… say for 90 \u20ac. Hence, when you get a new printer for 90\u20ac, the project is not commercially very attractive, better to think it in DIY basis.<\/p>\n

PART 1: PREPARE A RASPBERRY PI<\/span><\/h2>\n

Obviously, a Raspberry Pi<\/strong> is needed. I tried it first with a Raspberry Pi [1] B+ v1.2, the old one from 2014, but it\u2019s sluggish on large prints and scans, so I ordered a Raspberry Pi 3 A+, which has sufficient connectivity for this application and besides, is cheap (I paid 22 \u20ac on Amazon.es).<\/span><\/p>\n

The USB charger can be almost any that can supply real 5 V \/ 2.4 A of current, but I got some low voltage warnings with an insufficient cable.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you only have a RasPi without wifi, you can use many old adapters. While two decades ago, Linux WiFi compatibility was a nightmare, it no longer is. In my stocks of old junk, I found a Linksys WUSB54GV4 \u201cWireless-G\u201d WiFi<\/em> adapter which is no longer detected by Windows 10 but works perfectly with Linux!<\/span><\/p>\n

1) Hardware list <\/span><\/h3>\n

This is what I had, you may consider it a recommendation but no obligation.<\/span><\/p>\n