SeanW Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 Hi guys, I'm hoping that someone may be able to help me here... So, my partner and I have setup a little custom print business - doing things like mugs etc. As a result we have multiple printers for printing a variety of things with different media, inks and whatnot. I would like a convenient way to hook them all up to my laptop. I currently have the following devices: 3x Ricoh printers (USB or Ethernet) 1x Epson all-in-one (USB or WiFi) 1x A3 Epson (USB) 1x vinyl plotter/cutter (USB) 1x Card printer (USB or Ethernet, I think) 2x label printers (USB) I've already tried a switchable USB hub - doesn't work with the printers. My laptop only has 3 USB ports. And if at all possible, I would like to avoid having to build a PC with a gazillion USB ports Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp999 Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 A normal USB hub should work, what wasn't working? What type was it? We do 14 port rackmount hubs where I work and I haven't heard of any issues. Obviously if you connected a hard drive to each, you're not going to get full throughput on all simultaneously, but I printers don't need that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanW Posted March 21, 2018 Author Share Posted March 21, 2018 It's one these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071DKSG4F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_SPUSAbASMM68B The vinyl cutter works through it - but the printers don't. Windows tells me that it doesn't recognise the device. I figured that the fact it was switched would be enough to seperate each device and therefore act more like a short USB extension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp999 Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 USB hubs are a bit like network switches where they do internal electrical switching to keep everything communicating. The physical switches on that hub are only really good for cutting power to things like chargers and HDDs. Are you using the AC adapter with it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp999 Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 If the printers insist on being attached to the root hub, the only other method I can think of, if you can't get a dock or expansion port for the laptop is to go usb over ip. Looks like you only have 4 without native IP support? (Ethernet or WiFi) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanW Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 There was no power adapter with the hub. Apparently it doesn't need one... I'll have to have a proper play with it all tomorrow and try find a combination that works. Of course, it's possible I have a faulty hub... I might have to investigate the networking option in a little more detail... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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