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[RevenantKioku]

How hard is it? My parents might be getting one mac, but they have PCs and want to have it all printer networked throughout the whole house. I could google this, but you guys are cooler.

 

[teiresias]

Well, unless the printer itself supports networking directly you have to share the printer through windows or whatever the MAC equivalent is, which means the computer to which the printer is attached will have to be on whenever you want to use the printer from another PC/MAC on the network.

 

[Hitokage]

Setting up a networked IPP printer on a mac is pretty easy... easier than windows anyway. Don't know about SMB(windows networking) printer sharing though.

 

[Lhadatt]

Incredibly easy.

Share the printer from the computer it's attached to, and the most you'll have to do is tell OSX to surf to that computer and install the printer. Like teiresias said, the Windows box will have to be on to use it.

Now, if you get a print server gadget or the printer can connect to the network directly, the Mac will either let you install it via the printer's IP, or it will autodetect it via Bonjour (formerly Rendevous), which is really slick stuff.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Hmm, cause they want it in the room where the mac will be going...so you're saying I'm looking for a specific feature of the printer?

 

[Lhadatt]

Er, no, not really.

You have printers with USB/parallel ports, then you have printers with USB/parallel AND network ports.

Printers without the network port get hooked up to the Mac or Windows machines. Sharing is easy, either way.

Printers with the network port get hooked up to the network, which makes them stand-alone network devices. These are also easy to share.

You're good either way you go. Go get the Mac, hook it up, then google or read through Apple's documentation on how to get the printer working on the Mac.