AC68U and HP laserjet 3380 printing issues

[pod3545]

Printer is HP Laserjet 3380. I use the install cd from asus that came with my AC68U and the printer seems to be properly set up yet I get a print error when I attempt to print. Also throughout the day, there are smiley faces that print randomly. Its nice to see my printer is happy but I am not. My primary computer I use to attempt the setup is a Lenovo W530 with Win7 64bt.

For troubleshooting, I have attempted with a different computer with Windows XP and and yet another with Windows 8 and found the same issue on all machines. I can attach directly to the printer without going through the router with no issue. The issue is only apparent when I attempt to use the print server feature which is crucial to my work. The next step is to borrow another printer but since the printer works fine directly then I believe the router is the issue.

I would like to add that if I do not use the auto-setup tool and instead I manually configure then it seems to work but this is entirely too slow to set up all of my computers AND I lose features of the printer like being able to scan.

I called asus tech support and waited on hold for an hour earlier today only to be eventually dumped.

I'll appreciate any insight you guys may have and I'll continue to troubleshoot and report back what I find.

 

[pod3545]

I have found that I can print if I install as an LPR as directed here by asus (http://www.asus.com/us/support/FAQ/114024) BUT I lose the function of scanning. I should know in the morning if I'm still getting random smiley faces.

The driver I selected is HP Laserjet 3380 PCL 5.

 

[pod3545]

well I finally got through to Asus tech support and was told that the problem is in the printer and not the router. Even though the printer has no issue when directly connected and the issue is seen across multiple computers AND there was no issue with my Netgear R6300 that I had before.

Asus tech support was useless to me.

 

[pod3545]

emailed tech support and they got back to me pretty quick. Their response was that the printer in question is not on their massive support matrix.

Hold onto your hats for this one.
http://event.asus.com/2009/networks/printersupport/rt_ac68u.htm


That's quite the matrix to digest I know.


Anyways, the resolution will be to toss my antiquated (but still working well Laserjet 3380) and just get a new printer that is wireless.

 

[RMerlin]

emailed tech support and they got back to me pretty quick. Their response was that the printer in question is not on their massive support matrix.

Hold onto your hats for this one.
http://event.asus.com/2009/networks/printersupport/rt_ac68u.htm


That's quite the matrix to digest I know.


Anyways, the resolution will be to toss my antiquated (but still working well Laserjet 3380) and just get a new printer that is wireless.

Unfortunately, I suspect that validating printer compatibility would be quite time-consuming and expensive. I remember seeing such small validation lists with other USB-enabled routers from other manufacturers as well.

As you point out, (affordable) wifi-enabled printers are becoming so common now, I suspect USB printer sharing is a feature that will eventually simply fade away.