print sharer

What is Print Sharer?

Any hardware device that enables two or more computers to directly share one or more attached printers without using a network. Print sharers include the following:

• Manual switch boxes, on which a user turns a rotary switch to select which computer controls the printer. The manual switch boxes are usually in a 2-to-1, 4-to-1, or 6-to-1 configuration. A special switch called an X-switch can allow either of two computers to print to either of two printers.
• Electronic print-sharing switches, on which users also use knobs or toggle switches to select a computer or printer. These switches have solid-state circuitry inside that does the switching, unlike manual switch boxes, which have simple metallic contacts.
• Port-contention or FIFO (first in, first out) switches, which automatically monitor all input ports. When a signal enters an input port from a computer, the switch automatically assigns that port to the output printer port.
• Code-operated switches, which examine the input (computer) data ports for an ASCII string indicating which output (printer) port to switch the incoming printer data to.
• Scanning switches, which function like port-contention switches except that they sequentially scan the input ports instead of monitoring them all continuously.