HP’s OfficeJet Pro L7780 ($499.99; www.hp.com) is a good example of a printer that has strong security features. The L7780 is an all-in-one inkjet printer, scanner, copier, and fax machine. It supports 802.11b/g, which are the two most popular types of wireless networks. (Because the newer, faster 802.11 Draft N wireless specification is backward-compatible, a Draft N network will also support the printer, although not at full Draft N speed.)

Hence, the L7780 can connect to multiple PCs without cables through a wireless router instead of to a single computer with a USB cable like an ordinary printer. And although an Ethernet-compatible printer can do the same with a cable connection to a Wi-Fi router, a wireless model such as the L7780 doesn’t have to be physically tethered to the network.

More impressively, the HP L7780 supports WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), WPA, and WPA2 encryption. This means that you won’t have to compromise or water down your wireless network’s security in order to add this printer to it.

Printer Assembly

We’ll assume you already have a wireless network set up with your existing router or access point. We used a Linksys WRT54G-TM router to set up an 802.11g 54Mbps WLAN with WPA encryption to simulate a common, run-of-the-mill wireless network.

1) First, unpack the OfficeJet Pro L7780. Use the included quick start booklet to identify the parts you’ll need to assemble and to see where and how to install them all. Remove all the pieces of tape and packing material from the printer; you’ll have to lift the scanner lid and print cartridge access door to find them all.

2) Next, set the printer on top of the lower paper tray and then snap the duplexer module into the rear of the unit. Press the control panel’s faceplate into place. Insert the document feeder tray into the top of the scanner lid.

3) Now pop open the access hatch to the lower left of the control panel and then slip the ink cartridges into their color-coded slots. These are tricky to install, so make sure that the HP logo on the front edge of each cartridge is right-side up and facing you. Line up each cartridge’s top and bottom edges in its slot and then press it in until it clicks. When properly installed, the cartridges will line up neatly next to one another.

4) Next, install the print heads. Before you peel open their containers, shake them from side to side six or so times. Be sure to detach each print head’s two protective plastic caps. Each print head has a U-shaped handle; raise it. Slip the print head down over the two ink nozzles on the front edge of the color-coded slot and then press it securely downward into place. Lower the U-shaped handle.

5) Finally, connect the printer’s AC adapter and plug it in. Press the printer’s power button on the right end of the control panel. This starts an initialization cycle, which can last for several minutes. The display on the printer’s front panel will tell you what’s going on.

6) Next, load some paper. Should you need to adjust the widths of the trays, use the adjustment bars along the left sides. Press down on the gray button on the tip of the bar and then move the bar to the left.

Note that if you have forgotten to attach something, such as the rear paper duplexer (oops), or if you’ve installed a print cartridge the wrong way (oops again), the readout on the display will tell you so. After you correct the matter, you may need to press the OK button to the right of the display.

Software Setup

Moving to a PC on the network, insert the installation CD that came with the printer. Our OfficeJet L7780 included three Starter CDs: one each for Windows XP/2000, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X 10.3/10.4. If the Setup.EXE utility on the disc doesn’t launch automatically or appear in an AutoPlay window, browse to the CD and double-click it. In the AutoPlay panel, click Run Setup.EXE.

1) In Setup, click Install and Next. HP recommends that you disable your antivirus software temporarily while you’re installing the printer and that you click Allow or Unblock should a firewall request pop up during the installation. You also should close any other open applications.

2) Click Next then Next again to allow Setup to automatically download and install any updates available online. We decided to let the program install the recommended pack of software for the printer; click Custom if you would rather pick and choose the applications you want. Click Next when you’re ready, and then I Agree after you read the license agreement.

3) Click Next again if you want to allow Setup to install everything on your C: drive. Alternately, if you want to specify a different folder or partition (hard drive section with its own drive letter or letters), such as D:\Program Files\HP, click Change and choose a folder. Click OK and Next.

4) The following panel lets you choose the Connection Type for your printer, namely USB or Wired/Wireless, where “Wired” means via Ethernet. Here’s a tricky part: Even if you’re setting up a wireless printing connection, you still need to temporarily connect the OfficeJet to your router with an included Ethernet cable. Do this and then click Next.

5) If a warning message about your firewall appears, shut down the firewall before you click Continue. In our case, we had to disable ZoneAlarm (to do this, right-click ZoneAlarm’s system tray icon and choose Shut Down ZoneAlarm), as it was keeping Setup from finding our OfficeJet L7780. Setup now will search for the new printer on your network. Click Next.

6) In the Found Network Printers window, select your printer under Printer Model by clicking it once. Click Next to continue. Once the Device Setup panel reports “Device Detected,” click Next again. After Setup installs the rest of its software, click Finish. We clicked Cancel to decline the fax setup wizard, but you can opt for this if you like.

7) Finally, click Print Test Page. If the printer produces a test sheet, click OK. You have a working wired OfficeJet.

Take To The Air

Now to make the printer wireless.

1) On the printer’s front panel, under the display, press Setup. Press the down arrow on the directional pad to the right of the display to choose Network, and then press OK. Select Wireless Radio and OK, and then On and OK.

2) Next, disconnect the Ethernet cable from the back of the printer. On the display, choose Wireless Setup Wizard and press OK. If the printer detects your wireless network, you’ll see its name, or SSID (Service Set Identifier). If you don’t know it, you probably can find it in your wireless router’s settings. Likewise, if the printer doesn’t detect your WLAN, chances are that you’ll need to turn on the SSID Broadcast feature, which also is controlled by your router.

3) Here are the steps we followed to access our Linksys router’s settings; they’re pretty typical, and they apply to many other routers and switches. If your router’s users manual has instructions that differ from our steps, use them instead.

Launch your browser. In the Address bar, type 192.168.0.1 and press ENTER. (Manufacturers traditionally reserve this IP [Internet Protocol] address, 192.168.0.1, for the switch or router running the network. It’s a local IP address that only applies within your LAN, by the way. Your ISP [Internet service provider] assigns a different global IP address to your router [and thus the computers on your network as you surf] so that it has a unique identity on the Web.) Next, type in your router’s username and password to access its settings. Typically, the factory-set username is admin, and there is no password, but we and router manufacturers strongly encourage you to change both of these for security reasons, if you haven’t done so already. If you do, be sure to write them down somewhere safe.

In our Linksys router’s settings, we clicked the Wireless tab to find the Wireless Network Name (SSID), which was wiprint. Here we also set the Wireless SSID Broadcast feature to Enabled. If you need to do this, too, click Save Settings afterward, then re-run the printer’s Wireless Setup Wizard.

4) After you’ve selected your wireless network name, or SSID, and pressed OK, you’ll need to type in the passphrase, or the key to your wireless network’s encryption. To find this, we clicked the Wireless Security subtab under the Wireless tab of our Linksys router’s browser-based settings panel, where it was called WPA Shared Key.

5) Using the on-screen keyboard, we used the printer’s directional pad and OK button to type each letter of our passphrase, wifiprinttest, into the display. If there are capital letters in your encryption key, move the blue cursor to ABC and press OK; press OK again to return the keyboard to lowercase letters. Likewise, select 123 if you need to type a number or special character, such as # or @. If you need to backspace to re-type a character, highlight Clear and press OK. The left and right arrow icons let you move the passphrase cursor back and forth. Choose Done and OK when you’re through.

6) Press OK again, and the OfficeJet Pro LL7780 will attempt to connect to your wireless network. If it can’t, double-check your passphrase and SSID and re-enter them. If your printer can’t find the wireless network at all, even if you type in the SSID manually, you may need to move it closer to the router or add the printer’s IP address (noted in the Location line of the test sheet you printed earlier) to your router’s MAC (Media Access Control) address filtering “safe” list.

7) If the printer connects successfully, try printing another test page. Now re-enable your firewall, if you shut it down, and try printing again. We received a pair of ZoneAlarm challenges about the HP Software Update Client, so we selected Remember This Setting and clicked Allow.

8) To connect another PC on the network to the new wireless printer, try to enable the HP in Windows’ printer settings. In Vista, click Start, Control Panel, Printers, the name of the wireless printer, and Set As Default. If the new printer isn’t listed, click Add A Printer and follow the instructions. In WinXP, click Start, Control Panel, and Printers and Faxes. Right-click the printer’s name and choose Set As Default Printer. Again, if the new printer doesn’t appear as an option, click Add A Printer and complete the Add Printer Wizard. If none of the above methods works, run the appropriate HP Starter CD on the PC to install the Wi-Fi printer’s software and complete its setup.

Untied

Now that you’ve cut the cord, so to speak, you can put your wireless printer where it’s convenient, not merely within reach of your PC or router. It’s just another example of the way that Wi-Fi has helped you shape your computing experience to your lifestyle, and not the other way around.

by Marty Sems