Sabrent SBT-UPPC USB to Parallel 6-Foot Printer Cable
by SABRENT
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List Price: Our Price: $7.59 You Save: $5.40 (42%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $7.35 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sabrent SBT-UPPC USB to Parallel 6-Foot Printer Cable
Customer Review: Does not work with Windows XP and a Laserjet 5L Printer
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this because my new PC doesn't have a parallel port. The cable was detected as a USB device by the PC and its own driver installed and showed up in Device Manager. Windows never saw the printer itself, so I had to do a manual driver install. I changed the port from LPT 1 to the USB as instructed. When trying to print, the printer printed garbage or nothing, and Windows returned a "this document failed to print" message. The print job would remain in the cue and could not be deleted until I unplugged the USB cable and plugged it back in. Once or twice I was able to get it to print a Windows XP Printer Test Page, but usually these came out garbled or failed to print as well. The Laserjet 5L printer (with the optional 8mb extra mamory installed) works fine on my old PC that has a real parallel port and Windows detects it there as a plug and play device and installs the driver automatically. I will have to get a parallel port PCI card to install in the new PC or buy a new printer. This device is too flaky to actually be used. Quality of the hardware is poor. Maybe the Centronics plug was not making good contact with the printer on mine, as other people have gotten these to work. I tried reseating the Centronics connector into the back of the printer several times to no avail. The contacts seemed flimsy and it plugged into the connector with very little force compared to the old parallel cable. Look elsewhere for a better quality product.Customer Review: You get what you pay for...
Summary: 1 Stars
I recently replaced an aging PC with a new one having no parallel port, so this USB-to-Parallel cable seemed like the ideal solution to keep my similarly ancient HP Laserjet running (those old HP printers just keep going and going).
The Sabrent cable was the cheapest one available from Amazon, and I soon found out why.
After some trial and error (and a trip to the Sabrent website for instructions not included with the product), I got it working under Vista ... for about a day. After turning off or suspending either the PC or the printer, Vista kept continually "reacquiring" the USB connection but failed to complete any spooled print job, often locking up the printer in the process. By removing and reinstalling the printer via the Windows Control Panel, I was able to get it working again in maybe 1 out of 3 attempts - not worth the effort.
I finally gave up and ordered another slightly more expensive alternative from Amazon (Cables to Go) which actually came with grammatically correct English instructions and worked flawlessly out of the box.
This may be an issue with Vista (reviewers here with Windows XP seem more likely to get the Sabrent cable working), but my advice is to spend a bit more and avoid the frustration.
Customer Review: inaccurate product information
Summary: 1 Stars
I have an HP LaserJet 4L that still works just fine, but my laptop is too new and doesn't have a parallel port. I wasn't sure there would be any easy solution to this problem, so I did my homework before buying this cable and it was still wrong.
The product information's claim that this cable will work with all parallel printers is simply wrong. Although I gather from the other reviews that there are 4Ls this cable does work with, it certainly doesn't work with mine, whose plug is 25-pin-- not exactly an uncommon configuration, since it worked fine on a laptop only slightly older than my current one.
Worse, although the product information doesn't include pictures close enough to confirm that the female parallel end will work, Tiger Direct now won't accept the cable back because it isn't defective-- just wrong, and useless.
It's odd, too, that Tiger Direct would bother being so vague in the product information, because they do sell a cable that would be compatible with my [very common] printer, and to which they could presumably point customers with a similar setup without losing business. Now, though, I won't be purchasing the correct cable from them.
Customer Review: Not Happy, Mac and HP LaserJet 4P do not talk with this cable
Summary: 1 Stars
Although the description of the item aludes one to think that it will work with my PowerBook and my HP Laserjet 4P; well, it does not.
To begin with, the software that comes with the cable does not include an specific driver for Tiger X. It was suggested that the driver is already embeded with Tiger, but even with that driver the cable does not communicate with the printer. I have tried to contact Sabrent via email, but they just won't respond and I am stuck with a cable that simply does not work.
As a self consolation, I am glad I bought a cheap cable and nothing really fancy; otherwise, my regret would have magnified.
The positive reviews this item has received induced me to buy it in the first place. I think it is fair enough for all to see the other side of the story and that is why I decided to write a review and make potential buyers aware of this item and the problems they might encounter.
You as a customer may not have support from Sabrent and keep in mind that your Mac and HP LaserJet 4P will not get alone altogether. With that said, if you have a similar setup, look at some other cable manufacturer and if you buy it, buy it with a condition. Good luck.
Customer Review: a great saver
Summary: 5 Stars
Having just received a donated, but older laser jet printer (HP LaserJet 6P) I was anxious to replace a dying inkjet printer on my newer Dell XP computer. The Dell has been a faithful server for me but this was the first time I realized that it had no parallel ports, only lots of USB connections and the HP had only a parallel port.
As a result I was trying to find the best (ie. inexpensive) way to get them to work together. After a quick stop to Best Buy ($39 for a USB to Parallel Port cable) and Office Depot ($46 for a USB-Parallel Port cable) I thought this is insane ... The Office Depot employee even mentioned that it would make more sense to get a new printer. I responded "yeah, at the rip off prices you guys are charging. These cables go for $15 or less on the internet." He had no reply ... just a dumbfounded look.
A quick check at Amazon came up with this cable for $10. I put my order in. The cable showed up 3 days later. I plugged the cable in to the printer, the other end in the USB port on the computer and within about 15 seconds the computer told me that my LaserJet 6P is ready to use ... and it was. It couldn't have been easier.