- USB printer cables have quickly become the go-to cables for printers because of their simple setup. They are made up of two connectors and have blazing fast transfer speeds, up to 480 Mbps. They are especially efficient for high printing volumes. They are commonly found in home settings because they are widely used on personal ink jet and desk jet printers. In addition to their speed, they are very cheap and generally run anywhere from $5 to $20 or more, depending on the quality of the cable. The gold USB cables are considered best for connectivity and transfer.
- Parallel printer cables are mostly found in older printers. They consist of two parallel connectors, with one end going into the printer and the other end into the computer. Parallel printer cables are mostly used in dot matrix printers and older computers. They are rarely used in many of today's computers, because they do not support fast connections as compared to USB.
- A serial printer cable consists of a 9-pin or 25-pin connector attached to one or both ends of the serial cable, and are used on computers that have serial ports. Serial printer cables are mostly used in high mass printing stations because they are much faster than the parallel and USB printer cables. They also yield high-quality printing results. The major disadvantage is they are not compatible with most computers, because most computers do not have serial ports.
- Always check for compatibility before buying a printer cable. Check your printer to see which ports it uses for connection and check your computer to see what ports it has available. If your computer only has USB ports, you'll need a printer that has USB ports. Printer cables vary in length, so let the location of the printer be a determining factor when deciding how long your printer cable should be; this way, you won't buy a printer cable that is too short or too long.
- Before you dump an older printer because your new computer does not have a parallel, consider a parallel-USB adapter. They are alternative cables that allow you to connect one end to a parallel port on the printer and the other end to a USB port on your computer. These adapters are inexpensive, and effective in delivering decent transfer speeds. If you are not getting quality printing results, it might be time to invest in a new printer, and you may be better off going with an easy-to-connect USB printer.
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