20090701 1628 GMT-5

Through the VPN wont be a problem, getting the print server to work
might be. What are you using?

I haven't bought a print server yet, I was just researching them on Newegg and
eBay. VPN does appear to be causing other folks problems with printing. I
guess the question is whether VPN is encrypting all data going out through the
wireless card, or only the data that is addressed to someplace outside of the
local network.

Did you know HP sells wireless printers? You might check their site and
see if linux drivers are available.
I have 1 (aio) around here somewhere that was in a pallet of pc stuff
from a school auction. Since I don't like wireless I have not checked to
see if it works. It might be a simpler solution.

I was researching wireless print servers that work with Linux for use in the
apartment, but it occurred to me that (since we are in a public environment, we
always work through a personal VPN service. Can anyone tell me whether this
would cause a problem with a wireless print server?

I installed a Brother laser printer which can be wireless a couple of months
ago. I'm pretty technical, but I found the instructions a little intimidating.
I wound up using an ethernet cable from the printer to my router, which works
very nicely for everybody on the network.

There was one little quirk: Ubuntu likes to talk to the printer at a specific IP
address. To make the printer have a static IP address instead of DHCP, I had to
use a manager program which is written for Windows. My wife's computer uses XP,
so I didn't have to figure out if the manager program would work under Wine.

A little more Googling revealed that my
printer (HP LaserJet 1020) needs support from the OS and is unlikely to work on
its own on a print server. This could be a good excuse to get a netbook!