Can two PCs use one printer?

Q  Can two computers print to the same printer? Currently I do this manually by swapping the USB cable between them but this isn’t convenient.
Jeff Leuty

A  Assuming you have a home network, an easy way to do this would be to buy a print server-style gadget that attaches the printer to the network. In this way, any computer that’s connected to the same network will also be able to ‘see’ and send print jobs to the printer.

Belkin's Network USB Hub, for instance, costs around £25 and has five USB sockets – so several devices can be shared across the network (so as well as your printer you could connect and share an external hard disk and a webcam, say). 

A device such as the Network USB Hub is particularly convenient when the computers aren’t situated close together but if the computers aren’t networked, it is of no use. In that case, a simple USB switch will do the job.

There are loads of different makes and models available but they all do much the same job and you should pay no more than around £15. See this £13 USB switch from Aquarius as an example.