I'm using an HP printer and currently am using the USB cable to connect to my PC to print. I'm running out of USB ports and (for some reason) when I use a USB hub with it, my PC fails to read it.

Instead, I wish to connect the printer to my local network, BUT I don't want it connected to the internet. I've seen how dangerous it is to expose your printer to the internet, so I wish to prevent that (plus I don't want the printer to auto-update).

How can I connect my printer to my local network so I can print wirelessly without allowing internet access to it?

If it's important:

  • My PC is ArchLinux
  • My printer is a HP ColorJet Pro MFP (I dont know the model #/what series it is)
  • I do have cups and hp-lip installed on my system

Also: A guest network does not work on my network for some reason, but that's a separate issue unrelated to this.

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[–] 2 points 6 days ago (3 children)

What kind if switch/router are you using? You should be able to set up a firewall rule to block a device from accessing the internet. Of course, the steps depend entirely on your hardware and router OS, but essentially:

  • give printer a static ip on you main network
  • tell firewall that any traffic originating from printer static IP on the internal network destined to the ISP is not allowed, and vice versa
  • assuming printer mac address doesnt change, you can also apply the same rule to the mac address.
  • source
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