How to Use a USB Printer With Serial

Though USB has become the interface of choice for most new printers, serial ports are still very common in many business computers due to the large number of serial printers still in use. If some of your computers have serial connectors but you only have newer USB printers, you can convert a printer's USB connector to serial and then connect it to your computer via its serial port.

Connect a USB printer cable to your USB printer and connect the other end to a USB female-to-female adapter.

Insert the USB end of a USB-to-serial adapter to the female-to-female USB adapter.

Plug the serial end of the USB-to-serial adapter into the serial port on your computer. Finger-tighten the attached screws until snug and then turn on your computer.

Turn on the printer. Your computer should recognize that you have connected a printer and display the "Found New Hardware" message box. Insert the printer's driver disc and follow the onscreen prompts to install its software. Once complete, you can use your serial-converted USB printer like a normal printer.