VPNs and WiFi Printers

[rjbinney]

This may be a silly question.

When working from home, my wife connects to her office through a dedicated VPN (I don't know if it's Citrix or what). She also has a great deal of trouble printing to our wi-fi printer.

On my laptop, I use a VPN for basic security/anonymity, and I do NOT have a problem connecting to our wi-fi printer.

I always presumed that the Wi-Fi printer was inside a private ring created by my router, and the VPN only impacted connections LEAVING the router. I am guessing this isn't true, based on my wife's experience.

Some insight would be helpful.

[Geek-9pm]

Quick  answer.  Normally a WiFi Printer is part of your local network and not directly exposed to the Internet.
However, The printer can get to the Internet. Many modern printers do indeed have a way to let a remote user to use the network printer.
Sorry, I don't fully understand how they do this. I think it is a new practice.
Maybe you will need to get some help from your VPN company.

Here is a link that might help some.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/hp-all-in-one-printer-remote/9wzdncrfhwlh

e
With the HP All-in-One Printer Remote app, you can print documents and photos, check the status of your printer, and perform maintenance tasks. You can also order original HP printing supplies and get help from HP support.  Some features might not be available with all printer models.

This is often used with smartphones and tablets to send a document home.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, some HP printers can have an e-mail address.

[patio]

I'm thinking her VPN has not allowed connections to the home printer...have her check with the work IT guys....