Here's some anectodal evidence of why the details are needed.
I started with 1 Win PC, 1 Mac and a printer. Win2000, Mac OS 8.1 and HP G85. Network was 10/100-T (wired Ethernet)
I couldn't put the printer directly on the Winbox because then the Mac couldn't print to it, even with sharing set up.
I couldn't put the printer directly on the Mac because then the Winbox couldn't print to it, even with sharing set up.
I couldn't put the printer directly onto the network because it only had a USB & Parallel port, no Ethernet.
My only solution for printing from both was to get a print server box that supported both OS's and connect the printer directly to the Ethernet. I investigated print boxes to put the printer online and ended up (per my usual way) with a relatively expensive JetDirect
300x print box. I need that version because I would soon be using Linux on the Winbox for some coursework in computer science and unix-like machines print natively in a different way from either Mac or Windows. The version for 1/2 that price wouldn't support printing from lpr and I also needed to get an HP print box so I could use the G85's scanning & fax services over the network.
Now, after I bought the 300x it turned out that the Mac OS version didn't support printing directly over TCP/IP and I needed to upgrade my OS to make it print right over Ethernet. But then I learned that minimum needed OS upgrade wasn't compatible with my poor old 8100/80AV, so I was stuck with no printing from that computer.
Per usual, my children created a tragic solution to my dilemma by coincidentally
breaking the keyboard & trackball for the Mac. As it would be too expensive to replace the old type inputs, I bought them a used WinPC for $25 and now had only to support Win95, Win2000, and Linux.
Problem solved. A pyric (sp?) victory, but a victory nonetheless and the print server has been faultless since I bought it about a year ago. It turns out that I'm going to end up needing nearly every feature of that print server especially because my wife is now wanting "a cool Mac" for herself. So location, speed, availability and above all compatibility all figure into the printing equation.