Can I connect two printers to one computer at the same time?

[ddeder]

I have two printers both using IEEE cables. I currently have a switch box that these cables plug into and I use the box to switch back and forth between printers. My computer has only 1 25-pin parallel port which is standard. I recently heard that there are PCI cards that can be used to add a parallel port to a computer. Are these cards meant to add a parallel port to a computer that does not already have one or can they be used to add an additional port? If I can use one of these cards to add a 2nd 25-pin parallel port to my computer, is there anything special I need to do to configure the computer to recognize both printers? I believe the printer currently uses the LPT1 port. If I have two printers connected to my machine at once, can the second printer use any available port? My operating system is Windows 98 SE.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[Sabbathian]

PCI card gives you additional parallel port, so you can connect both
of your printers at the same time without any problem.

 

[corkyg]

Another, possibly easier solution is to get a USB Printer adapter plug/cable and connect onbe of the printers to a USB port. That way it won't cost you another IRQ.