HP DeskJet 3745 driver question

[tkannenb]

I've got several Windows XP PCs printing to an HP DeskJet 3745 via a NetGear USB print server. It appears to me that in this configuration, the printer never uses the black ink cartridge. In the HP toolbox, I found an option that lets you specify what types of ink cartridges are in the printer: one black, one tri-color, or one of each. Although I can change this setting, it keeps getting reset back to "One tri-color cartridge", and I'm guessing the reason is that this driver requires more bi-directional communication with the printer than my print server can support; without that, it can't confirm which cartridges are installed, and keeps reverting to the default setting. Can anyone confirm whether my guess is correct? If it is, is there anything I can do about it (short of replacing the printer with one that costs 4 times as much)?

[mattchall]

The printer needs to be connected directly to one PC via the USB cable and shared by that PC over the network. Networking USB devices can be a real pain.