IP address

[#1]

I run an office for a charity - it's part time only open when I want to use the photocopier so a few hours per week, the PC is switched off when not in use but the router is left on. We have had the current photocopier for 2.5 yrs no problem. The monthly printer readings are take automatically via the internet by the leasing company. 

Now for some reason the PC keeps changing the IP address which means it won't accept instructions to print from the PC. 

My question is, is it this the same IP address as is assigned when connecting to the internet or is purely an 'internal' one via the router to the photocopier?

We don't have a static IP and can't think why it's suddenly started to drop it when all has been well in the past. Would a static IP solve the problem?

I have asked to speak the leasing company tech department but they haven't yet got back to me.

[#2]

If the IP address you are talking about begins 192.168 it is internal to the LAN (i.e. allocated by the DHCP server built in to the router) and you should be able to go in to the router and set it to always use the same address for the device - nothing to do with the fixed/dynamic IP allocated by Plusnet.

[#3]

The PC does not change the IP address.  The internal IP address is either fixed or assigned by the router; the latter by default.  And it's purely internal; a router a PC and a printer constitute a small internal network.  A printer that is only 2.5 years old should be able to cope with having its internal IP address dynamically assigned and therefore possibly subject to change.  But you should be able to change its settings to give it a fixed IP address if necessary.

[#4]

Due to the time between switch on the order of them can be important when DHCP is used to issue the address. If the PC for example is X.2 and the copier X.3 if the copier is turned on before the PC chances are it will get the X.2 address, thus messing up the assignments on the PC which assume the address to be X.2 (as it was when it was installed)

The best option here is to reserve static IPs in the router, this will instantly solve this issue for you.

[#5]

Or reserve a static IP on the printer.  I don't see that it is better to do it on the router; a printer setting would survive the need to swap-out the router for a similar one.

[#6]

Ok thanks, that's a great help, you've solved one the biggest questions I had which was in an 'internal' IP address.