[dba-Tech] VPN messing with the printer connection?

Hi,

Here's the situation:
Computer connected to the Internet with a high-speed broadband Wimax.  
Printer networked by cable to the local computer through the a router.  
Much of the computer work is done over a VPN situated many states away. 
Local documents, resident on the local computer, print fine to the 
printer.  Documents resident on the headquarters computer and accessed 
over the VPN will not print on the local printer - display on the screen 
fine - will not print.  Documents copied from the headquarters computer 
onto the local computer will print fine if the VPN is not connected - 
will not print as long as the VPN is active.  The print facility message 
is that the printer is not responding.
Shut down the VPN and try again, the document prints just fine.

I do not understand why this is.  Does anybody here have an idea?  TIA

T