USB specs say that you can only use a USB cable less than 16 feet in length, so you cannot actually extend the USB device any more than this without degrading the signal strength.
Getting beyond 16 feet
There are some USB active extension cables which are 16 feet in length, or longer, that can be placed together, in series, for a longer connection. These types of cables are called USB active extension cables, because they boost the signal with built in electronics. These built in electronics boost the signal at the end of each cable so that you do not experience signal quality degredation that would be experienced if you were to only use passive extension cables.
Going even further
Cat5 extenders are suggested if you want to go beyond the stated distance of 328 feet for Ethernet distances. There are cat5 extenders that can be used to extend your distance by 5 times the stated distance. These extenders are available with a multitude of ends; therefore most any plug and play device can be used with these extensions. There are many different models and ends available, some which work with 144 kbps, 2.3 mbps, 12.5 mbps, or even 480 mbps for varying costs, depending on the manufacturer and capabilities.
These can be used for printers and many other plug and play devices. The passive USB extensions do not have the built in electronic boosting system that active extension cables are made with. Therefore these types of cables should only be used for short distances, where the total amount of cable combined is less than 16 feet or you will have a degraded signal strength. The signal strength is partially responsible for how fast your data is transferred, so the data will not be transferred as fast with too many of these cables.