Printers

[paws]

Can anyone be so kind as to tell me how I can print from the IPad? Going a bit hard for me and I need some input!

 

[KevinJS]

This page


http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4356

gives a list of all AirPrint enabled printers. There are other solutions, but AirPrint is the simplest.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[paws]

Thanks a ton for the prompt reply. I will check it out!

 

[KevinJS]

No problem.


I use an HP 3050A Deskjet All-in-one. Print quality is not the greatest, but it only cost $79, and the cartridges are only about $20 each.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[LannyC]

If your printer is attached to your desktop computer and isn't wifi, you can still print from your iPad as long as the PC is on the same local network. You'll need an iPad app and a corresponding program for the computer. One such is PrintCentral, which is free today from the App Store.

If you have a recent NetGear router, no iPad app is required, just one for the PC or Mac. See the NetGear website. It works perfectly with my iMac and my old Epson all-in-one inkjet.

milliHelen: amount of beauty required to launch one ship.

 

[NoNoBadDog]

If you have a Netgear router, you can go to their web page and download a utility called Netgear Genie. It allows you to visually monitor and control your network, and also turns any printer on your network into an AirPrint printer.

Sent from my iPad 3rd Gen using ipf

 

[twerppoet]

Here's a slightly out of date post that may help fill in the gaps.

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Some printers are directly compatible with AirPrint on the iPad. If you want this feature be absolutely certain the printer supports AirPrint before buying. Some printers may require a firmware update to work. These are usually available on the manufacturers site. If you get this kind of printer you can print directly from within apps that support the feature, which is many.

AirPrint 101

Of course some of us already have printers and do not want to buy a new one. There are several ways to do this.

One is to use a printing app on the iPad.

Most (or all) printing apps can only print pictures and/or files that have been copied to that app via Open In or another method. Several printer manufacturers have their own apps for their printers. In general those apps will probably have the best results, quality wise.

Another method is to load a program on the computer that will emulate an AirPrint compatible printer. Your computer must be on and have the printer available to it. The cheapest (free) is Airprint Activator. More features can be had with FingerPrint (mac and windows) and Printopia (mac only).

Printopia - Ecamm Network
FingerPrint - Collobos Software
How to Install AirPrint Activator for Windows?

A few printers (mostly HP's again) can be set up with their own email address. PDF attachments can be sent via this address to be printed. The last review I saw (many months ago) said it could be quite slow (big files not recommended), and sometimes the emails got lost and never printed. The advantage was that you could literally send/print from anywhere you have an internet connection.

For small business owners and those with more than one printer who would like all their printers to work, but don't want to leave a computer on all the time. The Lantronix XPrintServer is a small box that connects to your network and is supposed to detect and make all your wireless printers available to iOS as AirPrint printers. I haven't seen a full review on it yet, so do your research.

Some NetGear router models support NetGear Genie, which will add AirPrint support for printers on your network. If the printer is not wireless, it must be shared on the network, and the computer it is connected to must be on.