![]() Once you choose a printer, you're ready to go. If your printer doesn't support AirPrint, you can grab a utility that, in effect, makes it AirPrint-compatible. ![]() (The printer can even be USB-connected, as long as it's on a Wi-Fi network.) These programs function as print servers and can be installed on a computer on your network. With Printopia, for instance, you need to install the software on a Mac. Presto (which was previously known as FingerPrint 2 at the time we reviewed it) is compatible with both Windows and Mac. Print servers tend to add some extras to AirPrint's functionality. Presto is also compatible with Google Cloud Print, and it allows iOS devices to discover printers via unicast Domain Name Servers (DNS), instead of the (allegedly less reliable) multicast DNS that AirPrint itself uses in discovering printers. Printopia, meanwhile, lets you "print" a copy of the file you're printing to your Mac, to Dropbox, to Evernote, or to one of several similar cloud-based services. Nearly all of the major printer manufacturers now offer apps that let you print from your iPad (or other iOS device) to their brand of printers that support Wi-Fi connectivity. These apps tend to offer a much wider range of features and printing options than AirPrint does. The iPhone and printer must be on the same Wi-Fi network if the printer is compatible, the app should readily detect it. These apps generally let you print a variety of document types, and in many cases they have their own browser (with limited features) for loading and printing web pages. Some of these apps are rather bare-bones, while others, such as Samsung Mobile Print and Epson iPrint, let you initiate scans from your iPad, and offer a variety of printing functions. Many of these apps integrate with various cloud services to allow printing from them, as well. Third-party app makers have also gotten in on the fun. Thinxtream Technologies, for instance, offers the PrintJinni app, which lets you print from an iPad to compatible printers from a number of manufacturers.Ĭloud printing services such as Cortado's ThinPrint Cloud Printer and Google Cloud Print let you send a file from your iPad to their respective cloud service, which processes it into a printable form and sends it to a printer designated by you or your company. One advantage of cloud printing is that you can print to the cloud printer from anywhere (as long as you're connected to the Internet). Verdict:Ī simple and cost effective way to add printing capabilities to iOS if you find AirPrint to be troublesome or too restricted.Another is that you can print to it from multiple platforms: desktops, laptops, and mobile devices running other operating systems. It does not matter if you have a printer that is connected directly to your Mac or if you are making use of an AirPort or Time Capsule – set up and use is equally simple no matter how your system is configured. The app makes use of Dropbox to make it possible to send documents to your Mac as PDF or JPEG files so you can queue up documents for printing wherever you may be, regardless of network coverage. No special printer is needed – any laser printer, inkjet, network or USB printer can be used in conjunction with Printopia. The second option is to ‘print’ documents as PDFs which will then be sent to your Mac ready for use. Firstly Printopia makes it possible to share a printer that is connected to your Mac so that it can be accessed by your iPhone or iPad. However, for many people, this still proved problematic. For a while, the only option was to transfer documents to your Mac or PC and print from there, but the addition of the AirPrint feature to iOS finally made printing possible. For a long time, iPhone and iPad owners were looking for a way to print documents from their iOS devices.
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