Printer and ipad aren’t communicating

Do you have any security Apps (such as Norton) or VPN installed on your iPad? If so, these may be interfering with your iPad's internal routing table - and may interfere with AirPrint/AirPlay and other Apple services. It may be necessary to temporarily remove such Apps from your iPad - and then perform a forced-restart of your iPad.

While restarting your iPad, a further restart of your WiFi Router may be helpful.

You’ll need to restart your network devices in the correct order. Assuming that you WiFi Router provides DNS services for your network, restart devices in this order - allowing time for devices to fully boot/restart prior to restarting other devices:

• WiFi Router
• Upstream wired Network Switch(es) (if any)
• WiFi Access Points / Network Extenders
• Other fixed infrastructure devices - such as Printers
• Client devices (your iPad)

Restarting your iPad, after restarting other devices in the correct sequence, is most simply achieved by a forced-restart of the iPad:

• On an iPad with a Home button: Press and hold the top button and the Home button at the same time. When the Apple logo appears, release both buttons.

• On an iPad with Face ID: Press and quickly release the volume up button, press and quickly release the volume down button, then press and hold the top button. When the Apple logo appears, release the button.

If you continue to have difficulties, check to see if your iPad is using the new WiFi Private Address feature. This feature is intended to provide additional privacy and security when using “public” (untrusted) WiFi networks.

Settings > WiFi > [Your WiFi Network / SSID] - tap the “i” icon - Private Address

The Private Address feature is largely unnecessary for your home WiFi network; if enabled, Private Addressing can interfere with anticipated operation of other devices, such as AirPrint/Airplay. In such circumstances, you may need to disable this feature - and can be enabled or disabled for each individual network.

Use private Wi-Fi addresses in iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 - Apple Support

First of all, which exact printer make and model? Is it an AirPrint-supported printer?

About AirPrint - Apple Support

If it is, make sure that the printer and the iPad are connected to the same Wi-Fi network (router). Instructions for printing can be found here:

Use AirPrint to print from your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

If necessary, a full power-cycle sequence (do not forget the Wi-Fi router) may be worth testing:

• Power off the Wi-Fi router, the printer, the iPad, and all other devices/computers.
• Wait two to three minutes.
• Power on the router.
• Wait two to three minutes.
• Power on the printer.
• Wait a minute or two.
• Power on the iPad, and all other devices/computers.

If you are using a VPN app:

If your device has network connectivity issues, check for VPN and other third-party security software - Apple Support