How do I print from my iPad ?

I found this article online and it links you to the best printing apps. Most printer manufacturers make a free app for their own products, like iprint for Epson.

http://www.ipadintouch.com/best-printing-apps-for-ipad/

Right now the only company that makes printers that will allow you to print DIRECTLY to the printer is HP and specifically their e-print printers, otherwise there are some work arounds for both PC and Mac which actually work very well and even give you more features like printing as a PDF file.

The first as mentioned here is called Printopia from ecamm.com, it costs about $10, and you install this program on your Mac, and as long as your computer isc on it will let you printer to any printer on your network, and those printers can be either wireless or USB connected printers, you can also choose print as PDF, and when you choose that feature, a PDF file will pop up on your computer screen and then you can save that file on your computer.

Their is also a company collobos.com that makes an equivalent program that also costs about the same that works on both PC and Mac called Fingerprint and works the same way.

Both these programs let you print to any printer on your network from your iOS device.

Check them out, you can download a free trial of both these programs on their website and they are simple to install on your computer.

Norman Rechtman wrote:

Right now the only company that makes printers that will allow you to print DIRECTLY to the printer is HP and specifically their e-print printers,

Not exactly true. There are apps in the App Store like 'Print n Share' and 'Printcentral' that will print DIRECTLY to several manufacturers w-fi printers, not just HP.

There are several apps from printer manufacturers that do a similar thing.

The problem with 'solutions' like Printopia is that you need your Mac to be switched on for them to work. There are free solutions of that type around if you do a search.

Printopia works amazing, even in an office where we have Accounting Printer Codes for our Xerox Workcentre 7655

See the last paragraph of my post just above yours.

I just installed Printopia and is works perfectly. The $19.95 is definitely less expensive than replacing my printers. If you have an emergency print job and won't need the software again, they have a 7-day eval you can download to try it out. It's a Preference Pane that redirects the printers over your network. Really ingenious. Solved my printing problem immediately.

"I just installed Printopia and is works perfectly. The $19.95"

I used AirPrint Acitvator (for free) and it works perfectly!

Sounds like another viable solution. I didn't hear about it before I tried and subsequently bought Printopia, but I'm very satisfied with it. It installed effortlessly and configured itself on first launch. All software should behave this well!

Just for the record, AirPrint Activator shouldn't be exactly "free." If it's working for you, you really should donate something to the developer.

I have my printer plugged into my time capsule and I print from my MacBook wirelessly so when I got my iPad I thought it would do the same but it's not. I downloaded the airport app thinking that was the problem but still not finding the printer on my iPad. Should I be able to print thru my time capsule? Thanks

No

Cheshire.cat-

An AirPrint printer can be connected to a router through Ethernet but not USB. A USB printer can be used this way, just NOT as an AirPrint printer. To print from the iPad, you will need a printing App on your iPad. Search the iTunes App store for one from your printer's manufacturer. It will have limitations, but should get you printing.

The pay Apps have more features than the free App from the printer company, but they all can only be accessed from within other Apps that have the "Open In" option.

Another approach is to share your computer's printer as AirPrint over WiFi. There are programs such as Printopia and FingerPrint that can do that. For a free option, search for AirPrint Activator. Versions are available for both PC and Macintosh, but you need the revised version to work with iOS 5.

Fred

Thanks! That really helps ;-)

After looking around and everywhere else looks like the $10 FingerPrint software is the best best for Windows users, I just bought it and it works great.

If Apple continues this trend of locking even the most basic functions out of the iPad (and revolutionary apps like Onlive) they aren't going to stay kings of the hill very long. Android is looking better and better everyday while iOS keeps locking down and suing.

Welcome to Patent Wars. This feature of AirPrint went through all of the betas of the software and then was pulled before release due to a threat of lawsuit by a patent troll. Would be the same thing with Android, Windows Mobile, etc.

The reason print sharing doesn't work across to the iOS devices is because Apple has created this new print service called 'AirPrint' that they want to charge printer manufacturers to license from them. In order to create a market demand for these printer manufacturers to want to pay this fee (and be able to label their packaging (iPad & iPhone compatible), Apple has chosen not to make iOS compatible with the existing print sharing service within MacOSX. This is a very Microsoft sort of thing to do.

seth