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AirPrint Information and FAQ

All, I figured I'd start one of my famous FAQ threads here to help head off some of the problems. So with that being said, lets get started.

Q: What is AirPrint?
A: AirPrint enables printing from a supported iOS 4.2 device to supported AirPrint enabled printers. Today several HP models support AirPrint.

Apple AirPrint Information and Printer list:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4356

Apple AirPrint Support Page:
http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/airprint.html

HP AirPrint Information and Printer list:
http://www.hp.com/go/airprint

HP AirPrint Support Page:
http://www.hp.com/sbso/printing/mac/hp-airprint.html

Q: I don't have one of the supported printers, is there any other way for me to get AirPrint to work?
A: Yes, there are several third party AirPrint Sharing Solutions for the Mac (although I am not personally endorsing any of them):

FingerPrint
http://www.collobos.com/

Printopia for Mac
http://www.ecamm.com/mac/printopia/

If you have a problem with a specific printer while using one of these applications, please direct the question to vendor that wrote the app.

Q: Does AirPrint work directly with any Printer?
A: No. At this time, only select models from HP work with Airprint.

Q: Can I share a printer from my Mac and print to it?
A: See the above question for the 3rd party products that enable AirPrint Sharing.

Q: Can I connect a USB printer to my AirPort BaseStation (Express, Extreme, TimeCapsule)?
A: This is not supported. See above.

Q: Can I use AirPrint with my older HP printers?
A: This is not supported by HP. See above.

Q: I have one of the supported printers that is supposed to work now, but I'm not seeing it. What's wrong?
A: Make sure you have updated to the latest firmware available. You can check in:

Tools->Web->Automatic Updates->Check for Product Updates.

Note that you may need to enable eWeb Services to see the updates.

Q: I have on of the printers that will be supported in the future (ie one of the Officejets), when will it be supported?
A: While at the moment the latest official answer is December 27th. I hope to be able to update this soon with an earlier date, but it will still be sometime in December.

Q: I have an iPhone 3G or a second gen iPod touch. I have iOS 4.2, but I am not seeing AirPrint, can you help?
A: AirPrint only shows up on iOS devices that support multitasking. While these devices have iOS 4.2 available for them, they do not support multitasking and hence do not support AirPrint.

Q: I still can't figure this out, what am I doing wrong?
A: Hopefully HP will have a support doc posted later today with pictures to help you work through the steps. I'll post a separate link to that document once its ready.

I will build on this list in this thread over time if you have questions that aren't answered here.

And while most of you from the Mac forums know this, I need to make it clear here as well: Although I am an HP employee, I am speaking for myself and not for HP.

Just trying to help.

Andrew

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.5)

Posted on Nov 23, 2010 12:41 PM

150 replies

Dec 15, 2010 5:12 PM in response to wgeck

No, you will need the "A" model, the HP OfficeJet Pro 8500A. That would be the A910 instead of the A909. You can still use [HP iPrint Photo|http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hp-iprint-photo-3-0/id299531647?mt=8] or use one of the shared methods I outlined in my [FAQ|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2658560&tstart=0] thread to use AirPrint.

Just trying to help.

Andrew

BMac68

Level 1

0 points

Dec 16, 2010 9:41 AM in response to HP Mac Architect

As many others are, I also am not seeing my printer on my iOS 4.2 devices (iPad and iPod 3Gen). I have an updated HP 6500a Plus ePrinter, and both the iPad and iPod have been updated and should be able to AirPrint. I have restarted my router, printer and idevices but neither one will see the printer. No Printer Found. I have only one subnet and can print wireless from my HP Laptops. I have Qwest DSL service and the Actiontec PK5000 advanced wireless modem. From what I can piece together this router does not support multicast, but from other posts on this topic is would appear that airprint should be trying a unicast as well. No Joy. I called HP and after an hour of my life was told to call apple. Here I sit looking for help.
Any ideas???
Thanks

rbii

Level 2

345 points

Dec 16, 2010 10:25 AM in response to BMac68

AirPrint uses Bonjour to find printers. The Actiontec PK5000 router seems to have problems with Bonjour. There are threads on this board discussing those problems:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2436005&tstart=225
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12182553&#12182553

There are also many posting that can be found via Google:

http://forums.dataviz.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3218

From this last posting it appears the Qwest is working on this issue but does not have a solution yet.

Dec 17, 2010 10:49 AM in response to HP Mac Architect

Q: How do I update my Officejet with the latest firmware?
A: To manually force your Officejet to check for firmware updates go to the following location on the front panel of your device:

Right Arrow –> Setup –> Web Services Setup –> Product Updates –> Check for Product Updates

Just trying to help.

Andrew

Dec 19, 2010 3:00 AM in response to HP Mac Architect

So, I put it hiere as well:

My HP 8500A A910 still doesn't find any update. I ty the above procedure almost every day ... nothing. The firmware stays at LRP1FN1034QR.

Am I missing something??

Dec 19, 2010 2:12 PM in response to HP Mac Architect

HP Mac Architect

With Windows 7, my HP310 is set to print greyscale by default. However, when using the iPad and Airprint, the printer reverts to color, using unnecessary extra ink. Currently (IOS 4.2.1) Airplay does not provide many options including using greyscale vs. color. To address this limitation, should I be looking for an HP printer or Airplay code update?

Thank you.

Dec 19, 2010 4:03 PM in response to terriknight1@gmail.com

Sorry, I meant to say Airprint not Airplay in my previous question.

rbii

Level 2

345 points

Dec 19, 2010 6:02 PM in response to terriknight1@gmail.com

If you want to request this feature from Apple you can do so here:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Dec 20, 2010 1:31 PM in response to Christoph Lichtenberg

Christoph,

I'll try to answer in both threads, just in case other people are having the same issue.

1) Make sure your 8500A is on the network, either Ethernet or Wireless.
2) Make sure your 8500A is allowed to access the internet (it will need HTTP access, or port 80).
3) Check for firmware updates from your front panel:

Right Arrow –> Setup –> Web Services Setup –> Product Updates –> Check for Product Updates

4) Accept and install the update.

If you are not seeing any updates then your printer is not getting access to the outside world. Check its network settings as well as the settings on your router.

If you're still not seeing the update, please post back how your device is connected to the network, and what kind of router you have.

Just trying to help.

Andrew

Dec 20, 2010 1:37 PM in response to terriknight1@gmail.com

terriknight1,

As rbii pointed out, make your request to Apple. The right place for this is in their AirPrint driver. If we gave you the option on the Printer to do grayscale only, you would have to change the option on the printer any time you wanted to print a color job from any source, since we have no way of telling which jobs should be color and which jobs should be greyscale. If you would like a switch on the Printer to permanently switch all jobs to greyscale, just let me know and I'll take the feature request. Note however that doesn't mean you'll be able to get the feature, simply that I will let the appropriate teams know of the request.

Just trying to help.

Andrew

Dec 21, 2010 1:35 AM in response to HP Mac Architect

HP Mac Architect,

thanks a lot for your attempt to help.

As I stated above, I try the procedure "Right Arrow ..." almost every day.

My HP 8500A is connected to my Wifi-Network. My Router is an Apple Airport Extreme Base Station (Simultaneous Dual Band). All my devices (MacBook Air, iPhone, iPad, MacMini ...) use this connection and all of them are connected to the internet. So I see no reason why the HP shouldn't.

Any ideas?

Thanks again.

Dec 21, 2010 2:26 PM in response to Christoph Lichtenberg

Christoph,

Can you give me the full model string number of your 8500A, in other words something along the lines of: HP Officejet Pro 8500A A910n. All the firmware should be posted, and if your device is connected to the WiFi network, it should be able to get out (you'd have to jump through some hoops to configure your Airport to not allow this). And LRP1FN1034QR is definitely NOT the current firmware.

Do me a couple of favors and do these things:

1) Bring up Safari on you Mac, click on the bookmarks button, and select Bonjour. Find your Printer and double click on it.
2) Click on the Network tab that comes up, and select Network Protocols under the General section. Select Enable IPv4 only and click Apply.
3) Restart both the Printer and the Router.
4) Try to update the firmware again.
5) Let me know the results.

This will isolate one potential problem.

Just trying to help.

Andrew

Dec 21, 2010 10:32 PM in response to HP Mac Architect

Good Morning (at least for me),

and thanks again. Tried all this without any changes.

The printer model is stated by the EWS as HP Officejet Pro 8500 A910, Model # CM755A.

I think the printer is able to get into the internet. E. g., I can see the Apps.

Chris.

Dec 22, 2010 1:17 PM in response to Christoph Lichtenberg

Chris,

If you can run the Apps, and the Apps get content in them, then clearly you are connected to the Internet and that part is working (make sure you not only see the Apps, but the Apps load an you get some content in them). And as I've said the LRP1FN1034QR firmware is not the current one, as that firmware does not support AirPrint. I do not know why your printer is not finding the firmware update. I have sent off some emails trying to track this down, however, HP is shut down through the 4th of January, so it may be some time before we can figure this out. Hopefully I can get in touch with the right people so you don't have to wait that long, or hopefully you and I can work through the problem.

Let me ask a question to anyone else reading this thread. Does anybody else with the HP Officejet Pro 8500A e-All-in-One Printer - A910a (and note the a after the 910, that part is important) have AirPrint working. I don't have one of these at my disposal to try, and I want to make sure the update is showing up for these devices.

Just trying to help.

Andrew

Dec 24, 2010 1:59 PM in response to HP Mac Architect

I wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season. Whether you're celebrating Christmas, New Years, Kwanza, Hanukah, Chinese New Years (which I realize isn't until February), Winter Solstice, Three Kings Day, or any of the other Holidays that occur around this time of the year, I hope you have a Merry One.

Just trying to bring some peace on earth and good will for everyone.

Andrew

PS I will be around over the Holidays in case anything comes up, but if it takes me a day or two to reply, please be patient. I will try to get back to everyone if no one else beats me to the answer.

AirPrint Information and FAQ