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
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)
