IPad Airport Express and USB printing

i also got issues with airport express. both, ipad and airport express are new und updated to 5.01 and 6.3 software versions.

i mostly want to stream music. this works well from my PC running iTunes. my iPad does not show the AirPlay button though. Remote works well though and i can also command my PC to use AirPort as speaker remotely.

came across this issue quite often on the net. anything going to happen about this or is this supposed to be like that?

johnfromardres wrote:

Recently bought an Airport Express principally because I want to print from the iPad using my current printer. OK to set up a network and get the music side sorted but this is really not why I bought it...thought I could use my current, Epson, printer....can't get the thing to work!

You can not print from an iPad to a printer connected to an AirPort, You need an AirPrint printer. There's more information here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4356

John-

An AirPrint printer will work with the iPad if you use its own WiFi to connect to the network, and some models can be connected to a router via an Ethernet cable. But a printer (AirPrint or not) connected to the USB printer port of an AirPort Express will not work with the iPad without some kind of printing App. Search the iTunes App store for one from your printer manufacturer It will have limitations, but should get you printing.

Your best option may be to share your computer's printer as AirPrint over WiFi. There are programs such as Printopia and FingerPrint that can do that, and are reported to work well. You will need to have your computer turned on and awake any time you want to print.

Fred

This is a really sad feature of the Airport Express. I wonder why Apple didn't make it possible to print using an iPad and a printer attached to the USB of the Airport Express; the Airport Express beeing attached to the same WiFi network as the iPad:

iPad ) ) ) AirportExpress----Printer = #Error: "Can't find printer"

I mean it can't be impossible to print from an iPad since this system works:

Mac ) ) ) AirportExpress----Printer = Yes, I can print!

Wonder if this will ever get fixed.

NBH11-

Technically it is not broken, so there is nothing to fix. The iPad prints using AirPrint. AirPrint does not work through USB.

I believe there is one AirPrint printer that does not have WiFi, and must be connected to the WiFi router by Ethernet. Therefore an AirPrint-compatible printer that has an Ethernet connection, most likely can be made to work with the AirPort Express through its Ethernet port.

Things do change, so a future AirPort Express might be enhanced to be more useful with iPads. If you want Apple to consider that, submit feedback at <iPad Feedback>.

Fred

Hi John. I've just been through all this. I have a Wifi non-AirPrint printer. Apple have made it possible to print using this if you get this app from Eurosmartz: PrintCentral Business. Unfortunately, you can't print out a Pages document with it, which is what I need to do, but you can sent yourself an email of the document and then print that! Apple should be ashamed of themselves, as they practically force you to have Pages and then don't make it easy to print it! Hope this helps. Annie

Technically, not only broken things can be fixed, so yes, there is something to fix. Also, we all know that the iPad only prints using AirPrint. We just don't understand it.

Thank you for the feedback link. I'll take advantage. :-)

Niels

I don't see this as a problem of missunderstanding. I think the actaul gap is blatant misslabeling. On the AirPort Express box it reads,"Share a printer and access it wirelessly from any computer on your network". This isn't taken from context, it's the whole section. I put systems together for a living; this reads like a local USB print server to me. The choice of, "your network" rather than, "to your AirPrint enabled printer" makes it seem very intentional.

This is an outright marketing scam. I guess I"m going to have another RasPi project this summer!

Phil

Phil-

One person's scam is another person's opportunity. There is at least one product on the market that claims to convert AirPrint to the printer's native language. User reports suggest that xPrintServer Home Edition works with many common printers, although a bit slow.

Fred