Printer to AirPort Extreme problems.

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Level 1

8 points

Printer to AirPort Extreme problems.

Having connected my Epson SP 1400 printer to my AirPort Extreme as suggested in the Setup Guide, I am continuously told that my printer is not connected.

I have been through all the suggested proceedures, both in the trouble shooting section of the setup guide, and the usual 'How To' suggestions on the internet, but to no avail. The printer list shows my printer as being active, but off-line, or unconnected.

Any suggestions as to how I might remedy this problem would be greatly appreciated.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Oct 6, 2013 10:59 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

John Galt

Level 10

141,162 points

Oct 7, 2013 9:49 AM in response to needymacuser

needymacuser wrote:

... I have been through all the suggested proceedures,

Review the following to ensure all the suggested procedures did not omit something helpful:

Mac Basics: Printing in OS X Mountain Lion & OS X Lion

Troubleshooting printer issues in OS X

If you are still stuck, consider resetting the printing system in accordance with the following:

Mac OS X: How to reset the printing system

After you do that you will need to add the printer again according to the instructions here:

OS X Mountain Lion: Set up a printer

The instructions are identical for Lion.

If that does not result in success, "hard reset" your Extreme to preclude the possibility of a corrupted internal parameter that is preventing your printer from working. After it resets you will need to reconfigure it:

To "hard reset" an AirPort Base Station: make sure it's powered up, then press and hold its tiny reset button and keep it depressed for five to ten seconds, long enough for its LED to flash amber rapidly. Release the reset button. Then, the LED will glow amber steadily for about a minute. Then, it will flash amber, slowly, about once every second or two, waiting for you to configure it with AirPort Utility.

If that does not help, the possibility of a printer malfunction should be examined.

If none of the above helps, write back for more recommendations.

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Answer 2

needymacuser Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 7, 2013 11:27 PM in response to John Galt

John,

Thanks for your very helpful advice, it helped me get my printer up and running in no time.

Now, can you tell me if I can set up to print from my iPad through AirPort Extreme.?

Once again, I would appreciate any advice you could give.

The less experienced and less knowledgable mac users among us, should be very grateful that that we have people like you to help us out of situations like this. I know I am!

Thanks again, and regards,

Cedric Martin

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Answer 3

John Galt

Level 10

141,162 points

Oct 8, 2013 12:00 AM in response to needymacuser

Glad to help.

Now, can you tell me if I can set up to print from my iPad through AirPort Extreme.?

That is literally another subject altogether.

To print directly from an iPad you need an AirPrint - enabled printer on the same wireless network as the iPad. Your Epson SP 1400 is a USB-only printer: no AirPrint.

Workarounds for making an iPad to print to your Epson printer exist, but they involve varying amounts of money or inconvenience:

1. Using your Mac as an AirPrint print server

Search for the following products:

handyPrint (Mac only, donation-supported)
Printopia (Mac only, $19.95 with free trial)

These are utilities you install on the Mac you normally use for printing, enabling it to act as an AirPrint print server. The Mac must be "on" but may be asleep for them to work. The iPad needs nothing else, no iOS apps need to be installed and no configuration is necessary. If your computer can print, so can the iPad, using one of these utilities on your Mac.

2. Free iOS apps available from printer manufacturers may enable printing directly from your iPad to selected printers. Search for them in the App Store. Success with such apps tends to be unpredictable, and their integration with other iOS apps that can print is often incomplete.

3. You can also buy this standalone hardware AirPrint print server, bypassing the need for a computer altogether:

http://www.lantronix.com/it-management/xprintserver/xprintserver.html

It is the most expensive option but it has the advantage of being able to print to any printer on your network, even older ones that may predate AirPrint by decades.

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