How to produce a virtual AirPrint printer?

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Level 1

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How to produce a virtual AirPrint printer?

I want to write (preferably in C# but that is not essential, and preferably on Windows though, again, that is not essential) something that looks to iOS devices to be an AirPrint printer. I want the iOS device user experience to be as it would be if it was really dealing with an AirPrint printer. I want to be able to get the output to be printed as pdf document and something to identify the user. I want to store the output for later printing. I hope someone can point me in the direction of some documentation or learning materials that will help me achieve this. I've done a lot of browsing online and have drawn a blank. There are utilities that make non-AirPrint printers discoverable by iOS so I presume what I want to do can be achieved.

Posted on Sep 24, 2017 9:06 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 28, 2017 1:27 AM in response to imb123

interesting project

Have you look in GitHub ?

https://github.com/search?utf8=✓&q=AirPrint+&type=

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Answer 2

Sep 29, 2017 7:26 AM in response to jamesbonded

I would say Bonjour (a discovery protocol)

i would also check If Cups is a possibility

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Answer 3

Sep 29, 2017 5:52 AM in response to Franco Borgo

Thanks for your response. I hadn't thought to look there. I did and I think I need a better understanding of what I'd be trying to achieve at a technical level before looking at code. It seems to me that the documentation aimed at developers about AirPrint is mostly about printing and discovering printers. I guess what I'm looking for is some documentation aimed at printer manufacturers. What interface does a printer need to present on a Wifi network to be discoverable by an iPhone?

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