RUMOR: Apple pulls support for AirPrint via shared printers on Macs and PCs

“When Apple released the first beta of iOS 4.2 for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, they also officially announced AirPrint, the wireless printing system that would work with specific HP printers and shared printers on Macs and PCs,” Federico Viticci reports for MacStories.

“We have been told from a few Mac developers that a few days ago Apple removed all the references to printing via OS X 10.6.5 and PCs both from Readme files and other online documentation posted in the iOS developer center. It seems like all that’s now mentioned in the release notes are the aforementioned HP networked printers, as if the shared printing option never existed,” Viticci reports. “A developer writes that he contacted Apple’s Tech Support, and they confirmed that the feature has been ‘cancelled.’ So, here is the reply from Apple Tech Support when contacted: ‘Support for AirPrint on Windows and Mac has been cancelled. We will be in contact with you if another opportunity arises in the future.'”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: We’ll all know for sure as soon as Mac OS X 10.6.5 and iOS 4.2 are released. Apple’s online blurb for AirPrint currently states, “Print mail, photos, web pages, and more directly to a printer on a wireless network.”

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]

30 Comments

  1. This can’t be true; AirPrint would be pointless if it only worked on five printer models. Maybe there’s some copyright issue on “AirPrint,” and they have to rename it, like Rendezvous.

  2. Maybe Apple figured they could charge HP more for a license if they knew every iPad user had to run out and buy a new printer, instead of just printing through their desktop computer.

  3. I’v always been able to print from my iphone to my mac using apple mail and apple script

    I have my email set up so if I send myself an email with a certain subject my mac will run the script contained in the body of the message

    I have scripts I use allot stored in the notes app with the first line containing the subject (commented out of course so I don’t get an error)

    I don’t need air print and I never understood the big deal every one was making about it. I want applescript not printer support

  4. @Stephen

    Wow.

    Nifty.

    How long did it take you to figure that out? And how long extra does it take to print each time, copying/pasting two different things from a note?

    Not for everyone. I’m afraid, you are your own worst argument.

  5. So, Apple didn’t pull it, but it looks like only the following printers are supported:

    HP Photosmart Premium Fax e-All-in-One Printer series – C410
    HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One Printer series – C310
    HP Photosmart Plus e-All-in-One Printer Series – B210

    These are only the first to support AirPrint

  6. @Fredo
    I can run a script in just two taps
    Tap 1: push mail button on the bottom of the note

    Tap 2: push send button in new email view

    To print something I just copy it into a special variable at the beginning of the note

    Since I don’t print stuff every 5 minutes ( it’s expensive) this is fine

  7. @Stephen

    I did something similar, but just created a small AppleScript rule in Mail. If a message with the right subject comes along, the rule grabs whatever attachment is in the email and tells it to print. That causes whatever app “owns” the file (iWork, Preview (for PDF), etc.) to open the file and print it. Not the greatest solution, but it works for the occasional document.

  8. @Justanother Developer – you missed the point. Up until recently iOS developers could use AirPrint on iOS 4.2 to print to printers connected to Macs running a beta of Mac OS X 10.6.5, or Windows machines running a beta version of iTunes. Any printer. Not just a tiny list of HP printers.

    Removing this feature isn’t just poor, it’s fundamentally lousy.

  9. It will be a real aggravation if the only way to print directly from an iPad is to an HP printer. HP earned the same standing in my system as Microsoft a few years back, by failing to keep drivers for their hardware current with OS X updates. I don’t use them any more.

    I do have a very nice Canon printer with BlueTooth that works like a champ with my MacBooks. I vote for BlueTooth.

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