“One of the features pulled from the iOS 4.2 update at the last minute was the ability to print to any printer connected to your Mac (more correctly, the functionality was not added in OS X 10.6.5),” Charlie Sorrel reports for Wired.
“You can still print from an iPad to a purpose-made AirPrint printer, but who wants to buy a printer these days?” Sorrel asks. “Printopia [US$9.95, free 7-day trial] is a preference-pane that lists any printers you have installed on your Mac, and when you choose the print option in any compatible iOS app, (Safari, for instance), the printer shows up right in the menu.”
“But what if you don’t have, or want, a printer? Printopia has you covered,” Sorrel reports. “You can choose to print to a PDF, which is then saved on the Mac.”
Read more in the full article here.
I can see them selling quite a few copies of this thing.
I like the print to PDF option. Might have to give this a go!
Can’t remember how much I’ve spent on printer apps for iPhone/iPad.
What I need is to be able to print directly to the printer at the Airport Extreme, with no mac required. When I go to work with the mac and my wife needs to print from her iPad. Maybe there are some technically cleverer people than me who can explain if this is possible – why can the iPad not just simply download drivers via internet, like my mac? However, I will never buy a printer from HP again. If printing doesn’t work soon, I get my wife a 11-MBAir and that’s it with iPad…
The PDF thing sounds interesting, since the PDFs created in Pages for iPad are not reliable, often cannot be correctly viewed on any other device, especially missing fonts, background pictures, etc. (advanced documents). I cannot even send the file to the Mac to create the PDF, because the .pages-format isn’t fully compatible, in both directions, mac-iPad/iPad-Mac…
@ Mebucaine,
First of all, you sound like a medication.
As for the iPad direct printing, I personally don’t want to deal with drivers on my iPad. The iPad is not about computing, but rather the experience. You want something that prints to some stand alone printer, get a lap top. Printing from the iPad is not needed except for rare occasions. Save a tree.
C1 would tell you that because Bush lied about 9/11 and in fact ordered the attacks, Steve Jobs pulled the full AirPrint capabilities from iOS 4.2(.1).
Bought it – installed it – it works…
It’s that easy…
@ C1MarxistObserver,
Tee-hee!
@MizulnOz
Thought it required iOS 4.2. How’d you get that update? You’re a developer?
My all in one died about a month ago. My Company replaced it with one of the HP ePrinter all-in-one machines (against my desires and protests). I have to say … I LOVE the thing now. I don’t use any of the “APPs” that are loaded on it, but I do frequently print to it via an email address that HP sets up for you during registration. While I’m on the road for the day I will forward emails to that address from my iPhone or iPad which get forwarded to the ePrinter. When I get home I have the hard copies to follow up with / file. And if there are PDF files attached to the email, the ePrinter prints them out as well. It’s GREAT! I now can’t wait for iOS 4.2 so I can print everything directly from my iPad and iPhone.
@weekend
Ad Block Plus plug-in for Safari or Firefox.
Or better yet, add NoScript with Firefox and therefore scripts (Flash, Java, Javascript, Silverlight etc.) don’t run at all unless you give the ok first.
You could always turn off Javascript in your preferences before visiting MDN too.
If Printopia requires 4.2 and it hasn’t been released to the masses, how are you getting it to work?
@ C1MarxistObserver
Since you enjoy gratuitous attacks of people who haven’t posted in this thread, here’s one you missed:
It wasn’t C1, but actually X and ron who will tell you that it wasn’t Bush at all, but the UN which ordered the attacks after O’Donnell had cast a spell on them.
@ Scrump: to answer your question
In a word – “yes”
Have been since dirt was invented.
I’d hold off on rushing out and buying it. While printing via a shared printer disappeared in 4.2, in 4.2.1 it’s back and it works great so far. Yes I am a developer. Personally, I think the hold up is Apple adding it back in after so many people were disappointed about it going away.
Mebucaine: try this one…: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/eprint-free/id304220730?mt=8#
Here’s a comment from someone on TUAW for it:
I have been using an app called ePrint for iPhone for awhile. They have updated it for iPad very quickly when the iPad came out. It is $2.99.
Yes, you can use this app to print to any Network printer including those that connected to your Airport Express.
Note, you don’t need a server running on a computer for this app to work!
Also, you can try ePrint Free app which has a limited functionality first see if it works for you.
====================
There’s an app for that!
Tried the demo. Piece of crap. Simply does not work, at least with my Epson Artisan 800, nor wou it save to my Dropbox account or create a PDF and send to my Mac.
Don’t know why all the hoopla over a $10 piece of software that does nothing it’s advertised to do.
DON’T BUY THIS. WASTE OF MONEY AND APPLE DOES NOT GIVE REFUNDS ON APPS THAT SIMPLY DONT WORK AS ADVERTISED. THE COMPANY ALSO HAS NO GUARANTEE FOR A REFUND.
Printing from your iPhone or iPad is now easier than you’ve ever imagined. Run Printopia on your Mac to share its printers to any capable iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
http://naturacleansesite.com/
I just don’t get it. It’s not as though printing from our iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads hasn’t been possible for quite a while now, because it has. Yes, e do need a Mac, but still, it’s nothing new.
I’ve been using PrintBureau almost since the first day I bought my iPad the beginning of May. I can even proint over 3G.
In addition, Hp and a couple of others have had apps to allow printing to certain of their printers without a Mac for quite a while as well.
Really, this isn’t such a big deal.
AltaMail works great for me.
Great Mail program and the included print-app just recognizes any printer on the network in my office.
Just the print-app is worth the money already…
Cheers,
Luc
@ RLB
Are you brain dead? First of all this software is not sold through the app store so what are you talking about “APPLE DOES NOT GIVE REFUNDS”. Second, the company gives you a free 7 day trial so if it doesn’t work with your printer, don’t buy it. Third, I downloaded and tried this app (you must have iOS 4.2 installed – you can only get it now as a developer which I am and you must have an app that has the ability to print in iOS 4.2) and it works flawlessly. So get a clue next time before posting ALL CAPS POSTS.
Isn’t the point of iPad to read things comfortably *without* printing them?
@RLB, PhxDox
Really? I only asked Apple for a refund on an app once (iAnnotatePDF, horrible thing, at least in early versions) and they gave it to me right away. Maybe you weren’t nice enough to the person? Or they have you pegged as a frequent complainer?
Get off this site
Fredo,
Yes RLB might be legitimate, but it is far more likely he is just one of the sad little apple hating trolls that seem to have nothing better to do with their time (which speaks volumes, eh?) than hang out on apple news sites and post nonsense.
BTW: installed the trial version of printopia, incredibly quick & easy to install (double click installs a control panel) and works flawlessly. The first print I tried was to a remote printer, which happened to be out of paper…. The software correctly targeted and printed, but also echoed the “out of paper error” back to the iPhone!!!
Ran down to the printer dropped some paper in and the print job took off automatically (and the printer out of paper dialog on my phone cleared as soon as the job started.
Effing incredible, they got my $9.95!