Does anybody know how I can print from my iPad 2 to my printer connected on the same home network? I have windows XP and a Canon printer

Apple have their own proprietary printing protocol called 'AirPrint'. Only a few printers support it at present - HP is one of those that do and you can see if your model is on the list at the Apple web site

Apple - iPad - Print right from your iPad with AirPrint.


If it is there, then you can print directly under iOS 4.2 and 4.3 from apps that support in-app printing, such as Apple's iPad iWorks suite ('Pages', 'Numbers' and 'Keynote'). Not all apps support in-app printing, so you need to check out whether the app you're interested in does. For example, Apple's native iPad 'Calendar' app does not support in-app printing.

If your printer is not on the list then there are third-party apps that can help. Some printer manufacturers have released apps for PCs with their printers connected (i.e. Lexmark). On these models, an app on your PC or Mac 'pretends' to be an AirPrint printer and the app translates the AirPrint printing protocol into a form that the printer understands.

However, there are standalone apps for the iPad and 'Print N Share' is one of the best known. It can print directly from the iPad to a WiFi printer without any PC being involved. It does this by 'pretending' to be an AirPrint printer. It then, similar to the previous case, translates the AirPrint printing protocol to a form that your printer understands.

Most all WiFi equipped printers are supported by 'Print N Share' but even those few that are not are able to print via a PC using, again, a small (free) app that's available from the developers of 'Print N Share'. Once again, this app sits on your PC or Mac and links your iPad to the printer via your PC - meaning, too, that the printer can be WiFi, USB or even Bluetooth. The downside is that the PC has to be switched on.

One 'issue' that sometimes confounds users of 'Print N Share' is that this only works under iOS 4.2 or 4.3 - the iPad's 'multi-tasking' operating system (OS). 'Print N Share' needs to be loaded and running before you can print!! So, if you're going to be doing some printing, you need to first of all fire up 'Print N Share' and leave it running in the background. You can check whether it is running by double tapping the iPad's 'Home' button, to see the tasks that are 'loaded' in the 'Multi-task' menu bar. For various reasons, it's helpful if 'Print N Share' was loaded quite recently. If you haven't printed for a while, use the multi-task bar to 're-activate' it.

Hope this helps, but don't hesitate to post any more detailed questions that you might have.

Tim
Scotland

As far as I know only a few HP printers can. Who prints any more?

Originally Posted by Blackbelt

Who prints any more?

I do. All the time.

What about AirPrint8? I read that with that app you can print to any printer. Any idea if that is correct or am I reading the article wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated since I am looking at buying it. Thank you

Airprint alone didn't work and some of the apps didn't work either. My Pixma wifi printer works now with the "airprint enabler" via my PC (I had to manually allow airprint through the firewall for 3 instances though, meaning that the firewall showed airprint service 3 times).
I have connectify running on the PC which makes the PC into a hotspot, so it's actually providing its own network.
With this, I can directly print from my iPads without any apps installed on the iPad from any app that supports airprint.

If you're happy to print via your PC then Fingerprint is a great option. It's a PC-based app that makes your PC 'look like' an AirPrint printer. Although there are free ways of achieving the same outcome, Fingerprint is a 'plug in and go' solution. There's a limited (7-day) version, too, that you can try for free to see if it suits or works for you. The advantage is that you can now use in-app printing from the iPad using apps that support the in-app printing functionality and there is no app needed for the PC. A similar app for the Mac is Printopia.

Tim