Printable View
Wireless is not some free for all communications. It requires a central unit to hand out addresses and route the information to each device. Just like your cell phone, the printer's radio is useless without a central switch to communicate with.
You can sometimes set up a kind of limited router with a computer, called an ad-hoc network, but neither the iPad nor the printer have the ability to do this. So, you have to have a router.
Thanks
I bought the printer at Office Max. Their price was $250 but saw the same printer at Walmart for $199 and Office Max matched the price.
I just print right from ipad os and have used Pages and printed email. I'm not connected to the internet when out on the road. Didn't want to pay that fee... so we just connect to our home network when at home.
So I did not buy any print app.
I did just have an issue where it stopped printing even though it was all connected. I have a thread on that above and the problem was just solved. Keep in mind that if you have wi fi issues, going back to reseting your network settings under settings, general, reset may solve alot of things. It worked for the most recent issue. I just have that typed up on a cheatsheet for my non techy hubby to use while on the road estimating.
And - I agree - don't know why we need a router, but that's the solution.
Have fun!
I agree about the ad-hoc. I had read some posts about that earlier and tried to do it. No luck.
Cj, thanks again for the update. I just bought the same setup as you have but I am having fits of trouble getting iPad to find the printer. I was able to print to the hp with my iPhone4 using the printNshare app but not the OS print feature which is what I wish to use. Curious, did you have to update firmware on your new printer to get it to work?
I've read about others needing to update the printer firmware before seeing it all work properly. I guess that I will get the printer near a wifi I Internet signal and try to update it.
Another hassle I can see me having is that apparently when IPad has wifi turned on (to use the router, and reach the printer) ... I won't be able to access the Internet with the iPad. At least not until I disable wifi under settings so that the iPad switches to Internet over 3G once again.
If this setup is to work for me, I need Internet too. Does anyone know if this is how it has to be?
Almost all devices and computers are limited to a single network connection at a time. The iPad is no exception. To have both the internet and the printer available at the same time you have to provide both on the same network connection.Quote:
Originally Posted by John L
You'll either have to replace the AirPort with a 3G hotspot device, or tether/route a 3g hotspot device through the Airport. I'm not sure how (or if) the second option is possible.
Please check the solution called Walk'n'Print (walknprint dot com), there is a solution for portable printing from iPad to portable printing devices from Canon and HP.
The solution itself as well as the supported portable printers run on batteries as well as on 12V AC car charger.
That link take me to a Quotes site. I can't find the site you are talking about in Google.
Actually, there's a much more elegant solution ... I've been happily printing for a while from my iPad to my battery-operated HP H470 with absolutely no wires (and no router / pre-existing WiFi connection - it operates in AdHoc mode). Literally just the iPad and the H470 - in fact, one time in a marquee in the middle of a muddy field with no power and a long way from the nearest WiFi connection, so it can be done from literally anywhere.Quote:
Originally Posted by John L
I couldn't find any info on a true mobile printing solution for iPad (or iPhone/iPod for that matter) but felt sure it must be possible, somehow - so once I'd sorted it all out, I wrote down the solution and the steps to get it to work in the hope of helping others:
http://genuinely-original.blogspot.com/search/label/iPad Printing
Hope that helps.
Thanks,
Keith