Printing

[iktbearsden]

Is it possible to print a "Pages" or "Numbers" document wirelessly to an Epson printer with iPad 2?

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

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

 

[icebun]

Hi Tim,

I use Documents to go which allows me to print via Print Central using the Open In option.

Does the iWorks suite support this as well?

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Hi Tim,

I use Documents to go which allows me to print via Print Central using the Open In option.

Does the iWorks suite support this as well?

Yes - absolutely - all iWorks apps support in-app printing. I use Pages every day and print - either via PrintNShare/Print Central or Fingerprint.

Tim

 

[icebun]

Hi Tim,

I have downloaded Pages and cannot see the option for the 'Open In' as I use PrintCentral.

I see it in DocsToGo.

Sorry to be a pain but can you step me through the procedure?

Icebun

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Hi Tim,

I have downloaded Pages and cannot see the option for the 'Open In' as I use PrintCentral.

I see it in DocsToGo.

Sorry to be a pain but can you step me through the procedure?

Icebun

OK - I think I might see the problem. Have you recently updated your version of PrintCentral? If so, that's where the problem lies. PrintCentral - the version I have - allows you to print directly from within Pages using the Pages' print menu, because it 'pretends' to be an AirPrint printer. Apple saw that the Developer, EuroSmartz, were using an undocumented API in iOS and forced them to remove this. Those of us who had the earlier version of PrintCentral just didn't upgrade, so we still have the in-app printing capability.

Let us know whether you can 'see' the PrintCentral printer from the print menu of Pages and we'll try to work something out.

Tim

 

[icebun]

Hi Tim,

I have PrintCentral Pro V2 which I believe is the latest version.

When using Pages, I don't see any printers.

It's a shame really because the WP app is very feature rich.

By the way, I also use FileBrowser which does not intact either with Pages.

 

[willywonka]

I just started using Printer Pro for my Epson and it works perfectly.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Hi Tim,

I have PrintCentral Pro V2 which I believe is the latest version.

When using Pages, I don't see any printers.

It's a shame really because the WP app is very feature rich.

By the way, I also use FileBrowser which does not intact either with Pages.

The problem is that Eurosmartz, the Developer of PrintCentral, used an undocumented API to get in-app printing and Apple made them remove it. Earlier versions of PrintCentral allowed in-app printing but, after recent updates, that feature's gone.

Tim

 

[icebun]

Just to let you know that I found a paid solution to get around the AirPrint issue.

It's a piece of software called Fingerprint which needs to be installed on the PC that has sight of a printer.

It also has the added bonus of being to AirPrint to a Dropbox account amongst other things.

 

[yianniskyr]

I have a canon mp500 printer and I'm thinking of buying an airport express in order to print wireless through my iPad and iPhone .you think is going to work this solution?

 

[icebun]

Sorry I am not familiar with Airport Express.

A quick look at Apple's website says it will work.

If you have a windows/mac connected to the Cannon it will works and costs less than £10.