Introduction + Question

[WonderPam]

Hi all! I saw a post asking "newbies" to introduce themselves before diving into the forum discussions, so I thought I'd take a moment to do so. My name is Pam. My husband and I live in Northeast GA with our 17 year old son. We also have 2 older sons, ages 21 & 20, a daughter-in-law and a precious 18 month old granddaughter.

I purchased my iPad 2 online on the day Apple began selling them (March 11, 2011), so I've had it for a few months now. My main dilemma at the present time is deciding which printing app to purchase. I have a fairly new wireless HP printer, but it's not listed as one of the models available for air print. I would like to have the option to print emails, webpages, possibly PDF documents, etc. This would mainly be for personal entertainment, though my husband and I do own a small business. I see printing apps listed from $1.99 to $14.99, therein lies the confusion. I don't know whether to buy the least expensive, most expensive or somewhere in between. I've read that anything by eurosmartz ltd. is great, but they too have so many apps to choose from. If someone would please help me in making an informed decision on which printing app I should buy, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!

Pam

 

[Gabriel1]

Hi there Pam and welcome.

Hopefully someone who knows the answer to your printing issues will be along soon. Alternatively try a search on the forums as I have seen a few threads on this subject, if you don't get the answers you require you could also start a new thread in the appropriate place on the forum as not everyone pops by these threads.

There is lots of good advice and info on here plus plenty of members all too willing to help with any problems.

Remember, search is your friend.......and please don't forget to read the rules http://www.ipadforums.net/forum-rules-help-info/2119-forum-rules-everybody-please-read.html & hacking section rules for all you jail breakers (and would be jail breakers) http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-hacking/2892-hacking-section-rules-please-read.html

The Archangel

 

[richsadams]

Hi Pam and welcome to the forum! I've been using PrintBureau with both HP and Canon printers and it's worked flawlessly for over a year now.

PrintBureau for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store

That said, it is on the high-end at $14.99, but I love that it "just works".

Others may have some suggestions and a quick search will probably find a number of other threads on the topic.

Welcome again and we'll look forward to seeing you back here soon!

 

[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.

If you're happy to leave your PC switched on then another - and probably better - way forward is to use a PC program called FingerPrint. This is a program that runs on your PC and makes it 'look' like an AirPrint printer. It's as close as you'll get to plug-and-play printing for non-AirPrint printers. You simply download the program (there's a free 7-day version available so you can try it at no risk), install it, start the program (it automatically inserts itself into the PC's startup menu) choose the printers you want to offer to the iPad - it shows you the usual list that you get from a regular Windows print dialog box - and that's it. When you want to print on your iPad (there's no separate app for the iPad) you simply choose the print menu in apps that support in-app printing and FingerPrint makes your PC look like an AirPrint printer. You'll be offered, in the iPad, the choice of printers that you selected on the PC and off you go. FingerPrint receives the printing data from the iPad over WiFi and translates it into a form that your printer understands. I have it on my PC and it works just great.

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

Tim
Scotland