Is it possible to print from your iPad 2?

[ekelsii]

Is it at all possible to set up a printer from my iPad 2?

 

[tiny.tans]

You may be able to find an app that corresponds with your printer. I have an Epson and there's an app that lets me print wirelessly to my printer, good luck

 

[twerppoet]

Some printers are directly compatible with AirPrint on the iPad. Be absolutely certain the printer supports AirPrint before buying. Some printers may require a firmware update to work. These are usually available on the manufacturers site. If you get this kind of printer you can print directly from within apps that support the feature, which is many.

iOS: AirPrint 101

Of course some of us already have printers and do not want to buy a new one. There are several ways to do this.

One is to use a printing app on the iPad.

Most (or all) other print apps can only print pictures and/or files that have been copied to that app via Open In or other method. Print n Share used to be able to print from AirPrint enabled apps if it was loaded the background. It lost this ability with iOS 5. It may still work with iOS 4 if you get it before the app is updated in the App Store. Several printer manufacturers have their own apps for their printers. In general those apps will probably have the best results, quality wise.

The second method is to load a program on the computer that will emulate an AirPrint compatible printer. Your computer must be on and have the printer available to it. The cheapest (free) is Airprint Activator. More features can be had with FingerPrint (mac and windows) and Printopia (mac only).

There is a third way. A few printers (mostly HP's again) can be set up with their own email address. PDF attachments can be sent via this address to be printed. The last review I saw (several months ago) said it could be quite slow (big files not recommended), and sometimes the emails got lost and never printed. The advantage was that you could literally send/print from anywhere you have an internet connection.

There is a new wrinkle for small business owners and those with more than one printer who would like all their printers to work, but don't want to leave a computer on all the time. The Lantronix XPrintServer is a small box that connects to your network and is supposed to detect and make all your wireless printers available to iOS as AirPrint printers. I haven't seen a full review on it yet, so do your research.

 

[MelvinTopaz]

Some printers are directly compatible with AirPrint on the iPad. Be absolutely certain the printer supports AirPrint before buying. Some printers may require a firmware update to work. These are usually available on the manufacturers site. If you get this kind of printer you can print directly from within apps that support the feature, which is many.

iOS: AirPrint 101

Of course some of us already have printers and do not want to buy a new one. There are several ways to do this.

One is to use a printing app on the iPad.

Most (or all) other print apps can only print pictures and/or files that have been copied to that app via Open In or other method. Print n Share used to be able to print from AirPrint enabled apps if it was loaded the background. It lost this ability with iOS 5. It may still work with iOS 4 if you get it before the app is updated in the App Store. Several printer manufacturers have their own apps for their printers. In general those apps will probably have the best results, quality wise.

The second method is to load a program on the computer that will emulate an AirPrint compatible printer. Your computer must be on and have the printer available to it. The cheapest (free) is Airprint Activator. More features can be had with FingerPrint (mac and windows) and Printopia (mac only).

There is a third way. A few printers (mostly HP's again) can be set up with their own email address. PDF attachments can be sent via this address to be printed. The last review I saw (several months ago) said it could be quite slow (big files not recommended), and sometimes the emails got lost and never printed. The advantage was that you could literally send/print from anywhere you have an internet connection.

There is a new wrinkle for small business owners and those with more than one printer who would like all their printers to work, but don't want to leave a computer on all the time. The Lantronix XPrintServer is a small box that connects to your network and is supposed to detect and make all your wireless printers available to iOS as AirPrint printers. I haven't seen a full review on it yet, so do your research.

Twiterpoet
I have mine set up to print the way you have in your third example. The problem is I find it impossible to print anything except the email with no attachments. Please advise.

 

[Undefined.]

I'm not sure if this will work, I'm kind of guessing.

Use your iPad wire and connect it to your iPad and printer - if your printer has a USB slot.
Then if it's a picture you want to print then go onto photos , click the button that is in the top right hand corner then at the top on the left would be a button to print - I'll add photos to show how to do the last bit
Still not sure if this'll work though.

 

[Kaykaykay]

All I had to do was hit print.

My husband connected our HP Officejet 6500A to our home network via router, without any steps involving our iPads, and we've not had trouble printing attachments or otherwise. We print wirelessly.

My husband bought the HP as a cheap stopgap while we were moving months ago. We weren't even planning to print anything from our iPads. I just hit print to see if anything would come out, and it did.

 

[Undefined.]

Once you've connected your iPad to printer follow these instructions:

 

[Undefined.]

Once you've connected your iPad to printer follow these instructions:

Well that failed did the photos twice:/

 

[twerppoet]

Well that failed did the photos twice:/

And out of order, but I did manage to follow it. If you visit the website, edit your post, and choose the Advanced editor you'll get a Manage Attachments link below the editor. You can use this to add and remove attachments. Works best on a computer, but you should be able to manage it on the iPad.

And while it won't address that issue, if you take a look at the free Skitch app from Evernote, I think you'll like it.

 

[zbest]

KayKayKay- please tell me which wireless router you are using. Thanks

 

[twerppoet]

Twiterpoet
I have mine set up to print the way you have in your third example. The problem is I find it impossible to print anything except the email with no attachments. Please advise.

Using the HP email method? Afraid I can't help you. I don't have the setup to test. All I can recommend it going to HP's site and seeing if you can find some support pages.

 

[Kaykaykay]

KayKayKay- please tell me which wireless router you are using. Thanks

I will check with my husband. We have three routers set up and I don't know which he has set up with what. He's an IT freak.

 

[alice302]

yes, there is a printer now can slove that problem.

 

[Kaykaykay]

KayKayKay- please tell me which wireless router you are using. Thanks

A Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router