New way to print coming?

[Seadog]

Apple has applied for a couple of patents that will change printing as we know it. It will no longer require a device to have print drivers for any printer, but using a system that may include iCloud, you can print from any device, to any printer that is available. Assuming it is done wirelessly, you would be able to take your iPad, iPhone, etc, and go to any printer near you, and print off something effortlessly. Lots of questions and I would imagine it will take time to be universal, but the potential is great.

 

[Paul W. H]

Angry mode ON

This whole iPad to Printer connection business is so utterly ridiculous.

The Camera Connection Kit has a USB Port, why not utilise this so you can print to ANY USB printer, don't tell me it can't be done.

I have a HP H470 wireless (Bluetooth) portable printer and the iPad has Bluetooth, Why can't they talk to each other ?

Angry mode OFF


Paul W. H

 

[thewitt]

I have a HP H470 wireless (Bluetooth) portable printer and the iPad has Bluetooth, Why can't they talk to each other ?

Printer Drivers

The path Apple does not wish to start down is the horror show around today's printer driver nightmare..

They support Air Print today, which sits on top of HPs ePrint protocol. If your H470 does not support ePrint, complain to HP.

HP made the protocol public without any license fees. With the volume of iOS devices on the market, smart manufacturers will add ePrint support.

If the other wireless device manufacturers would adopt it, we might see universal wireless printing supported with an open standard rather than having to deal with hundreds of different printer drivers...

-t

 

[jduncan]

Printer Drivers

The path Apple does not wish to start down is the horror show around today's printer driver nightmare..

They support Air Print today, which sits on top of HPs ePrint protocol. If your H470 does not support ePrint, complain to HP.

HP made the protocol public without any license fees. With the volume of iOS devices on the market, smart manufacturers will add ePrint support.

If the other wireless device manufacturers would adopt it, we might see universal wireless printing supported with an open standard rather than having to deal with hundreds of different printer drivers...

-t

Yup. Once again Apple twisting arms and driving the market their way.

 

[thewitt]

No real arm twisting, but if you are a supplier and you want your devices to play with iOS, you will move toward the ePrint protocol...

No one is forcing anyone to be iOS compatible.

-t

 

[RAC]

The Apple patent application sounds a lot like HP ePrint which operates by emailing documents, as attachments to a unique email address @hpeprint.com. The print job is then sent to your printer over the Internet.

I haven't seen the patent application but printing via iCloud sounds similar so I wonder how they can patent the idea. Perhaps they won't be using email to send the documents to iCloud.

AirPrint seems to be something that was added to ePrint that bypassess the email/Internet route.

Again one of the main aims is to avoid the need for printer divers, no doubt a good thing. I find it useful because it makes it easier to print documents when I am at home on the company VPN, which won't allow me to connect direct to the printer.

 

[Seadog]

My understanding is that the patent is for a standard method that either eliminates the drivers, or sets a protocol for all printers. Beyond me how it would work. The use of cloud printing is only one of the potential means that it could be done, not a part of the patent per se. I think the big advantage to this is to go to any printer and not have to load any drivers, and print instantly. For example, if I take my MBP or iPad when I visit my Dad, I can use his LG printer without problems.

The big question is usb or no usb. A lot of printers are still usb or ethernet only. I expect that many will be adaptable with a dongle to run wirelessly, but they could also be set up to run wireless from a wifi hub. Apple is pushing to do more and more wireless connections. And the computer world is moving to that setup. Very few people use wired keyboards and mouse setups. And home ethernet systems are not always very popular, even when they are usually faster. Wires limit and people are hesitant to install ethernet even when building a new house because they fear that even that technology could be dropped.

 

[thewitt]

AirPrint seems to be something that was added to ePrint that bypassess the email/Internet route.

AirPrint is exactly that. It's a layer on top of ePrint that avoids the need to email a document to the printer.

It's to bad that the ePrint protocol has not been more widely adopted.

-t

 

[zenonp]

Where does the iPrint App from HP fit in?

HP's iPrint App is advertised as a way to print to a HP printer that is on WiFi but not Airprint enabled. Trouble is, it does not work (at least for me, after several weeks of trying).

 

[ipadbraincell]

Interesting thread,

I have both a Cannon and a Brother MFC attached by WiFi. I have apps for both to print direct.

As long as printer makers make these apps is that not the same thing in effect?

If I go into say a hotel, cafe or business, I'd have to have the WiFi key to access their printers, while I can see advantages for their own staff not many want to support an outsiders printer needs for free.

so i wonder if it comes about, will it become a value added service like WiFi, but where you pay per page as with photo copy print shops etc.

How would you stop pranksters printing unsuitable pictures once they have access?

 

[thewitt]

I was recently able to print in the Business Center of a hotel in China using their HP printer. They let me do so at no charge, but they handed my documents to me. The print job summary page included my ip address, and suspect when I accepted the hotels terms and conditions they recorded my room number and ip address. I did have to log in...

-t

 

[zenonp]

New HP App ePrint also a dud

I have been trying for weeks to get a document to print using the HP iPrint Photo App -- with no success. It can't find the printer (HP Photosmart C7280) even though that computer is listed as compatible in the HP support page. So I was delighted to discover that HP has a new printer App, the ePrint Business Print, described as a much improved printer App, so I immediately installed a copy. No good. It turns out that this one really does require a printer with ePrint feature (send the file to it by email) and it says in the fine print that the C7280 is not one of the ePrint qualified printers. So after dragging myself back to iTunes I tried to go back to the iPrint Photo printer. But it is no longer listed in iTunes! So I am thrown back to no printer. Does anyone know anything about this change? Do you know anyone who was able to print using the HP iPrint Photo with a non-airprint non-eprint HP printer, as it says in the description I should be able to do?

 

[ipadbraincell]

Seems odd not to print to a listed as compatible device.

In the apps printer settings it lists the printers model and ip, I'd check this is correct by comparing with the printers properties in windows,

I have the Brother 6490 which is an A3 MFC FAX, and works with no issues.

 

[mhorvatic]

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.