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I am kinda surprised that you would write this article without mentioning the Netgear Genie application. It installs on OSX or Windows and does not require an dedicated app on the iOS device. Once you share any attached printer on your desktop, the iDevice can see it as AirPrint compatible

http://www.netgear.c...gear-genie.aspx

Its also a free download!

Here's a good reference on how AirPrint prints a range of photo sizes:

http://mobileprintin...ous-photo-sizes

and on the various options available when printing on iOS:

http://mobileprintin...ios-print-panel

The article neglects to mention Google Cloud Print and the Print Central app makes use of it along with other methods. With the Google Cloud option, you don't even need to be on the local wireless network.

I like AIrprint because its integrated into the apps you're using, don't have to go to other apps and open that same file... The one MAJOR DRAWBACK to AirPrint is its compatibility with Adobe Reader and more specifically if your PDF has forms. AirPrint will print the pdf, but without all the information you just typed into the forms. AirPrint has been reported that at this time you cannot flatten it before printing, thus the blank sheet that comes out. In any event, AirPrint is still the choice for me, once they fix that little issue.

Apple really shot themselves in the foot by not making it easy to print directly from iPad to any printer. I thought Apple was the super easy platform for anyone? I have aging parents with a PC that is at end of life and going to be replaced this week with a new iPad3. They do some printing and had not planned on buying anything else other than the iPad. They don't want a new printer, they are happy with the multifunction laser that I recommended to them two years ago. My parents are downsizing and want "less stuff" including computer equipment. Keeping the PC is not an option and it's too much hastle to use the PC as a host for printing. I'm amazed that I cannot simply connect the USB into a WiFi router with USB and install a driver to let them use their printer over the network. And, no, we won't replace a perfectly good WiFi router with Apple's expensive Airport that might or might not work. It might have been logical to see why Apple did this IF they sold printers themselves as they could force customers to buy theirs...but they don't! Apple blew it on this one.

Best App I've found, that does "print to" any printer you have on your network, and it also does "send to" your mac, iMac, etc. is Printopia. Installs easily, works flawlessly and does the job from the start. I open documents on my iPad and "send to" my iMac, which then opens them in whatever native app is required for viewing, editing, etc., OR I just print to my Lexmark directly from the iPad. Love it.

Nice and Interested Post.
Thanks for the post.
Best Regards
<a href="http://image2all.blogspot.com">Image</a>

I never really cared about AirPrint or getting a new printer, because I didn't have the ability. My Kodak 9250 is an awesome printer, but when I read about Printopia on Macworld, I found the options for AirPrint is endless. Best $20 I've spent yet.

WiFiSky, on 14 May 2012 - 06:59 AM, said:

Actually, removing the ability to print makes everyone's lives easier because setting up and configuring printers to print wirelessly can be a nightmare and is a task that most neophytes would not want to bother with. It also defeats one purpose of the iPad, which is as a document reader. The real question should be why the ability to make and send portable document formats is not part of every single App..

pcharles, on 14 May 2012 - 10:57 AM, said:

Because I don't want my four year old colouring with crayons on my iPad. Sometimes reality gets in the way of the vision of the paperless society.

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Ask the developers of those apps.

Try AirPrint Activator (http://netputing.com...activator-v2-0/) - lets you share any printer through your Mac to your iOS device. Easy, free, works great!

PRinting on IOS is a fiasco.

I don't get it. But I guess it has something to do with the limited storage space, memory and processing power of an IPad. OR it is a low priority for Apple.

Or they just wanted to force everyone to buy new printers because AirPrint gave them a chance to rewrite printing protocols.

But I mean I use a laser printer wirelessly that is hooked up to an Apple product called an Airport Extreme Base Station and I still can't print with my iPad?

Annoying.

Yes the iPad is a document reader, but newsflash we have many instances where we need paper output. Shipping labels is one instance for me.

And sometimes kids need lists or docs for school and it isn't practical to give them the entire iPad.

I can make a grocery list for the wife and it would be nice to print it out. Maybe when we decide to enter the iPhone game then that will change.

Right now I am messing around with a design for a house that we want to build. Be nice to print out floor plans from the iPad.

So yes printing is needed. And it is currently f'd up.

There is at least one other printer manufacturer print app that the story missed:

Brother iPrint&Scan

Allows you to print photos from photo album, web pages (has it's own browser interface), certain documents, and the contents of your clipboard. The one shortcoming is that you can't print your emails directly (I think this is a limit of all the printer manufacturer apps compared to AirPrint). You can take a screen shot of your email (if it is short enough for one screen) and then print that from your album, or copy the email into the clipboard and print the clipboard.

I like the scanning feature - just throw a document on the printer, hit the scan button in the app, and then save it to your album or send it as an email.