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AirPrint printer suggestions?

M

marc.garcia

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 26, 2010
131
2
Hello,

I'm in the market looking for an AirPrint compatible Printer. I'm leaning towards monochrome laser printers, but, TBH, after spending too much time, I have also started considering inkjet printers... that is what happens when you are too perfectionist; you reach a breaking point, you are no more productive and waste a lot of time.

Anyway, my requirements are:

​
- Monochrome laser printer
​
- AirPrint compatible
​
- Wired ethernet interface
​
- (optional) duplex printing

and I want it for our house, so no need for a workhorse. I've decided in favour of laser printers because we don't print very often. Using a printer not frequently does not go hand in hand with inkjet printers I would say...

If the HP LaserJet Pro P1102w featured wired ethernet connection, I would have bought it already. This printer would be perfect otherwise because it is cheap.

Thanks in advance for your comments,

Marc
 
M

marc.garcia

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 26, 2010
131
2
fhall1 said:
Any reason why it must be wired? I have the HP LaserJet Pro P1102W and it's a great printer - works fine with iPhone and iPad too.
Click to expand...

Well, it's a personal choice mainly because I change my wireless password every now and then, and it is rather painful to re-enter the password on all the devices. Thank you tough!!!
 
M

marc.garcia

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 26, 2010
131
2
The list of AirPrint compatible printers is daunting http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4356

I've tried to find a chart/summary of all/most of the printers displayed on that website, but I can't seem to spot one. Anybody aware of such a website?

Thank you!!
 
ftaok

ftaok

macrumors 603
Jan 23, 2002
6,486
1,571
East Coast
I have the HP 1536dnf. It's an multifunction laser printer/fax/scanner/copier. It's got Airprint (and ePrint for android users). It's also got an auto-duplexer. It's ethernet only and it's fast.

They go for $330 now, but when I bought it, they were $300. I got it at Staples when they had a $50 sale, plus I recycled an old printer for another $50. My total cash outlay was $200 plus tax.

Anyways, if you don't want or need the copier/scanner features, HP just intro'd the 1606dn. It's the same printer, just without the scanner bed. It goes for $210 or so. It's got an auto-duplexer and ethernet as well. Of course it's Airprint compatible.
 
M

marc.garcia

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 26, 2010
131
2
ftaok said:
I have the HP 1536dnf. It's an multifunction laser printer/fax/scanner/copier. It's got Airprint (and ePrint for android users). It's also got an auto-duplexer. It's ethernet only and it's fast.

They go for $330 now, but when I bought it, they were $300. I got it at Staples when they had a $50 sale, plus I recycled an old printer for another $50. My total cash outlay was $200 plus tax.

Anyways, if you don't want or need the copier/scanner features, HP just intro'd the 1606dn. It's the same printer, just without the scanner bed. It goes for $210 or so. It's got an auto-duplexer and ethernet as well. Of course it's Airprint compatible.
Click to expand...

Apologies for my late response.

Thanks for your response ftaok. Your printer is quite appealing!! The thing is that I very rarely print at home, and spending even 200$ feels like a lot for my printing profile.

I was expecting I would be able to find a website specialised in Airprint printers. I expected I could easily find a comparison chart -prices, opinions, cost per printed sheet- with, at least, the printers detailed here: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4356, but I just can't seem to find it.

GGJstudios, I'm planning to buy a Mac Mini server. If I decided to go down the server route, and I added printopia or Airprint Activator, what would happen if my mini is in stand-by? will the printer be announced over the network? Does AirPrint Activator or Printopia work with networked printers, or must they be connected over usb?
 
D

dpkform

macrumors newbie
Aug 6, 2009
4
0
AirPrint only over wireless

just an FYI that if you purchase a printer with official AirPrint support, the official AirPrint function only works when using the wireless connection of the printer. If the printer has both wired and wireless ethernet, official AirPrint will only work when the printer is connected to your network using the printer's wifi connection. Weird, but this was my experience, and the reply from tech support.

AirPrint activator as has been mentioned, will let you use pretty much any printer, and the printer can be connected through wired ethernet.
 
M

marc.garcia

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 26, 2010
131
2
dpkform said:
just an FYI that if you purchase a printer with official AirPrint support, the official AirPrint function only works when using the wireless connection of the printer. If the printer has both wired and wireless ethernet, official AirPrint will only work when the printer is connected to your network using the printer's wifi connection. Weird, but this was my experience, and the reply from tech support.

AirPrint activator as has been mentioned, will let you use pretty much any printer, and the printer can be connected through wired ethernet.
Click to expand...

Wow, that changes the whole thing!! I was looking into the HP 1217 which has both wired and wireless interfaces. Thank God you posted in here... may I ask which model you have?

I have not yet found a website specialised in Airprint printers on which one could easily find a comparison chart -prices, opinions, cost per printed sheet- with even a subset of the printers detailed by Apple: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4356. Do you happen to know any website which could be helpful?

Can anybody comment on one previous question I posted here?

I'm planning to buy a Mac Mini server. If I decided to go down the server route, and I added printopia or Airprint Activator, what would happen if my mini is in stand-by? will the printer be announced over the network? Does AirPrint Activator or Printopia work with networked printers, or must they be connected over usb?
Click to expand...
 
fhall1

fhall1

macrumors 68040
Dec 18, 2007
3,826
1,263
(Central) NY State of mind
marc.garcia said:
Can anybody comment on one previous question I posted here?

I'm planning to buy a Mac Mini server. If I decided to go down the server route, and I added printopia or Airprint Activator, what would happen if my mini is in stand-by? will the printer be announced over the network? Does AirPrint Activator or Printopia work with networked printers, or must they be connected over usb?
Click to expand...

I don't know about the sleep part of the question, but I know Printopia will support airprint to network printers. I have it installed on my iMac so my idevices can print to a Brother color laser printer connected only via ethernet.
 
M

marc.garcia

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 26, 2010
131
2
Macman45 said:
I have the Airprint Epson Stylus SX535WD, it's onm all the time and simply sleeps when not in use. Prints from all 3 Maca and my IP5 and Ipad4 too.
Click to expand...
is it hooked up to a Mac Mini?

----------
fhall1 said:
I don't know about the sleep part of the question, but I know Printopia will support airprint to network printers. I have it installed on my iMac so my idevices can print to a Brother color laser printer connected only via ethernet.
Click to expand...
Any chance you could put your iMac to sleep and attempt to print from any iOS device? it would be great if it worked...
 
A

avonterr

macrumors newbie
Jun 1, 2003
8
0
Marc,

I am looking for a monochrome printer to use infrequently. Which one did you end up getting?

Thanks.

Don
dogolaca@gmail.com

marc.garcia said:
Hello,

I'm in the market looking for an AirPrint compatible Printer. I'm leaning towards monochrome laser printers, but, TBH, after spending too much time, I have also started considering inkjet printers... that is what happens when you are too perfectionist; you reach a breaking point, you are no more productive and waste a lot of time.

Anyway, my requirements are:

​
- Monochrome laser printer
​
- AirPrint compatible
​
- Wired ethernet interface
​
- (optional) duplex printing

and I want it for our house, so no need for a workhorse. I've decided in favour of laser printers because we don't print very often. Using a printer not frequently does not go hand in hand with inkjet printers I would say...

If the HP LaserJet Pro P1102w featured wired ethernet connection, I would have bought it already. This printer would be perfect otherwise because it is cheap.

Thanks in advance for your comments,

Marc
Click to expand...
 
Giuly

Giuly

macrumors 68040
Oct 16, 2009
3,348
4
That depends whether you ask for timezone, state o
If you're infrequently printing monochrome, the Epson Expression Home XP-400 might be worth a look. It also gives you the possibility to print in color or even photos, scan and copy documents, should the need ever arise.
81xZTLkp2hL._AA1500_.jpg


If you really need a monochrome printer, get the Brother HL-5450DN.
71y1Ln%2B9LWL._AA1500_.jpg
 
M

marc.garcia

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 26, 2010
131
2
avonterr said:
Marc,

I am looking for a monochrome printer to use infrequently. Which one did you end up getting?
Click to expand...
Hello there,

I ended up going for a Samsung 3405FW. It is a mfp (fulfills all my needs) but it does not do 2 thing I wanted: AirPrint and automatic duplex.

I worked AirPrint around using HandyPrints and if I want to print double sided I have to use manual duplexing.

I put together a excel with several models and made my choice based on it. This printer is ok in terms of physical dimensions, it features wireless and wired networking and it can be ordered in grey/white color so swmbo is happy with my choice.

This model runs for about 120€ on amazon Spain so it is a pretty good deal if you are after the same things I was.

Any questions just ask.

Regards
 
B

bdrake47

macrumors regular
Jul 28, 2012
103
1
dpkform said:
just an FYI that if you purchase a printer with official AirPrint support, the official AirPrint function only works when using the wireless connection of the printer. If the printer has both wired and wireless ethernet, official AirPrint will only work when the printer is connected to your network using the printer's wifi connection. Weird, but this was my experience, and the reply from tech support.

AirPrint activator as has been mentioned, will let you use pretty much any printer, and the printer can be connected through wired ethernet.
Click to expand...

Had the same experience with some of the early version AirPrint inkjets from HP. If you plugged in wired ethernet, they would disable AirPrint. They were one or the other not both.

I would think that issue fixed by now, but worth looking in the specs first to be sure.
 
R

rpearlberg

macrumors 6502a
May 22, 2010
669
30
Giuly said:
If you're infrequently printing monochrome, the Epson Expression Home XP-400 might be worth a look. It also gives you the possibility to print in color or even photos, scan and copy documents, should the need ever arise.
81xZTLkp2hL._AA1500_.jpg


If you really need a monochrome printer, get the Brother HL-5450DN.
71y1Ln%2B9LWL._AA1500_.jpg
Click to expand...

I just bought the Epson Expression XP-800 but I haven't taken it out of the box yet. I mainly want it to print 4x6 pictures, but the all in one feature is nice and it gets great reviews.
 
G

gracerider

macrumors newbie
Aug 14, 2010
1
0
Trouble with the 1536dnf

ftaok said:
I have the HP 1536dnf. It's an multifunction laser printer/fax/scanner/copier. It's got Airprint (and ePrint for android users). It's also got an auto-duplexer. It's ethernet only and it's fast.

They go for $330 now, but when I bought it, they were $300. I got it at Staples when they had a $50 sale, plus I recycled an old printer for another $50. My total cash outlay was $200 plus tax.

Anyways, if you don't want or need the copier/scanner features, HP just intro'd the 1606dn. It's the same printer, just without the scanner bed. It goes for $210 or so. It's got an auto-duplexer and ethernet as well. Of course it's Airprint compatible.
Click to expand...

How did you get this to work. I have it all setup with the wired ethernet and the iPad 4 sees the printer. But when I go to any APP with airprint and try to print nothing happens or some time I get a message that the connection failed. It seems there is a problem going from the wireless to the wired network on the router.
 
ftaok

ftaok

macrumors 603
Jan 23, 2002
6,486
1,571
East Coast
gracerider said:
How did you get this to work. I have it all setup with the wired ethernet and the iPad 4 sees the printer. But when I go to any APP with airprint and try to print nothing happens or some time I get a message that the connection failed. It seems there is a problem going from the wireless to the wired network on the router.
Click to expand...

That's how I have it set-up. My i-devices are connected to the router via wifi and my 1536dnf is connected via ethernet.

I don't have any issues with not being able to connect. Admittedly, I really only print from Safari and not with any other apps. I'll try it out tonight with another app.

Any app in particular you want me to try out?

ft
 
M

MacPC

macrumors regular
Sep 25, 2006
213
1
I use a BrotherMFC-J430W for about two years now. It's a WiFi printer and AirPrint enabled. I have never had a printer works so seamless with my Macs, not HP, Not Epson, Not Cannon. And the ink cartridges are easy to load (front loading), not need to dig your hands inside the printer and risk getting your fingers chop off by the moving parts, and the ink cartridges are inexpensive, the only down side I can found is the construction is a bit flimsy.
 
NMF

NMF

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2011
885
21
MacPC said:
I use a BrotherMFC-J430W for about two years now. It's a WiFi printer and AirPrint enabled. I have never had a printer works so seamless with my Macs, not HP, Not Epson, Not Cannon. And the ink cartridges are easy to load (front loading), not need to dig your hands inside the printer and risk getting your fingers chop off by the moving parts, and the ink cartridges are inexpensive, the only down side I can found is the construction is a bit flimsy.
Click to expand...

Are you serious? I've experienced abysmal AirPrint performance with the J430W. Completely unreliable. Sometimes the iPads pick it up, sometimes they don't. I ended up just deleting all the WiFi information and using Printopia instead (defeats the purpose of AirPrint, but at least it works). Printing from iOS devices is rock solid now, no thanks to my supossed "AirPrint compatible" printer from Brother.

If I had it to do over I would buy any other brand but Brother.

Never again.
 
Giuly

Giuly

macrumors 68040
Oct 16, 2009
3,348
4
That depends whether you ask for timezone, state o
NMF said:
Are you serious? I've experienced abysmal AirPrint performance with the J430W. Completely unreliable. Sometimes the iPads pick it up, sometimes they don't. I ended up just deleting all the WiFi information and using Printopia instead (defeats the purpose of AirPrint, but at least it works). Printing from iOS devices is rock solid now, no thanks to my supossed "AirPrint compatible" printer from Brother.

If I had it to do over I would buy any other brand but Brother.

Never again.
Click to expand...

Yet that might be a problem with your router, as some older models don't like Zeroconf.
 
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