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'Printopia' and 'FingerPrint' Bring AirPrint Functionality to Shared Printers

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Last week, it was revealed that Apple had pulled support for using the forthcoming AirPrint wireless printing functionality for iOS 4.2 devices to print to printers shared on PCs and Macs, restricting the feature to a handful of HP printers supporting AirPrint directly.

While several hacks to enable support for shared printers on AirPrint surfaced, a pair of commercial software releases are now providing a way for everyday users to enable the functionality on Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard once iOS 4.2 finally debuts without the need to modify system files.


133332-printopia_500.jpg


Printopia from Ecamm Network installs as a preference pane in System Preferences and allows users to easily select which local and networked printers should be shared to iOS 4.2 devices on the local network. Users can also send print jobs from iOS 4.2 devices directly to their Macs (including Dropbox folders for automatic syncing), allowing for easy export of PDF/JPEG files without the need for actual printing. Printopia is priced at $9.95 with a 7-day free trial available.


133332-fingerprint_500.jpg

FingerPrint from Collobos Software similarly offers Bonjour-based sharing of printers for AirPrint functionality managed through a standalone application. FingerPrint is priced at $7.99 and is also available as a 7-day free trial.

Article Link: 'Printopia' and 'FingerPrint' Bring AirPrint Functionality to Shared Printers
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/11/18/printopia-and-fingerprint-bring-airprint-functionality-to-shared-printers/
roland.g

roland.g

macrumors 604
Apr 11, 2005
7,414
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Excellent. Sounds like an easy $8-10 fix for people until Apple gets around to doing what they originally promised.
 
AriX

AriX

macrumors 6502
Jan 8, 2007
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Really silly that these companies are charging so much for apps that do so little. Literally all they do is add a field to a Bonjour broadcast.
 
jayducharme

jayducharme

macrumors 601
Jun 22, 2006
4,533
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The thick of it
What's peculiar is that there seems to be no technical reason why Apple has disabled this feature. If other vendors can make it work (really well, it seems), I don't see why Apple couldn't.
 
petvas

petvas

macrumors 603
Jul 20, 2006
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jayducharme said:
What's peculiar is that there seems to be no technical reason why Apple has disabled this feature. If other vendors can make it work (really well, it seems), I don't see why Apple couldn't.
Click to expand...

There is a rumor that Apple had to pull the feature because of licensing issues.
 
Mattie Num Nums

Mattie Num Nums

macrumors 68030
Mar 5, 2009
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Consultant said:
Who prints now a days? Ever heard of email?
Click to expand...

Typical Apple irrational apologist response.

Who Prints these Days! Who has cable these days! Who uses Flash anyways anymore! etc. etc. etc.

Bottom line is this, why can't Apple provide a feature they posted. Misrepresentation? Vaporware?

I don't believe I will download this. I'm not paying for a feature that should already be included.
 
BryanLyle

BryanLyle

macrumors 6502a
Aug 2, 2005
727
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Not only did Printopia work, it also gave me the option of duplex printing on my printer.
 
rorschach

rorschach

macrumors 68020
Jul 27, 2003
2,272
1,856
Printopia works great when my printer is plugged directly into my MBP. However, I tried plugging it into my AirPort Extreme (with sharing turned on) and although it shows up in the Printopia preference pane, it doesn't show up in the print dialog on my iPad.

Probably takes some combination of plugging/unplugging and/or restarting but once I figure it out, I think it'd definitely be worth 10 bucks.
 
Consultant

Consultant

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
34
Mattie Num Nums said:
Typical Apple irrational apologist response.

Who Prints these Days! Who has cable these days! Who uses Flash anyways anymore! etc. etc. etc.

Bottom line is this, why can't Apple provide a feature they posted. Misrepresentation? Vaporware?

I don't believe I will download this. I'm not paying for a feature that should already be included.
Click to expand...

Do you know there's a free version that let real people use the 10.6.5 beta's AirPrint driver? Of course not. :rolleyes:
 
saving107

saving107

macrumors 603
Oct 14, 2007
6,384
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San Jose, Ca
Mattie Num Nums said:
Bottom line is this, why can't Apple provide a feature they posted. Misrepresentation? Vaporware?
Click to expand...

to be fair, the AirPrint feature has not been removed from the iOS devices and its their in Mac OS X 10.6.5, its just that the printer requirements was limited to specific printers in the recent Mac OS X update (compared to the betas).

and if you go back to Septembers event when they made the announcement, they never said that it was going to work with all printers,

Apple today announced that it is releasing a beta version of its AirPrint wireless printing for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch to members of Apple's iOS developer program today, and that AirPrint will be included in the free iOS 4.2 software update in November. AirPrint automatically finds printers on local networks and can print text, photos and graphics to them wirelessly over Wi-Fi without the need to install drivers or download software. HP's existing and upcoming ePrint enabled printers will be the first to support printing direct from iOS devices.
Click to expand...

Apple did specify that ePrint enabled printers would be the first to use this feature, and they have been, that has not been removed. I just think that we all assumed it would be all printers on our networks.
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/09/1...-printing-for-ios-devices-coming-in-november/
 
KindredMAC

KindredMAC

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2003
975
218
Consultant said:
Who prints now a days? Ever heard of email?
Click to expand...

Well smarty smart pants....

I use my iPhone as my main email client. When I get an email from a company, like a store or restaurant, that has a coupon in the email or linked to a website I NEED to print that out. Last time I checked some companies NEED that printed piece of paper to balance the drawer at the end of a shift when a discount has been applied.

My wife uses her iPhone to look up knitting instructions while she is sitting down enjoying her pastime and would love to be able to print a pattern out on 8.5" x 11" paper to use as a reference instead of a 3" LCD screen.

Think outside your personal space....
 
S

sanford

macrumors 65816
Jan 5, 2003
1,265
0
Dallas, USA
jayducharme said:
What's peculiar is that there seems to be no technical reason why Apple has disabled this feature. If other vendors can make it work (really well, it seems), I don't see why Apple couldn't.
Click to expand...

Oh I'm sure they can. Think: Support. Apple may have decided they don't want to mess with supporting all the different combinations of printers and drivers in the world that work with Mac OS X, and making sure they work with AirPrint when shared from a Mac or PC. So Apple dumps support -- it doesn't print with printer x and drive y and you're using SuperAirPrintMaker; I'm sorry, but Apple neither develops nor supports SuperAirPrintMaker or printer x and driver y; thank you for calling -- onto a 3rd party, and at the same time encourages the 3rd party developer ecosystem on OS X. Which is handy considering they are going to be rolling out the Mac app store, a service well suited to small, inexpensive apps like the couple AirPrint apps already available.
 
petvas

petvas

macrumors 603
Jul 20, 2006
5,479
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Munich, Germany
sanford said:
Oh I'm sure they can. Think: Support. Apple may have decided they don't want to mess with supporting all the different combinations of printers and drivers in the world that work with Mac OS X, and making sure they work with AirPrint when shared from a Mac or PC. So Apple dumps support -- it doesn't print with printer x and drive y and you're using SuperAirPrintMaker; I'm sorry, but Apple neither develops nor supports SuperAirPrintMaker or printer x and driver y; thank you for calling -- onto a 3rd party, and at the same time encourages the 3rd party developer ecosystem on OS X. Which is handy considering they are going to be rolling out the Mac app store, a service well suited to small, inexpensive apps like the couple AirPrint apps already available.
Click to expand...

Then they shouldn't announce it!
 
arkmannj

arkmannj

macrumors 68000
Oct 1, 2003
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513
UT
Consultant said:
Who prints now a days? Ever heard of email?
Click to expand...
Most people print stuff, and those same people also use email. Often people like to print things for themselves even. The thing is, if the iPad is supposed to be a netbook replacement/killer/whatever then it still needs some basic functions that people use on a day to day basis (i.e. printing) Home users, professionals, many other people all want the ability to print; I can't blame them and neither should you. People want to work how they feel is most efficient for them. It may not be how you want to do things, but that doesn't make it any less important of a feature


So these new programs, any change they will work with a printer being shared using an Airport/Time Capsule ? or does the receiving end need a daemon/service in the background?
 
ArtOfWarfare

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,560
6,059
I'd vastly rather be able to go straight from my iPhone to my printer. Why does it have to go to a computer in between? I heard it's because:

1.) The iPhone isn't fast enough to generate the print files.
2.) The iPhone doesn't have the printer drivers.

My response?

#1: How slow can it possibly be? My iPhone's CPU is equal to that of the eMac I was using up until 3 years ago when I replaced it with my iMac. The eMac wasn't very slow at printing, why would the iPhone be? Even if it is "slow", as long as it can print a page in five minutes or less, its good enough. I go to school 15 minutes from home, if my iPhone can print a five page report in under a half hour, it's worth printing at school rather than driving home, printing, and driving back to school.

#2: I don't need to install every printer driver, just one or two, surely it's not too large to store on my iPhone...
 
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