Best printer for Mac/iPad/iPhone ??? Please advice

[dtakias]

I need to get a colour printer for someone who has an iMac(Wired), MBA(WiFi), iPadI(WiFi) and iPhone 3GS(WiFi).

Is there something out there that will be able to accept prints from all those devices?

I am generally a fan of Canon printers but not sure how compatible they are with all those devices?

Budget is up to $300

Many Thanks

 

[dtakias]

I've been looking at the Canon PIXMA MG8150 and PIXMA MX885.

Also looks like Canon has a dedicated app for ipad/iphone which is called Canon Easy-PhotoPrint but this is only for photos and not other type of files like documents

 

[ftaok]

There are two easy ways to accomplish this.

1. If you're willing to leave your iMac on all the time, you can use AirPrint Activator to share your printer to iOS devices. It's compatible with pretty much any printer.

2. If you're not willing to leave the iMac on all the time, you're pretty much limited to AirPrint enabled printers ... which are all currently made by HP. Do a search for HP and AirPrint. iOS devices will print to these printers using AirPrint ... other devices will use ePrint (HP's solution for mobile printing).

ft

 

[dtakias]

There are two easy ways to accomplish this.

1. If you're willing to leave your iMac on all the time, you can use AirPrint Activator to share your printer to iOS devices. It's compatible with pretty much any printer.

2. If you're not willing to leave the iMac on all the time, you're pretty much limited to AirPrint enabled printers ... which are all currently made by HP. Do a search for HP and AirPrint. iOS devices will print to these printers using AirPrint ... other devices will use ePrint (HP's solution for mobile printing).

ft

I am afraid leaving the iMac on all the time is not an option. The printer will be connected on the network using the Ethernet interface if that helps.

Does that mean that Airprint is still the only option?

 

[norrismantooth]

I'm loving a similar setup I use at University.

I have an HP bluetooth-enabled printer connected via Bluetooth to my MacBook Pro.

On my Mac, I run an app called "We Print Server" -- it functions as a print server, to receive requests from my iDevices. I also have the "We Print" app on my iDevice (it functions as a web browser and a PDF reader, too.)

My campus network is unified, so I don't have to be anywhere near the thing to print. We Print Server also gives you the option of sending a document via email (to a special, user-specified hidden email), which the server checks every 5 minutes (specifiable) and prints whatever comes to the email.

 

[ftaok]

I am afraid leaving the iMac on all the time is not an option. The printer will be connected on the network using the Ethernet interface if that helps.

Does that mean that Airprint is still the only option?

As far as I know, AirPrint is the only option right now. Not sure if there's a Jailbreak option.

For whatever reason, AirPrint is only on the HP printers and no one has said why. Perhaps HP owns the patents for it as it seems like a no-brainer for other printer manufacturers to include this type of feature.

HP makes a few decent printers, but it does stink that you can't get the printer that you want. I'm so surprised that Apple hasn't added Airprint to the router so that any USB printer could work.

Another option if you really wanted a Canon inkjet would be to acquire a Windows PC to serve as a print server. They have something like Airprint Activator for Windows, although I can't vouch for it since I've never used it. I may do that since I have an XP machine that serves as my iTunes server and it'd be a no-brainer to do it. Just haven't had the time to mess around.

ft

 

[dtakias]

As far as I know, AirPrint is the only option right now. Not sure if there's a Jailbreak option.

For whatever reason, AirPrint is only on the HP printers and no one has said why. Perhaps HP owns the patents for it as it seems like a no-brainer for other printer manufacturers to include this type of feature.

HP makes a few decent printers, but it does stink that you can't get the printer that you want. I'm so surprised that Apple hasn't added Airprint to the router so that any USB printer could work.

Another option if you really wanted a Canon inkjet would be to acquire a Windows PC to serve as a print server. They have something like Airprint Activator for Windows, although I can't vouch for it since I've never used it. I may do that since I have an XP machine that serves as my iTunes server and it'd be a no-brainer to do it. Just haven't had the time to mess around.

ft

This is very strange, perhaps some patents exist regarding this. I don't have much experience with inkjet home/office HP printers and the only ones I bought didn't last long and where expensive to run. This is why I switched to Canon and immediately saw the difference.

The XP machine is a very good idea but unfortunately it is not an option.

Can anyone recommend any HP printers with Airprint similar to the Canons I mentioned before?

 

[dtakias]

Ok, this appears to be the list with the compatible printers:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/airprint.html