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iPad Best printers for iPad

M

macmesser

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 13, 2012
921
198
Long Island, NY USA
I need to replace my home printer and figure I might as well get one which will work with my iPad. I'm probably going for a laser multifunction since my print volume at home is low and I'm tired of replacing dried out inkjet cartridges before their time.

Are there any particular specs to look for (Airprint?) or will the iPad print to any wifi printer? Can it print over bluetooth or connected to the printer via USB? I have not yet used my iPad to print anything but I figure if I'm getting a new printer I might as well start, or at least have the capability. Thanks in advance for any insights/recommendations.
 
Something else to consider if you have an airport express, you can make any printer a wireless one that will work with airprint.
 
I picked up a canon mx892 from amazon on black friday that was on sale for a short time for $49(normal $199) that has airprint on it. I havent actually used it yet but it got great review for use with airprint and the best part is you can buy a complete 5 pack of ink for it for $5 from amazon. It is supposed to arrive today so hopefully this evening I will be printing from my ipad and iphone...
 
Subscribed....I too need a wireless printer so I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. I'm always unsure as to which one, I don't want to go out and just grab anything off the shelf that says wireless....
 
I got last year a Canon PIXUS with AirPrint. Works very well. It's ink, the text sometimes is not too sharp; depend lots on the quality of paper sheet.
But printing from iPad works flawless. Happy user here.
 
Regarding Laser MultiFunction printers I suggest one of these (both support AirPrint):

a) HP LaserJet Pro 400 color MFP M475dw (CE864A) (supports printing on both sides of a page, cheaper printing)
b) HP LaserJet Pro 100 color MFP M175nw (CE866A) (prints only on one side, more expensive printing)

AirPrint enables you to print from your iPad or iPhone directly from any app that has printing support.
Only requirement is that your printer and your iPad or iPhone are on the same WiFi network.
 
Last edited:
bigboar said:
I picked up a canon mx892 from amazon on black friday that was on sale for a short time for $49(normal $199) that has airprint on it. I havent actually used it yet but it got great review for use with airprint and the best part is you can buy a complete 5 pack of ink for it for $5 from amazon. It is supposed to arrive today so hopefully this evening I will be printing from my ipad and iphone...
Click to expand...

It was $59.99, and never been $199. It was around $100-115.


BTW, those $5 inks are simply garbage.
 
sevimli said:
It was $59.99, and never been $199. It was around $100-115.



BTW, those $5 inks are simply garbage.
Click to expand...

yeah, my bad, I was thinking of the 16g of ram I bought for my MBP.

hmm, I dont see any for $100-110, but no matter I will take $60...

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...1&biw=1024&bih=622&wrapid=tlif135403147052510

even though these are for my mx860, I will take a 4 star rating out of almost 400 reviews over someone on a forum...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002A6IVAI/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2
 
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mattopotamus said:
Something else to consider if you have an airport express, you can make any printer a wireless one that will work with airprint.
Click to expand...

I don't think an Airport creates an AirPrint compatible printer out of one that isn't, it simply creates a wireless printer connection. The printer still has to have AirPrint firmware.

mattopotamus said:
this software basically makes it compatible with any printer

https://www.ecamm.com/mac/printopia/
Click to expand...

Yeah, you'll need an app/software solution. Printopia is supposed to be pretty slick, I actually got it in my MacHeist bundle :) Since it's a service on a Mac, that obviously means you have to have the Mac up and running to access the printer via the iOS device, not an issues for most folks. The printer can be connected to the Mac over WiFi (using an Airport, or pretty much any router with USB/peripheral sharing).

Also, if you have an old Windows machine sitting around, there's a free app you can run to share printers across AirPrint, it also works extremely well, I had it running on a Netbook we had sitting around, with a printer connected to to it via USB, hit print on the iPad, printer showed right up.

(If anyone is interested in the latter option, I can find the relevant links...)
 
You definitely want "AirPrint", not just "WiFi printing" -- if the printer doesn't specifically say AirPrint, it won't work (and they won't forget to list AirPrint in the specs if the printer does it). There have also been a few iOS app-based solutions (I think HP has one), that'll print to specific models or brands of printers, but that takes jumping through extra hoops every time you print -- not recommended.

I think most of the printer companies have a support page, like this one for Canon, that lists all of their models that have AirPrint support.

You can also look at Apple's Store page for AirPrint printers, but that'll only show the ones they sell. Still, a useful reference.

I can vouch for Printopia, it works a treat, and I used it for months, before getting a Lantronix xPrintServer, an iPhone-sized box that you plug into your network, and it finds your networked printers (or you can plug printers into its USB port), and properly advertises them on the local network as AirPrint printers. Works wonderfully. Yes, it's spendy, and I could have put that money towards a new printer, but I really like the one I already have. If you have multiple printers you want to keep, it's a no-brainer.
 
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CarlJ said:
I can vouch for Printopia, it works a treat, and I used it for months, before getting a Lantronix xPrintServer, an iPhone-sized box that you plug into your network, and it finds your networked printers (or you can plug printers into its USB port), and properly advertises them on the local network as AirPrint printers.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware of a device like this, very slick!

Thanks for the endorsement for Printopia too, since it was basically free for me, figured I'd give that a shot.
 
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CarlJ said:
I can vouch for Printopia, it works a treat, and I used it for months, before getting a Lantronix xPrintServer, an iPhone-sized box that you plug into your network, and it finds your networked printers (or you can plug printers into its USB port), and properly advertises them on the local network as AirPrint printers. Works wonderfully. Yes, it's spendy, and I could have put that money towards a new printer, but I really like the one I already have. If you have multiple printers you want to keep, it's a no-brainer.
Click to expand...
Hi there,

Care to share a little more detail on printopia? If I had it running on my Mac mini, and the Mac mini went into standby mode, would the printer still be advertised across the network, or do I need to wake it up in order for it to get advertised? That's key for me.thanks
 
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marc.garcia said:
Care to share a little more detail on printopia? If I had it running on my Mac mini, and the Mac mini went into standby mode, would the printer still be advertised across the network, or do I need to wake it up in order for it to get advertised? That's key for me.thanks
Click to expand...

You'd have to wake up the Mac Mini. The printer advertisement messages have a fairly short lifespan, and are re-sent periodically.

That's why I ended up switching to the xPrintServer, which sits quietly on your network continuously handling the task of advertising the printers - if I had to open/wake up my MacBook Pro to get the printer working... I probably could have just done the task on the MBP in the first place.

So Printopia (and FingerPrint2 which Online pointed out, which is both Mac/Windows) is best for those who have a desktop or server on most of the time (or at least a large percentage of the time that you want to print).
 
Ctguy said:
I have HP ENVY all-in-one printer, the best looking printer out there.
Click to expand...

I wish I had just bit the bullet and purchased the Envy. I went on the cheap with a Photosmart 5110 and it is giving me all shades of grief. Every time I want to print from my iPad 3, printer not shown. Have to turn the printer off, turn the iPad off, reset the router, and turn everything back on. And those are the fixit instructions from HP support :(.

Does your Envy work flawlessly with your idevices?
 
CarlJ said:
You'd have to wake up the Mac Mini. The printer advertisement messages have a fairly short lifespan, and are re-sent periodically.

That's why I ended up switching to the xPrintServer, which sits quietly on your network continuously handling the task of advertising the printers - if I had to open/wake up my MacBook Pro to get the printer working... I probably could have just done the task on the MBP in the first place.

So Printopia (and FingerPrint2 which Online pointed out, which is both Mac/Windows) is best for those who have a desktop or server on most of the time (or at least a large percentage of the time that you want to print).
Click to expand...
It is too bad that the mini can be waken up automatically when an iOS device runs the AirPrint discovery process.

Can you upgrade your xprintserver in case apple decided to update their AirPrint protocol? Do you own the professional or home version of the server?
 
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