I don't need to print regularly, but when I need it, I need it. That said, I'm having significant difficulty finding a workable solution for the iPad. I have a networked Brother color laser printer (all in one). It's not cheap and works fantastic for our Macs and PCs in the house. In other words, I'm not willing to toss it and get something from the strict Airprint list.
I've purchased ePrint and Print n Share. ePrint works "OK" so long as you're getting the print job over to the app by pasting url's etc. It won't show my printer in Safari, etc. Print n Share has lots of options, but some significant issues, one of which is a "fatal flaw". It took significant effort to get it to print directly and even that was sporadic. I used their WePrint utility on a Win7 server I keep running and that provides consistent printing but the quality is horrible with Print n Share. Graphics look "muddy" almost like it's a 4th generation fax or something.
I have not tried going the manual setup route to get Airprint to work with a shared printer via the Win7 machine but I've heard many reports that this method is buggy as well. None of the Macs are on 24/7 either so that's out.
Any thoughts? Surely someone has worked through this before and found an acceptable solution. I'm a 20+ year IT professional and I feel like I'm trying to get DOS printing working in the days before real printer drivers. Grrrr!!!!!
I've purchased ePrint and Print n Share. ePrint works "OK" so long as you're getting the print job over to the app by pasting url's etc. It won't show my printer in Safari, etc. Print n Share has lots of options, but some significant issues, one of which is a "fatal flaw". It took significant effort to get it to print directly and even that was sporadic. I used their WePrint utility on a Win7 server I keep running and that provides consistent printing but the quality is horrible with Print n Share. Graphics look "muddy" almost like it's a 4th generation fax or something.
I have not tried going the manual setup route to get Airprint to work with a shared printer via the Win7 machine but I've heard many reports that this method is buggy as well. None of the Macs are on 24/7 either so that's out.
Any thoughts? Surely someone has worked through this before and found an acceptable solution. I'm a 20+ year IT professional and I feel like I'm trying to get DOS printing working in the days before real printer drivers. Grrrr!!!!!
