iPad Printing with iOS 4.2


We’re just weeks away from proper printing directly from your iPad, thanks to the upcoming iOS 4.2 upgrade. So far, the only means of printing anything from your iPad is to sync it with your Mac and print from there. But let’s get real. If an extra step was something we were used to, we’d be PC users.

iOS 4.2 makes iPad printing simple. Here’s how it will work.

You’ve got your printer ready to go, your genuine Canon ink cartridges just installed and the paper tray is full. From inside any print-friendly app on your iPad (Photos, Pages, Mail, etc.), you’ll find the option to print is already available from the main menu. (Of course, third-party apps will have to be updated by the publisher that printing will be an option in their apps, but that’s a given, right?) When you tap “Print,” a submenu will slide open asking you which printer you want to send the document to (if there’s more than one wireless printer on your network), and how many copies you want to make.

iOS 4.2’s new dock at the bottom of the screen is where all of your multitasking options are, and the dock is also where you’ll find an icon that lists all of the print jobs that are currently pending. Tap on the icon and a new window slides open that shows you all of the pending jobs. Should you need to cancel a job, this is where you’ll do it.

Now obviously, you’ll need a wireless or networked printer — meaning you’ll have to use either a shmancy wifi-enabled printer, or a standard printer that’s tethered to a network device, like your iMac or MacBook.


Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

10 Comments

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  1. I just downloaded iSO4.2 and try to print a web page.
    The iPad could not see the wifi printer (epsom artison810).
    Need help to get this to work.

  2. I have a iMac and a iPad. My printer is connected to an airport express. My iMac loves it, but my iPad can’t find it. Does anyone have any ideas as to why. It looks for it but doesn’t find it. Any help would be appreciated.
    Ben

  3. Apparently iPad only supports a few HP printers by by default. This is a real killer because not everyone has an HP. There are some apps in the app store that can help detect most printers but so far you have to fork out a couple of dollars to do so.

  4. I feel your pain Ben. I’m not having any success either! My husband bought an Apple MacBook Pro…and we have the TimeMachine. He has printer access and my new iPad finds….nothing! And we have TWO wireless printers. He can even print to the regular printer.
    Come on Apple! Give us some help here! Please….pretty please!

  5. Apple pulled full support out of iOS 4.2 at the last minute. Printing now only works to printers supporting the ePrint standard (which is a half dozen or so HP printers). You will have to get an app to print to anything else (Print Central seems to get the best reviews).

  6. Quite a comment for an Apple user to make about PC users. I have an Ethernet network with 4 PC’s, a TV, a NAS, and 2 printers on it. Any of the PC’s can use either printer and the NAS with no dependency on any other PC being powered. My new iPad is the only device that is incapable of printing to the network printers. The iPad can now use the NAS but that took an App that is unnecessary in the PC world. It would seem that only in the Apple world that printing requires additional purchases of Apple equipment and software to do fundamental operations.

  7. Sparky, don’t be such a typical PC knob. This is an iPad and not a PC or Mac or laptop. Different animal. Does your phone print? I thought not. It will eventually evolve more and more to cover most of the territory a PC can as time goes by, the processors get faster and the memory larger for inside such a small and new form factor.

    Sit tight and don’t act so daft.

  8. Just purchased a up photosmart e print and can get nothing to print,and Apple want’s to charge 29$ to talk to me.