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| Developer(s) | Apple Inc. andHewlett-Packard |
|---|---|
| Initial release | November 22, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-11-22) |
| Website | support |
AirPrint is a feature inApple Inc.'smacOS andiOS operating systems for printing without installing printer-specific drivers.
Connection is via alocal area network (often viaWi-Fi),[1][2] either directly to AirPrint-compatible printers, or to non-compatible shared printers by way of a computer runningMicrosoft Windows,Linux,[3] or macOS.[2][4][5]
Following theiPad's introduction in 2010, user concerns were raised about the product's inability to print, at least through a supported Apple solution. Apple founder and CEOSteve Jobs reportedly replied "It will come" in May 2010 to a user request for printing.[6]
AirPrint's Fall 2010 introduction, as part of iOS 4.2, gaveiPhones and iPads printing capability for the first time. AirPrint for Mac computers was introduced in theMac OS X Lion release.[7]
At launch, twelve printers were AirPrint compatible,[8] all of them from the HPPhotosmart Plus e-All-in-One series. As of July 2020, that number had grown to about 6,000 compatible printer models from two dozen different manufacturers. The current list can be found on Apple's support site.[7] The related technology is covered byUS patent 2011194123A1, "Printer that supports driverless printing" .
AirPrint was originally intended for iOS devices and connected via a Wi-Fi network only, and thus required a Wi-Fi access point. However, with the introduction of AirPrint to the macOS desktop platform in 2012, Macs connected to the network viaEthernet connection could also print using the AirPrint protocol—not just those connected via Wi-Fi.Direct Wi-Fi connection between the device and the printer is not supported by default,[7] but has appeared as the 'HP ePrint Wireless Direct AirPrint' feature. It uses a proprietarypage description language calledApple Raster.[9]
A number of software solutions allow for non-AirPrint printers to be used withiOS devices, by configuring support on an intermediary system accessible via Wi-Fi, connected to the printer. Since AirPrint is driverless, such a configuration compensates for the printer's lack of native AirPrint support by using the drivers on the intermediary system instead.
The simplest solution for all platforms is to create a newBonjour service that tricks iOS clients into believing they're talking to an AirPrint device. Many blog posts and commercial software products exist to accomplish this, as well asopen-source solutions inLinux.[3] This works in many cases because AirPrint is an extension of theInternet Printing Protocol (IPP), which many printers already support either directly, or as a result of being shared through an intermediary system (typicallyCUPS, the Mac/Linux printing system). This approach is limited however, as the AirPrint-specific components of the protocol are missing. This can lead to compatibility issues and unexpected results. Some software packages address this completely by translating between the two dialects of IPP, avoiding compatibility issues, while most just re-share printers using the AirPrint service name.
ForMicrosoft Windows, there are free[10] and paid solutions.[11]
On macOS, a Bonjour service exists that enables AirPrint support for non-AirPrint printers.[12] Commercial macOS software for this purpose includes Netputing handyPrint[13] and Ecamm Printopia.[14]
In most Linux distributions, AirPrint support should be automatic with the CUPS default printing subsystem since version 1.4.6, which has been released on January 6, 2011[15] (e.g. inUbuntu 11.04 and later[16] or inFedora 15 and later[17]). CUPS serversbefore version 1.4.6 withDNS based Service Discovery can also be configured manually, by addingDNS-SD printer service discovery records to a name server.[18]
There are a number of third party solutions, available on the AppleApp Store and elsewhere, that allow printing to non-AirPrint printers directly or via an application helper.Netgear Genie, for both Mac OS X 10.6 or above andWindows XP,Vista,7 and8. Genie permits any shared, network attached printer to be made accessible via AirPrint. The application is free for customers of current Netgear routers.[19] Printopia Pro is a commercial solution designed to allow AirPrint to work on large business and education networks. It offers features useful to large organizations including centralized management, directory integration, and allows AirPrint to operate acrosssubnets. It requires a server running Mac OS X 10.7 or later, and one server can potentially serve an entire organization.[20]
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