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[Merged] iPad & Printing Discussion

Mark Booth said:
As for printing.... where are all these printers going to be that some of you are so upset you can't print to? Floating in space? No... they will be in your home or office, connected to a computer (directly or via a wired or wireless network). Printing from the iPad is as simple as exporting the file and printing it with the computer.
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Just think how much simpler it would be if you just had to touch the print button on the iPad. Wow Magic! Revolutionary!

It would save you the trouble of walking to the office, wiring-up the iPad, syncing, firing-up the app on the computer and finally printing.

Seriously dude, if you can't grasp this concept you're drinking too much of the "but it's not meant to replace any device" koolaid. Or maybe I'm not drinking enough.
 
I am not bummed by this at all. It would be a nice feature but my main purpose for the iPad will be to in a sense 'print' to it. It will help with becoming paperless. I can carry the iPad with me to meetings instead of a binder with a bunch of papers in it. It will weigh less than the binder and also have more functionality.
 
Seriously ?! You are upset with not being able to print from the iPad ?? Wow, I can't even remember the last time I needed to use a printer at home. At the office I use it maybe every few months to do an expense report, but that is it.
 
Why does it matter?!?! Iam willing to bet an iPad that there will be an app to let you print directly from the iPad in at least 4 months from release.
 
I'm not sure who really believed you would be able to print on day one.

The problem, especially with inkjets, is that the printer is essentially dumb. They typically require a program on the host computer to process the printer control language.

Printing in MacOS and Linux via CUPS is already dicey and having to recompile for the A4 makes it a difficult problem, all the while the iPad has been kept away from devs.

This means that a LOT of print drivers need to be rewritten and recompiled for iPad.

It will come, but not on day one.

Printing is now the new Cut-copy-paste. Everyone and their grandma are going to be crabbing about it.
 
marksman said:
It is kind of funny if you think about it.

If everyone had an iPad, then there would be very little need to print anything ever.
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This. And this is the first time I've used that term... ugh... what has the world come to!?

I think about the things I do print, and for most of it... I could just grab the iPad instead. I do wonder if there is a way to take a screenshot though, as that'd be helpful if you have a wifi and want to screen-shot some webpage or map or something.

Other things I print have to be a pretty exacting quality, and I wouldn't expect the iPad to handle it (large format photographs, etc).
 
I do need to print where using the eurosmartz product won't be easy (I own and use it for my Touch). I won't have time to exit numbers and go to another app, print and keep from having a big line.

The plus is, the system in place now doesn't produce a recpt, so it won't look odd. But this will be at a place I can't count on having a network at all.

I've blown thru 700 sheets of paper in the last month. Probably 500 of that i I wouldnt have had to print if I'd had the ipad in hand. But I still won't be paperless after it arrives.

I'm trying.....
 
Peace said:
Wasn't the idea of computers to ease the use of paper ?
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Where did you get that idea?

PunchCards.jpg
 
samcraig said:
It's nice to dream of a paperless society. I still think were at least a decade or two away.
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The promise of the paperless office was made in the 90's. We've barely moved from that point. I work in a job where the technology level is quite high yet the space that is my office also has nearly 30 filing cabinets. We have a long way to go.

MiguelS said:
email.open.print

thx
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You're on the road with your trusty iPad using Pages to create a document. Who are you going to email it to for a print locally? Most hotel computers I've seen have no word processor. They're so locked down they barely have browsing. I guess you could set up a Gmail account and send it to Google documents but then you'd have to save in MS Word format for Google Docs to recognize it. If there's no public access hotel computer/printer (I've run into plenty of "It's broke" situations) you're a little screwed.

It's like trying to do an early check-in for Southwest from your hotel room. How are you going to print the boarding pass? I've been inconvenienced by that numerous times. I send the print to a PDF (Safari can't do that on the iPhone/iPad OS) and then I request to use the computer of a place I happen to be to pull up an email with the PDF and print my pass. That's anything but a seamless or convenient experience.
 
shakenmartini said:
I'm not sure who really believed you would be able to print on day one.
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I did, without a doubt.

rtabdo said:
It's an accessory device which makes sense why they didnt load it with a million drivers to allow it to print.
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Nobody installs a million printer drivers on their computers. They install a small set to support the printers they have access to. I, for example, have 3 installed on my macbook.
 
sonicboom said:
I did, without a doubt.



Nobody installs a million printer drivers on their computers. They install a small set to support the printers they have access to. I, for example, have 3 installed on my macbook.
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This. Just like installing an app - certainly you could/should be able to install a driver via itunes to print.

What I find most "shocking" for lack of better word (as I've said before) - Apple retooled a WORD PROCESSING program for the device yet gave no way to print? That's wrong.
 
samcraig said:
What I find most "shocking" for lack of better word (as I've said before) - Apple retooled a WORD PROCESSING program for the device yet gave no way to print? That's wrong.
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Yeah, my heart sank a little bit when I heard Andy I. last night say there was no native printing in Pages and Safari. For a company that prides itself on simplicity and un-clunky GUIs, its bizarre its forcing users will have to go to a 3rd party app. But at least now we know why each iWorks app is only $10. Before today it was a bargain. Now, I'm not so sure.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Yeah, my heart sank a little bit when I heard Andy I. last night say there was no native printing in Pages and Safari. For a company that prides itself on simplicity and un-clunky GUIs, its bizarre its forcing users will have to go to a 3rd party app. But at least now we know why each iWorks app is only $10. Before today it was a bargain. Now, I'm not so sure.
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Indeed. I guess we'll wait to see. Maybe they'll offer an update to the suite which will add printing. It also "bothers" me that PDF and export to Word creation doesn't retain good formatting from the suite. Because if I'm not going to print from the device - I at least want to be able to email people who aren't on Macs the content - and if they won't see it like I created... not good
 
samcraig said:
Indeed. I guess we'll wait to see. Maybe they'll offer an update to the suite which will add printing. It also "bothers" me that PDF and export to Word creation doesn't retain good formatting from the suite. Because if I'm not going to print from the device - I at least want to be able to email people who aren't on Macs the content - and if they won't see it like I created... not good
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I heard (read?) that part too about the formatting. I can't help but wonder how much the issue was pushed, i.e. did this happen with simple letters? Or are we talking about stuff with multiple columns and text flowing around irregularly sized images at variable distances, etc?

If it's the latter...sure it'd be a problem for some. Not many I'm guessing.
 
anthonymoody said:
I heard (read?) that part too about the formatting. I can't help but wonder how much the issue was pushed, i.e. did this happen with simple letters? Or are we talking about stuff with multiple columns and text flowing around irregularly sized images at variable distances, etc?

If it's the latter...sure it'd be a problem for some. Not many I'm guessing.
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You'll be actively "tuned" in until you get your 3G - I will be "tuned" in as well to determine if some of these things are either resolved or whatnot before taking any plunge. As you already know - I have some road blocks which make the iPad a lovely device for fun in my life - but not worth buying "yet" given the givens...
 
Some of you people are unbelievable!

'Printers are so 1990', 'if everyone had iPads...' etc etc.

The fact is, paper and printing is still a big business, not everything can be shared online.

Some examples for me personally in last few weeks:
- Applying for a J-1 VISA for summer work in the USA, loads of documents needed printing off to take to the embassy.
- Reference forms: Need to take a reference form or reference to a job interview. Taking it out and showing your references and Resumes on a iPad is not acceptable, the employer would want to take a copy.

I am not a big user of printers but they are needed, hard copies of things ARE needed, so get off your digital high horse.

I am happy enough however with the lack of printing support on the iPad OS. The drivers would take up too much room. Just like any operating system the manufacturer would need to create drivers etc for the OS.

I think the best solution is for Apple to include some native support for air printing with airport express or through shared printers or something. Connected printing however should be possible through the 30-pin dock connector using USB and an app from the manufacturer for that specific model. ie the USB camera connector could be connected to the printer (example EPSON) and then an application from EPSON could be used to print from.
 
Dont worry everyone, I'm almost certain Apple will at some point add printing from the ipad.

This is just like other missing features of the iPhone that Apple eventually added. Cut/Paste, video camera, applications! All were pretty major ommissions, but I think Apple purposefully omits these features so it has things to announce later on when it updates its software.

I think printing could come as soon as a minor software update, or most likely in some 4.0 update. But I just can't believe Apple will never add a printing feature for the ipad. Its just holding back.

Also, I remember people who had played with the SDK saying printing was supported, so it would be a pretty easy fix for Apple to enable printing.
 
The more that I think about it, I like the idea that the iPad doesn't print. The majority of users won't need to print.

Besides, those who need to print can purchase an app that let's them print.
 
grahamtearne said:
I am happy enough however with the lack of printing support on the iPad OS. The drivers would take up too much room. Just like any operating system the manufacturer would need to create drivers etc for the OS.

I think the best solution is for Apple to include some native support for air printing with airport express or through shared printers or something.
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You still need a driver for shared printing, i.e., bonjour. Even still a printer driver takes up, what 1-2MBs. It would be easy for Apple to not install all the drivers like it does w/ a default OS X install but rather let users d/l the one or two they need. Sure the manufacturer would need to create the driver, but is that really a big deal. Seems like a selling point to me if a printer had an iPad print driver.
 
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