[Merged] iPad & Printing Discussion

[samcraig]

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.

Sorry - you LIKE the idea that the iPad can't print. Why? Am I reading you semantically correct?

Perhaps you meant that YOU don't care or have no need for the iPad to print out of the box.

But to LIKE that it doesn't makes no sense to me. If you don't need or want to print, that's fine. But why LIKE that a device can't?

 

[samcraig]

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.

Agreed. You could install via itunes and if Apple is having developers create apps, surely printer manufacturers would be all to happy to offer drivers which could load onto the iPad.

 

[IronLogik]

Frankly, I hope they rewrite iTunes and get it back to what it was.

Separate syncing app for iPods, iPads, and iPhones.
iTunes is for music, movies, and book organization and playback.

iTunes is getting way too chunky.

 

[BacklitFirefly]

I've seen people in this thread point out existing apps that would allow printing, but no one has responded to those posts. So is it true, or not? Can these apps allow us to print from the iPad?

 

[TraceyS/FL]

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.

I've been using an app that prints, but i doubt it's going to work in Numbers - and I don't have time for my main "in the field printing" to switch over to the app each time.

All i want is to hook my i70 printer up to an Airport Express, create my own little net in the field, and print as needed. Or to do the same in the building without internet/networking (hence the 3G iPad needs) without trying to get something going on the other ladies corporate issued computer - i dont' think that is possible anyway because she is using a USB stick for her net.

I have to be able to print.

i'm going to see what the app that says you don't need a server side does... it might work for the office printing, but not the field.

 

[IronLogik]

Let's stop with the speculation and whiny complaininess...

Wait for iPhone OS 4.0 and then we'll see what's going on. My guess has always been that iPhone OS 3.2 is simply something to hold the iPad over until 4.0 can be announced and released.

We will probably hear more about it within the next 2-3 months. Until then, don't get so worked up over the lack of printing in an incremental upgrade like iPhone OS 3.2.

 

[samcraig]

Let's stop with the speculation and whiny complaininess...

Wait for iPhone OS 4.0 and then we'll see what's going on. My guess has always been that iPhone OS 3.2 is simply something to hold the iPad over until 4.0 can be announced and released.

We will probably hear more about it within the next 2-3 months. Until then, don't get so worked up over the lack of printing in an incremental upgrade like iPhone OS 3.2.

The complaints - not whininess are legitimate. Sorry if YOU don't see it that way. But some people were hoping/needing/wanting some functionality OUT OF THE BOX... not "maybe" or "later" or anything like that.

If you have an issue with people wanting to print (now) - why bother clicking into this post. Just to grandstand?

 

[TraceyS/FL]

Let's stop with the speculation and whiny complaininess...

Wait for iPhone OS 4.0 and then we'll see what's going on. My guess has always been that iPhone OS 3.2 is simply something to hold the iPad over until 4.0 can be announced and released.

We will probably hear more about it within the next 2-3 months. Until then, don't get so worked up over the lack of printing in an incremental upgrade like iPhone OS 3.2.

Great. Except I will be spending money for a workaround.

I'd rather hear it was coming - or a definitive NOT, and be able to go on from there with a solution that works best for me.

Hopefully 4.0 Beta will be announced soon and there will be some info.

I'm disappointed, but I can find a workable solution to the small print needs. The rest of the pro's far outweigh the cons at this point.

 

[IronLogik]

Sometimes this forum is freaking hopeless. wow.

I never said it wasn't a fair complaint. But complaining about it isn't going to change things between now and launch. Best you are going to be able to do is wait until iPhone OS 4.0 is announced and see if it adds what you're looking for. Be disappointed all you want, but it won't change things. You're just working yourself up even more for no real reason. Wait it out. By now most of you should know Apple is very iterative in their design. Features are added along the way.

 

[mrsollars]

Is it true that you can't print from the new iPad?

 

[sushi]

Sorry - you LIKE the idea that the iPad can't print. Why? Am I reading you semantically correct?

Yes, you are reading me correctly. And I am not being sarcastic. Nor am I pulling an April Fool joke. I think that about covers it.

Perhaps you meant that YOU don't care or have no need for the iPad to print out of the box.

But to LIKE that it doesn't makes no sense to me. If you don't need or want to print, that's fine. But why LIKE that a device can't?

To me, the iPad is about simplicity. Something that will be rock solid. Print drivers can cause issues. Plus they use up valuable storage space.

Some have said to only install the ones you need. This is a Catch-22 situation. In my case I have 3 printers that I normally print to. So in my case I could install 3 print drivers. However, I may be at another location and do not have the print driver for that particular printer. Oops. Now I can't print. Or if I use a different driver maybe the print out looks bad.

Reminds me of the days of infrared printing. Cool when it worked. But many times it didn't because you didn't have the correct print driver.

Perhaps, we are on the cusp of seeing a new methodology for printing via WiFi that removes the printer specifics. Now that would be nice. To be able to print from any app to any printer without a print driver for each printer you want to use.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

Sometimes this forum is freaking hopeless. wow.

I never said it wasn't a fair complaint. But complaining about it isn't going to change things between now and launch. Best you are going to be able to do is wait until iPhone OS 4.0 is announced and see if it adds what you're looking for. Be disappointed all you want, but it won't change things. You're just working yourself up even more for no real reason. Wait it out. By now most of you should know Apple is very iterative in their design. Features are added along the way.

I'm not "worked up" - i expressed that i was disappointed on this issue. I attempted to start a thread on it last week - asking for thoughts and input on "in the field printing". In fact, I've brought up or participated in printing threads since the start.

I do not have TIME to wait it out, my Volunteer position duties won't stop - and quite the opposite, the needs over the next month in this area are probably bigger than they will be the rest of the summer.

Now that i know i do need to actively pursue other solutions - i shall, it may work, it may not. Unfortunately the people that might be able to help me are so swamped it isn't even something i can ask of them at this point.

But that won't change the fact that i'm disappointed in Apple that I have to add another layer (or 2).

At least i know i need to figure it out!

Perhaps, we are on the cusp of seeing a new methodology for printing via WiFi that removes the printer specifics. Now that would be nice. To be able to print from any app to any printer without a print driver for each printer you want to use.

Hope that makes sense.

That would just rock if everything could be on the printer-side so you could just print anywhere.

I think we are on the cusp of sooo much it could be scary to think about.

 

[4DThinker]

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.

What iPad needs now is to print for you
It's the only thing that it just can't do
What iPad needs now is to print for you
No not just some apps, but for everyone.

Please sing. It's Spring.

 

[Night Spring]

Some have said to only install the ones you need. This is a Catch-22 situation. In my case I have 3 printers that I normally print to. So in my case I could install 3 print drivers. However, I may be at another location and do not have the print driver for that particular printer. Oops. Now I can't print. Or if I use a different driver maybe the print out looks bad.

Reminds me of the days of infrared printing. Cool when it worked. But many times it didn't because you didn't have the correct print driver.

Perhaps, we are on the cusp of seeing a new methodology for printing via WiFi that removes the printer specifics. Now that would be nice. To be able to print from any app to any printer without a print driver for each printer you want to use.

Perhaps there could be a system where each time you try to connect to a printer, it downloads a driver for it if it isn't already there, pretty much like how most USB devices work these days. In order to avoid clutter, it could perhaps delete the least used drivers if the drivers are taking up more than X amount of space. Still, even if Apple were planning on such a system, it's something that takes time to design and implement. Now that I'm thinking about it, I do understand why it isn't there yet, but well, it's pretty frustrating to find myself waiting for yet another missing feature.

 

[seafurydriver]

For me not having the ability to print from the iPad places this device firmly in the toy category. Nothing wrong with toys, I love toys. It's just like having a Ferrari as a company car; yes you can commute with it but is it really practical for taking clients and coworkers to lunch?

Now don't get me wrong, I'm still 100% excited about the iPad and have both wifi and 3g models on order, but businesses will not flock to a computer that cannot print. The iPad isn't some smart phone, it's a computer and printing is a core function of computers. Pages docs, emails, photos!!!, not to mention drawings and spreadsheets.

As I said before this was a marketing decision to differentiate the iPad from the Macbook and Macbook Pro. It's also brilliant as the iPad will train millions of new iMac and Macbook users.

 

[RMXO]

Is it true that you can't print from the new iPad?

You can't natively because Apple doesn't want to load all the print drivers on the iPad but you can print through 3rd party apps. It doesn't bother me since I can use a 3rd party.

 

[vini-vidi-vici]

I'd like to know...

What exactly would you print from the iPad if you could?

For regular documents that I want to read, why print them? I can just take the iPad itself with me.

For photos, I need better control over the quality anyway, so will continue to use my computer for that. Most things that I'd need to print high-quality (i.e. flyers, handouts, etc) will fall into this category too. So, compose on the iPad, and send to the computer to print it. You can't take the printer with you anyway - so printing "on the go" doesn't make any sense anyway... Your printer will still be hooked-up to your main computer.

 

[BacklitFirefly]

... I can use a 3rd party.

I can always use a 3rd party, 'cause 2 just ain't enough.

 

[Night Spring]

What exactly would you print from the iPad if you could?

For regular documents that I want to read, why print them? I can just take the iPad itself with me.

You are right that with the iPod touch, I never felt the need to print, because it is a pure content consumption device. But when I saw the iWorks demo during the keynote, it seemed that those apps had fairly robust content creation functions. Especially with Pages, if I do any writing on the iPad, I need to print it out at some point. Personally, I don't do much number-crunching, but I expect people who use spreadsheets regularly would also need to print out reports from Numbers.

Your printer will still be hooked-up to your main computer.

I mentioned this earlier upthread, but I have a networked printer, which can be printed to from say, a netbook, without my having to turn on any other computer in my house. Also, someone else pointed out that if there was a print function built in to the iPad, it would take at most a few taps to print, while printing through a computer involves several steps:
1. turn on computer, if not already on
2. transfer file from ipad to computer
3. fire up corresponding program on the computer to print

That's a lot of work to do a simple task.

 

[samcraig]

Sometimes this forum is freaking hopeless. wow.

I never said it wasn't a fair complaint. But complaining about it isn't going to change things between now and launch. Best you are going to be able to do is wait until iPhone OS 4.0 is announced and see if it adds what you're looking for. Be disappointed all you want, but it won't change things. You're just working yourself up even more for no real reason. Wait it out. By now most of you should know Apple is very iterative in their design. Features are added along the way.

Oh. You'll have to excuse the rest of us. We were under the impression that this was a discussion forum where we could praise/rant/discuss/etc various things about the iPad.

Thanks for clearing that up and acting as the guardian of what should and should not be discussed. We're all the better for your guidance!

 

[jimbo1mcm]

Printing

AFAIK the Eurosmartz app, Print Central and Print n Share will be approved very, very shortly and available in the app store. It allows printing using your IPAD. Look at their website.

 

[Eso]

My guess has always been that iPhone OS 3.2 is simply something to hold the iPad over until 4.0 can be announced and released. Until then, don't get so worked up over the lack of printing in an incremental upgrade like iPhone OS 3.2.

Don't count on it.

It has become fairly obvious that 3.2 contains all of the under-the-hood improvements for developers (API's and such). OS 4.0 will be focused on the user experience. Developers will use the 3.2 SDK to make all their apps current for 4.0.

 

[sushi]

Perhaps there could be a system where each time you try to connect to a printer, it downloads a driver for it if it isn't already there, pretty much like how most USB devices work these days. In order to avoid clutter, it could perhaps delete the least used drivers if the drivers are taking up more than X amount of space. Still, even if Apple were planning on such a system, it's something that takes time to design and implement. Now that I'm thinking about it, I do understand why it isn't there yet, but well, it's pretty frustrating to find myself waiting for yet another missing feature.

I'm not sure I would want the USB methodology.

I'm thinking more of all apps print to a standard format, possibly a format called WiFi PDF, and then all print drivers are modified to print WiFi PDF feeds.

What I am thinking is making printing printer independent as much as possible.

 

[GoKyu]

there is already a print app on appshopper

http://appshopper.com/business/fax-print-share-for-ipad

+1

As the description says: "Direct printing to networked printers (no computer required!), and also to Mac and Linux shared printers. No companion software installation necessary."

Call that a WIN.

 

[sushi]

As the description says: "Direct printing to networked printers (no computer required!), and also to Mac and Linux shared printers. No companion software installation necessary."

Call that a WIN.

Yes, it does sound good.