Air Print still around?

Hardware
1

I have to buy a new printer, thinking of going with epson. But seems like you have to use the epson app to print. Is Apple air print still a thing?

2

AirPrint is alive and well. I use it regularly with an HP ENVY 5540. I also have an older Brother laser printer that doesn’t support AirPrint. To get around this limitation, I installed Printopia on an older iMac. Using Printopia, you can make any connected printers appear as AirPrint printers. Works like a charm.

I’m surprised the Epson printer you’re looking at doesn’t support AirPrint. At least some Epson printers do.

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3

I didn’t see it say Air Print on the box, it just says use the epson app to print. I just need a primer for home and I’m over thinking this. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy. I had a cannon that had air print and I got it from amazon for $100 and it worked great for years. But now I want a different brand.

4

If you haven’t already, I recommend looking up the tech specs for this printer on Epson’s website.

I’ve been happy with my HP ENVY 5540. I’ve had it for years, so there are probably newer models on the market. If you don’t need colour, consider a Brother laser printer. They’re very fast and inexpensive to operate.

5

I have the Brother MFCL2710DW and use it with AirPlay. I have never had a problem with it and the ink doesn’t dry up with laser toner. AirPlay is great and you don’t need another app to use it.

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6

Canon set up perfectly and spouse can AirPrint from iPhone #WINNING :joy:

Canon PIXMA TR4720 All-in-One Wireless Printer for Home use, with Auto Document Feeder, Mobile Printing and Built-in Fax, Black Amazon.com

7

I have a Brother HL-L2340D series and it’s great. It’s a good AirPrint citizen, prints well from our Macs, iPads, iPhones. It’s also inexpensive to operate. It does double-sided printing well, too.

8

I use Printopia. It makes every printer an Air Printer.

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9

Am I getting confused? I thought air print is something special for Apple, but it’s basically wireless printing right?

10

AirPrint is an Apple technology. You can read more about the history and specifics here:

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11

I think that AirPrint is the way to print on a Mac. Which is both nice and bad.

Nice because it does work flawlessly for me and my trusty (yes, trusty :wink: ) HP OfficeJet 9020 and on all other devices that are supported by Apple’s AirPrint.

Wireless printing only does mean that the communication between the device that is printing and the printer is happening without a cable. There are many protocols, interfaces or even app solutions (which is the most terrible way as far as I am concerned) for wireless printing. AirPrint for sure is the way to go when it comes to wireless printing.

The bad part is that if your printer is not supported (any longer or never was), there is a risk that you are not able to print from Apple devices because when everybody stopped installing “printer-specific drivers” on Macs, many printer manufacturers stopped creating or maintaining them which can be frustrating (recently in a different thread: HP Smart Tank 520 - The Printer That Cannot Be Networked).

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12

Apple keeps a list of AirPrint-compatible printers:

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13

I think most importantly, AirPrint is the easiest way to print from iOS and iPadOS.

I have three Brother printers, one colour “office laser”, one multi-function black and white (including copying and scanning) and one label printer.

Only the label printer requires me to used their app. It’s somewhat clunky, but fully functional and easy enough to use.

I have had zero trouble with them over many years of use.

14

AirPrint is doing well. We have an Epson EcoTank L5290 that supports it.

Nevertheless, if scaling is important then use Epson’s app to print from an iOS device instead of AirPrint. I’ve tried printing grids and AirPrint tends to mess up the scale.