If you're buying a printer, there are now some 700 AirPrint-compatible printer models to choose from. But what is Apple AirPrint?
AirPrint makes it easier to print from an iPad or iPhone, as there's no need to install special applications or drivers.
AirPrint works by providing a mechanism for iPhones and iPads to 'discover' compatible printers on a Wi-Fi network, and it builds on a standard method (Internet Printing Protocol, or IPP) for telling the printer what to do.
The bottom line is that if an iOS app (an app that runs on your iPhone or iPad) works with AirPrint, all you need to do is tap the Share icon, select Print, and choose one of the AirPrint-compatible printers that the iPhone or iPad has found on the network.
If you're buying a printer, there are now some 700 AirPrint-compatible printer models from a range of manufacturers including:
- Brother
- Canon
- Epson
- Fuji-Xerox
- Hewlett-Packard (which was the first printer company to back AirPrint)
- Samsung
- Oki
The latest example we've seen is the new $1,208.90 Oki MC562dnw, an A4 colour multifunction device that copies, scans, faxes, and prints at up to 26 pages per minute.
It also has Wi-Fi which makes it easy to connect to a network if there's no spare Ethernet ports available (the device also has an Ethernet port).
