Apple IOS 4.2 GM and AirPrint…cool but a caveat

Do you have an iPad or iPhone and want to print to any shared printer on your desktop Mac? Once you upgrade to MacOS 10.6.5, you’ll find it works…it really really works!

I happen to have an iPad and an iPhone 4 both running the iOS 4.2 GM. I’ve been pressing hard with testing these updates mainly because printing is a sorely lacking feature in the iPhone and particularly the iPad.

I know we’re shying away from hard copies these days. We really are saving forests by avoiding print jobs. But it desperately needed for many situations, and is a show stopper for many people looking to use the iPad as a business tool. I have to be able to hand out a sheet of information to someone once in a while, and shooting off a print from my iPad, even if I am at home is critical.

So the good news? If you follow these directions, it will work. Don’t forget to BACKUP the files you are replacing. That said if you break anything, it’s also not my fault. Feel free to hire me to fix things if you wind your way down the rabbit hole too far.

How to Enable iOS AirPrint Support in OS X Right Now

Doubtless if you are a novice user this isn’t a feature you need to worry about just yet. Apple has yanked the feature from the current version of OS X, which is why it must be “added” back.

That said I’m very impressed with the results. HTML formatted test print jobs came out perfect.

Now let’s see what Canon, HP, and the rest do for out-of-the-box air printing in the coming months.