It is a pay-what-you-want application (you have to donate at least $1) and it does just one thing: takes the printers your Mac is connected to and makes them available as AirPrint enabled printers.

If all you want to do is print, then handyPrint may be the app for you. I am ardent about having as few icons in my Menu Bar as possible, and therefore I kept searching for alternatives.

Presto costs $1.95/month and not only does it allow you to print to your printers, but it also lets you to configure folders that you can print to on your computer.īut there was one critical deal breaker for me: Fingerprint runs in the Menu Bar. If your home or office PC is a Windows machine, this may be the solution for you. I discovered Fingerprint when helping a friend set up AirPrint for his Windows-equipped office - we were searching for AirPrint enablers that worked on Windows.įingerprint used to have both a Mac and a Windows version, but now it is Windows only. Fingerprint was the first app I came across that could solve my AirPrint conundrum. What was originally called Fingerprint has now been updated to Presto. Though I mostly use Printopia for printing out documents, it’s helpful to have these additional features available when I do want to use them. This is like taking a document on my phone and opening it in an application that’s on my Mac. In addition to printing to a folder, Printopia also allows me to “print” directly to an application, such as PDFpen. And, with an app like Hazel, I can set up all sorts of nerdy actions to process the files I print to my Mac. You can save it to a standard folder, a Dropbox folder, or send the file to an application (such as iPhoto, Yojimbo, Evernote, etc.)įor example, if I’m triaging email from my iPad and a receipt comes in, I can save it to the “Receipts” folder on my Mac. Using Printopia to print to a folder means that whatever it is you’re printing gets saved as a PDF to that folder on your Mac. Printing to a folder is just like the “Save as PDF…” options in your Mac’s print dialog box. Tip: To print from iOS Mail, hit the “Reply” button and you’ll see the option for printing.Īdditionally, Printopia can “Print” to any folder on my Mac. With Printopia running on my Mac, my iPhone and iPad can see my laser printer and print to it so long as my iOS device and my Mac are on the same wireless network. The premier feature of Printopia is, obviously, that it allows me to print to my home printers.

Of the apps I tried, Printopia is clearly the best AirPrint enabler out there. Of the options out there, Printopia is my favorite. There are a few decent apps that give you this functionality (and some include more features than other). Thus bridging the gap between your iPhone and iPad and the printer. These apps work by sharing the printers your Mac has access to and allowing iOS to see those printers as being AirPrint enabled. There are some 3rd-party applications that you can install on your Mac to enable printing from your iPhone or iPad. This means even though my iPhone and iPad have the option of printing, they can’t “see” my printer and therefore can’t print to it.īut! There is a solution that doesn’t requiring buying a new printer (though it might be worth it for the toner). In the corner of my office, on top of my filing cabinet, sits a cheap, reliable printer.Īlas, my trusty Brother laser jet doesn’t support AirPrint.

Download handyprint