OK, it’s a workaround, but I just read a post at Macworld.com about a new HP feature that will let us print from our iDevices.
It’s called ePrint, and HP’s Inkjet and Laserjet product lines and other consumer and enterprise printers will have this capibility.
Each printer will have its own email address assigned, and a document emailed from a web-connected device goes first to HP’s data center. It’s reformatted, and sent to the printer. HP says it takes about a half a minute, and then the printer does its thing. Not instant hard-copy, but with no computer involved, it’s the next best thing.
This could be used by professional print and copy stores, too, so the businessman on the go can get printing done from the cab, on the way to the printeshop when he’s out of town, to be picked up when he gets there. In an ideal world, at least.
There are more possibilities, too. Photos could be sent to a printing shop or scan them themselves and send them to Google Docs or other web-based productivity tools. They could be accessed and printed by someone else using the printer’s touchscreen interface.
Google has Cloud Print coming later this year. It offers printer dialog interface for web apps to send directly to a printer over the Internet. This could be combined with HP’s new capabilities, as can third party applications, like Live Nation, which will have a special application to print concert tickets and logistical info.
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