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To improve these AirPrint scenarios, consider a third-party appthat provides more control when setting up the job. Dar-Soft s Print Agent Pro is a good example. There are two versions of the iOS software: iPad for $6 and iPhonefor $4. Both aim to do the same thing make AirPrinting morefunctional. Once installed, you can easily open email attachmentsusing the Open In command, available in Safari and Mail. Once youopen the document in Print Agent Pro, you have control over thepaper orientation, page range, number of copies, and some niceextras such page numbering. The PrintAgent Pro dialog Print Agent Pro also allows you to copy items to the Clipboard fromanywhere on your device, and then print that information. It alsohas hooks in your Contacts app, enabling the printing of a singleor multiple contacts on one page. If you want to print a screenshotfrom your iPad (from a webpage or from another app), first make thecapture (hold down the Home and Power buttons simultaneously). Yourdevice will send the image to the Camera Roll. Open the screenshotfrom the Camera Roll in Print Agent Pro, then use its controls toget a perfectly formatted letter-sized output. Printer manufacturers applications iOS apps such as Epson iPrint and HP ePrint Home & Biz often provide more functionality totheir own printers than using the generic AirPrint commands. HP ePrint Home & Biz on the iPhone HP ePrint Home & Biz 4.1 The HP app, for example, connects to a variety of HP printers onthe same Wi-Fi network, regardless of whether they are AirPrintenabled or not. It allows you to print saved documents that youstore in the app itself. On my iPad, I keep a model release storedfor quick output after a shoot. Printing photos from your Camera Roll or Photo Stream is alsostraightforward. Choose the image on your iOS device, select thepaper size (3.5-by-5, 4-by-6, 5-by-7-inch, letter, and A4 areavailable), then choose the paper type, and tap the Print button.The output is generally quite good, especially from iPhone 4Sphotos. The HP app includes its own Web browser that provides better printoutput than Safari on iOS. The problem is that the browser is veryslow, and it has a hard time building previews of complicatedwebsites. I found it too slow, even on an iPad 2, for me to relyon. Too bad. It s a good idea. You can check your ink levels with Epson iPrint on your iPhone. Overall, the free HP ePrint Home & Biz iOS app is a gem. It connects to a large number of HP printers,and adds many of the controls that you ll want when printingdocuments and photos. Epson iPrint 2.2 This terrific iOS app allows you to send jobs to a variety ofEpson Wi-Fi printers, including the R2000 wide format photo printer . First you point the app to the Epson device on your Wi-Finetwork. There are plenty of settings available to help youconfigure the job to your liking. For printing photos, start withpaper size you have 12 options ranging from 3.5-by-5 all the wayup to 10-by-12 inches. You can choose between Standard and Bestprint quality, Borderless or Border, number of copies, and AdvanceSettings. In that second dialog you can set Color or Monochrome,Print Date, Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation. Another bonus is the ability to check ink levels on the printerusing the iOS app. If you want to know how much ink is left, justopen Espon iPrint and take a look. Very handy! Lexmark's LexPrint interface on the iPhone The output is beautiful. If you have an Epson Wi-Fi printer and aniPhone 4S, you may find yourself printing photos far less oftenfrom your Mac. And if you have a multifunctional Epson printer,documents are a snap too. Lexmark LexPrint 3.1 Lexmark s entry into the iOS app derby is a handsome one, with a good set of options includingPrint Quality (Draft, Normal, Photo), Print Size (eight sizesranging from 3-by-5 inches to Legal), Scale to Fit, and Number ofCopies. My problem with the app is that it could not see my Wi-Fi-enabledS600 Lexmark multifunction device. The app encouraged me todownload LexPrint Listener for my Mac to spool the jobs from theiOS device to the printer. Having to do so dampened my enthusiasm,leaving my Lexmark printer out of iOS the horse race. Printing apps that require additional software When you search for printing applications in the Mac App Store,you ll see quite a few results that may look enticing at first. Besure to read the technical information and reviews beforepurchasing. Many of these applications require that you installadditional software on your Mac in order to send documents to aWi-Fi printer. In these cases, the Mac acts as a print spooler. AirPrint printer warning If you don t mind this sort of thing, then you might be quite thehappy camper. Just know what you re purchasing before making theleap. Bottom line AirPrint printers provide easy output, and the technology is sureto improve. In the meantime, you can enhance its functionality withapps that provide more options, such as Print Agent Pro. Another route, and one that tested well with Epson and HP Wi-Fimultifunction printers, is to review the manufacturer s iOS appsbefore making a purchase. If the printer you re considering issupported, and you like the looks of the iOS app, then you canhappily print photos and documents without AirPrint. [ Senior Contributor Derrick Story teaches digital photography on Lynda.com and runs a virtual camera club at The Digital Story . ]. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Digital Sports Wrist Watch Manufacturer , Mens Wrist Watches, and more. For more , please visit Waterproof Silicone Watch today!
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