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My mother has a Samsung printer that works perfectly fine... except that it's not network enabled (it doesn't have WiFi). She wants to print to it using her iPad. Is there any way to do this?

(The most obvious way would be to look for a AirPrint enabled print server, but as odd as it sounds, I haven't been able to find one anywhere. Does such a thing exist?)

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    The printer in question is not network enabled, as I said in the question.
    – PaulJ
    Nov 20, 2018 at 12:51
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    Can the printer be connected to a computer? If so, you can use the computer's wifi connection to print.
    – fsb
    Nov 20, 2018 at 13:08
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    This is based on the assumption that the laptop is connected to wifi so you can access the printer thru the laptop. It wouldn't be 'airprint', per se, it would be printer sharing via the laptop. If you google that you can find step-by-steps directions. Additionally, some of the questions on this site contain info for printing via this method. No additional software is needed but that depends on the laptop, OS, and printer combo.
    – fsb
    Nov 20, 2018 at 14:40
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    Try this guide to printer sharing in Windows. If it was me, I would buy a new printer with AirPrint built-in and bypass printer sharing. New printers don't cost much now and it might make your tech support of this easier, too.
    – fsb
    Dec 17, 2018 at 20:16
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    @KurtPfeifle: it doesn't have network at all, just USB.
    – PaulJ
    Dec 24, 2018 at 11:28

4 Answers 4

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The retired Apple Airport Express is an AirPrint server and they can be found for around $50 used on eBay. Add the Airport Express to your home network as a wifi extender or second access point and it'll broadcast the printer availability on iOS devices connected to the network.

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Surprised that no one gave specifics. If the printer is hosted on a Mac, use software such as Printopia (https://www.decisivetactics.com/products/printopia/) or HandyPrint (http://www.netputing.com/applications/handyprint-v5/) to share it out as an AirPrint device.

Obviously the hosting Mac and the iOS device(s) must be on the same wireless network.

I use Printopia myself.

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Raspberry Pi (or any other system running Linux) + a few minutes of installing = homebrew AirPrint server. I use the same setup at home to share an older HP printer on the network for macOS and iOS devices. Works fine. CUPS+Avahi daemon does the trick. No issues printing from iOS. http://linuxwin.com/cups-airprint-on-raspberry-pi/

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  • For the record - once you set it up, it should just work. Will appear on iOS as an AirPrint server. Your mother won't need to learn Linux. Raspberry Pi recommended as it's cheap and low maintenance.
    – dr.nixon
    Nov 20, 2018 at 20:28
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According to this:

Any AirPrint enabled wireless printer you need to be connected to a WiFi network, the same to which your iDevice (iPhone or iPad) is connected. The AirPrint is a protocol that make the iOS device NOT to need a driver to print over WiFi.

As mentioned you can connect your printer to a computer alternatively.

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