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My parents have both recently gotten iPads, and have found that our networked laser printer, a HP Color LaserJet 2600N doesn't seem to support airprint. Is there any way to upgrade the printer to support the protocol, to save them replacing the printer altogether?

The printer works great wirelessly on my Macbook Pro (2010) and installed happily with no drivers.

Thanks!

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5 Answers 5

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I don't know that you'll be able to install firmware into the printer that lets you accept jobs directly from iOS. However, if you have a Mac running on your network, you could try something like AirPrint, which runs on your Mac and makes all the printers available on the Mac available to Airprint as well.

This works great for me with my old Mac Mini that I run as a server and an HP CP1515 printer. This might not be an option if you don't have a machine available all the time, but it's a great solution if you do.

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  • Unfortunately, the only mac that would be on the network is my own, which will go back to University with me in a couple of days. Is there a Windows version that's similar by any chance? I didn't realise there was software to do that though, and will go and do a bit more research. Thanks!
    – George Pearce
    Commented Jan 3, 2012 at 17:47
  • As a matter of fact, you could try doing this on Windows. A bit more complicated, but it should achieve the same effect, just make sure you have iTunes installed first.
    – Vickash
    Commented Jan 3, 2012 at 19:35
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Since you said in one comment that your parents don't own a Mac that could be used with the Airprint Hacktivator, you could do something different. All that is needed for Airprint capabilities is a box (Linux or Windows) running CUPS and avahi. For example, a very cheap method, which I also use, is running the OpenWRT Linux distribution on a wireless router. If your parents have a compatible device, you could install it on that, or you could buy a cheap Linksys router. Mine was 60 EUR and runs a print server, music player daemon and other stuff. Here is a short article how to enable Airprint on an OpenWRT box.

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  • This sounds like a really solid solution. Might try this on my DD-WRT router.
    – Vickash
    Commented Jan 4, 2012 at 16:06
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There's an App for that!

iTunes Store - Link

You need a free account, but the app seems to be great.

Here are Guides & Manuals

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I would recommend using air print activator. You can install it and share the the printer with your iOS devices.

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There's an application called Printer Pro for iDevices. There's a free and a paid one. Give it shot, you may not have to modify the printer at all.

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