Local wireless printing and you

As with most electronic devices, these days printers are making the jump into the wireless realm. Although a novel idea, the execution has (thus far anyways) left a lot to be desired.

The benefits of wireless printing are plentiful. The most important would be the ability to print from virtually anywhere on any device. Another major plus is the elimination of cramped spaces and unwanted cables.

In this episode, Sean discussed two popular methods of wireless printing: Over a network via wires and over a wireless network.

Networked printing involves the printer being hooked up to your local network, generally through a USB cable or wireless connection. Only users on your network will be able to print. This of course has many benefits, such as the ability to use a laptop in a separate room and still send a file out to print.

For our first solution, Sean shows off the Lexmark Genesis ($299)

In addition to have Wireless-N connectivity, it also features a 4.3" web-connected touch screen and flash scan technology.

As Sean also points out, with a device such as Apple's AirPort Express you can easily take older printers and network connect them. Get more information about taking your computer wireless here.

Wireless printing removes the need for a home network. With this set up it will still require an Internet connection (be it wired or wireless) at its location. However, the printer won't be restricted to a home network and it will be possible to send documents across the net for printing.

HP has invested heavily into this idea, namely with their ePrint technology, which assigns a unique email address to your printer. If you need a document printed on the road you simply mail your document to the unique address and the printer takes care of the rest. Naturally, you (or a co-worker, say) will need to physically pick up the results at some point.

Sean next showed off the HP ENVY 100 e-All-in-One Printer ($249).

As mentioned, ePrint also extends printing capability to the mobile space. Any device can technically mail an item to an ePrint capable device, however some platforms now allow for direct interaction from within apps.

AirPrint, for instance, is Apple's new wireless printing protocol for iOS based devices. It allows you to print documents from a variety of supported apps, like Pages. Currently the listed of support devices seem to only be from HP. Click here to learn more about AirPrint as well as compatible printers.

The Android has an official app from HP that allows for local printing. HP iPrint Photo is free and can be downloaded right here.

Lastly, Google is trying to make some headway in this space as well. Google's recently announced Google Cloud Print attempts to bring wireless printing to any application, be it web, desktop or mobile. Currently it's in beta and only works with their Chrome browser and HP ePrint-enabled printers. To learn more about Google Cloud Print check out the Wikipedia entry.