The AirPrint feature in iOS let’s you print from your iPhone or iPad to your home printer – directly if you have one of the handful of AirPrint-capable printers on the market or using a print server device or utility on your Mac like Printopia or FingerPrint.
AirPrint addresses the basic need to print, but it isn’t really a mobile solution. What if you’re on a business trip or vacation and need to print? What if you’re headed to a meeting and forgot to print out brochures ahead of time?
For these types of situations, PrinterOn and HP’s ePrint Public Printing services are the perfect answer.
Both services offer a network of thousands of printers worldwide in locations like hotels, airport lounges and business centers, libraries, print and copy stores like FedEx Kinkos, and retail stores. iOS apps for both services are freely available in the App Store and can find available printers nearby. To print a document or file, you select it and send from within the service’s app.
Print jobs are sent through PrinterOn or ePrint cloud servers to the printer you chose. The app will generate a PIN or retrieval code that you’ll need to provide in order to pick up the print job. Not surprisingly, these services aren’t free. Prices are set by the printing venue.
In addition to offering thousands of printing locations, both services also offer cloud printing options for business and home printers.
