[kdeckels]

Actually you can print from the playbook using the iprint &scan android app for wireless brother printers. I sideloaded the app a while back, works great. You can find the app over at goodreader's playbook app collection. Hope this helps.

That is good info, I've been in no hurry, but I might have to setup printer this weekend. Thank you thank you!

[Wongsky]

Not really. Printing documents assumes "productivity" use, which tablets are awful for and phones are worthless for. Tablets are good at bringing media (video, photo, or text) to a user in a mobile environment. That's about it. They're almost useless for productivity, which requires larger screens and keyboards that you can actually type quickly on (unlike touch-screens). Printing usually involves productivity, such as a 20-page legal brief, copies of a collated 50-page scanned PDF document, etc.

And if you're just printing out a recipe that you downloaded from a web site to your tablet or whatever.. you wouldn't actually need to do that, you'd just bring the tablet with you and set it up in the kitchen while you cook. That's what they're for.

If you're being productive enough to require printing, manufacturers assume that you've already got a laptop or you're in the vicinity of a desktop, which you'd use to print from. There's very little demand for printing from tablets.

That's just awfully naive. Printing and productivity software may well go hand in hand in an office environment, but hardly the one killer reason why people buy and use printers at home.

People may want to print off the odd photo, or a recipe, or small documents with info on mechanical or DIY tasks - and I'd rather have a printed page in those environments than a tablet. I may type the odd written reply (and as I often use a bluetooth keyboard) I'd rather use my tablet, than have to sit down at my PCs or laptops to do so.

In context, my wife's tablet is a HP TouchPad and our home printer is a HP WiFi all-in-one printer (/scanner/photocopier) and the TouchPad can just print natively to the printer.

Most people who have printers at home, didn't buy them for mainly work purposes, moreover the odd small document or letter, and some photos. And I think it's fair comment people are using tablets where previously they had to use laptops or PCs - that's one of their big selling points.

It's naive and bogus to assume that domestic printing is all about productivity - I can't think of any of my family and friends who have printers at home for anything other than small douments or photos. With that in mind, most, not that tech savvy really don't get why it doesn't just work - to those that I've discussed it with, it just seems a stupid restriction, currently, which they feel the market will eventually cater for, and really don't get why not so at present.

[moloko velocet]

Not really. Printing documents assumes "productivity" use, which tablets are awful for and phones are worthless for. Tablets are good at bringing media (video, photo, or text) to a user in a mobile environment. That's about it. They're almost useless for productivity, which requires larger screens and keyboards that you can actually type quickly on (unlike touch-screens). Printing usually involves productivity, such as a 20-page legal brief, copies of a collated 50-page scanned PDF document, etc.

And if you're just printing out a recipe that you downloaded from a web site to your tablet or whatever.. you wouldn't actually need to do that, you'd just bring the tablet with you and set it up in the kitchen while you cook. That's what they're for.

If you're being productive enough to require printing, manufacturers assume that you've already got a laptop or you're in the vicinity of a desktop, which you'd use to print from. There's very little demand for printing from tablets.

Just noticed in your profile that you have a PlayBook. Me too.

Do you have much experience with other tablets? It seems not from your post here. If this is the case it may explain your statements above. If I substitute the word "PlayBook" for your references to "tablet" we are mainly in agreement. For example I have repeated some of your comments below after making this substitution. Changes are asterisked for ease of reading:

-Printing documents assumes "productivity" use, which *PlayBooks* are awful for

-*PlayBooks* are good at bringing media (video, photo, or text) to a user in a mobile environment. That's about it.

-*Playbooks are* almost useless for productivity, which requires larger screens and keyboards that you can actually type quickly on (unlike touch-screens).

-There's very little demand for printing from *Playbooks*.

[kdeckels]

Maybe someone should start a poll, you might be surprised.

[Xopher]

My wife had an Android tablet and prints knitting patterns all the time. She can knit at work, but not have electronic devices (mri tech). She prints out coupons, concert tickets, along with those patterns. Since getting her tablet, she rarely ever pulls out her laptop anymore.

Printing is one of those things that I would really love to see on the PlayBook.

[djenkins6]

My wife had an Android tablet and prints knitting patterns all the time. She can knit at work, but not have electronic devices (mri tech). She prints out coupons, concert tickets, along with those patterns. Since getting her tablet, she rarely ever pulls out her laptop anymore.

Printing is one of those things that I would really love to see on the PlayBook.

The next model of playbook should come with a slim printer built in so you can hit a key and the print appears out of the edge... like this but smaller

[Scotter75]

I just purchased the app "Print". Works great and my printer is 14 years old, also still works great. Send a file, printed immediately as it should.

[Kwela123]

I just purchased the app "Print". Works great and my printer is 14 years old, also still works great. Send a file, printed immediately as it should.

Read the reviews and they are almost all good.

But, what I don't see, is why I would want to be using my Playbook when I already have my laptop fired up. Whatever you are doing, should be easier on the laptop. If you print from the PB, you most likely have to still interact with the laptop anyway.

I can see perhaps wanting to print from my PB if I am say visiting someone (who has a wifi printer) or even at home because laptop is not not booted up. But that would require a wireless printing app and a wireless printer. My printer is even older (Deskjet 870Cxi). May be time for a new one. Perhaps one of the type you can email print jobs to? HP ePrinter or are there others?

[Wongsky]

Read the reviews and they are almost all good.

But, what I don't see, is why I would want to be using my Playbook when I already have my laptop fired up. Whatever you are doing, should be easier on the laptop. If you print from the PB, you most likely have to still interact with the laptop anyway.

I can see perhaps wanting to print from my PB if I am say visiting someone (who has a wifi printer) or even at home because laptop is not not booted up. But that would require a wireless printing app and a wireless printer. My printer is even older (Deskjet 870Cxi). May be time for a new one. Perhaps one of the type you can email print jobs to? HP ePrinter or are there others?

I'm not feeling this at all... plenty of people, myself included, have taken to using tablets largely in place of using laptops and PCs - not necessarily to the extent of getting rid of them, merely using a tablet when previously they would have used a PC or a laptop.

That doesn't equate to replacing all use of PCs or laptops - just maybe casual use. And such casual use may well be printing a photo somebody has emailed you, or printing off some instructions - a recipe, how to fix your boiler, or how to do something under the bonnet of your car. All of those things may well result in preferring to print off something, rather than have your tablet with you whilst you do it - and things that you may find a bit irksome that currently you'd have to go and "fire up" your PC or laptop to do - it's not unreasonable, and I can completely understand why people a bit abstracted from the technology are puzzled that it doesn't just work.

As to what it requires, why would it specifically require a WiFi printer (after all, not all wireless routers allow direct peering on a WiFi network - at least by default). Your PC can communicate with your PlayBook without your PC being directly WiFi, so why would the printer need to be? My printer (at home) is WiFi, my PC is connected purely wired.

[Kwela123]

As to what it requires, why would it specifically require a WiFi printer (after all, not all wireless routers allow direct peering on a WiFi network - at least by default). Your PC can communicate with your PlayBook without your PC being directly WiFi, so why would the printer need to be? My printer (at home) is WiFi, my PC is connected purely wired.

Assuming no PC in picture in scenario I was talking about, I suggested I may like to print from PB directly to a printer on a local network. True printer could be hard wired into the router IF the router and printer were capable of that (neither of mine are). This may or may not be case if visiting somewhere. For home use, a new wifi printer could be located anywhere and could be accessed without need to buy a new router as well. All that would be needed, is a wifi print app for Playbook. And failing that use the email type although I am not sure those would work from PCs with all types of files (for example non-MS office).

[Wongsky]

Assuming no PC in picture in scenario I was talking about, I suggested I may like to print from PB directly to a printer on a local network. True printer could be hard wired into the router IF the router and printer were capable of that (neither of mine are). This may or may not be case if visiting somewhere. For home use, a new wifi printer could be located anywhere and could be accessed without need to buy a new router as well. All that would be needed, is a wifi print app for Playbook. And failing that use the email type although I am not sure those would work from PCs with all types of files (for example non-MS office).

All I'm sayiing is that it matters little if the printer is WiFi or wired - so long as it's contactable on the local LAN. I suspect higher up in the OSI model where printing apps would concern themselves, they probably care little, so long as the printer concerned is contactable.

[thecsman]

Actually you can print from the playbook using the iprint &scan android app for wireless brother printers. I sideloaded the app a while back, works great. You can find the app over at goodreader's playbook app collection. Hope this helps.

Does the app find your printer if it is connected wirelessly to your home network?

[zilla0617]

Does the app find your printer if it is connected wirelessly to your home network?

Yes i believe the the playbook and the wireless printer has to be on the same network.

[thecsman]

Yes i believe the the playbook and the wireless printer has to be on the same network.

I tried the app, but it seems it only supports a range of models. I just bought an HL-2270DW and unfortunately it doesn't seem to be supported. The app cannot find it.

[jpash549]

Also have the Brother HL-2280DW and it is not supported for printing from the Nexus7 either. It is supported for networking from laptops which have the Brother software installed. The list of Brother printers supported for Android tablets is available. Printing from a tablet would be very useful at times and in a couple of years will be a standard feature for consumer printers.

[depenney]

Interested how you can set up this? Can you list the steps for me?

Thanks

[Scotter75]

If I were to purchase a new printer I would get the eprinters that can also use an email address. You can email all your print jobs to it from anywhere in the world. I use the app "Print" with my HP 870CXi" printer that I got in 1998 and it works great. But I still have to start up my laptop to do the printing. This is an improvement over what was available before the new app "Print".

[hreiner1]

I have a hp printer with has a email address like: [email protected]
from dropbox I email my to be printed file to my hp printer
works well

most never printer have a similar functions,
hpeprint works as well with some fedex-location, business center, airline lounges to print your documents

[kill_9]

If Research In Motion would implement a CUPS server and client integration with the 'print dialogue windows' for the BlackBerry PlayBook we could easily print to most networked printers (Ethernet or WiFi). For example, I should be able to open Calendar and swipe down to reveal a menu with the Print option and then a dialogue window to select the previously configured printer. This is not rocket science for the QNX team.

[Fuzzballz]

The anecdotal evidence of the few people here who may occasionally want to print something from their tablet is meaningless. I have had a desire to print a few things from my tablet too.

The original question was: why is this activity (printing from consumer tablets, specifically the playbook) not more widely supported? The answer is: the demand is just not there. Any time you see an ad for a consumer tablet, is it being used in any way that would seem to require it to be able to print? Of course not. It's being used for either entertainment or lightweight mobile data presentation (eg., showing a friend a new recipe or photos of the cat). Obviously more expensive and complex tablets will probably support printing. The playbook is not one of them.

That's all I'll say on the matter, life's too short to debate trivial points.

[Wongsky]

The anecdotal evidence of the few people here who may occasionally want to print something from their tablet is meaningless.

As is yours - no more, no less.

I have had a desire to print a few things from my tablet too.

As would many. Say you were to do a survey - asking people whether they'd expect to be able to print from a tablet device, what do you expect would be the result?

The original question was: why is this activity (printing from consumer tablets, specifically the playbook) not more widely supported? The answer is: the demand is just not there.

I disagree.

Tablets aren't purely about demand - demand is largely speculative and feasting on the audience being impressionable and told what they want.

Many people buy tablets, with no true understanding of why, or what they're really going to use them for until they've got one, and start using it.

There is no true demand, as such, no more than there is for any gadget, really - it's all marketing and speculation. As they have become more popular and prevalent, they are filling niches that is entirely predictable - around the home, replacing times when you'd need to be using a more traditional, perhaps physically unwieldly device - like a desktop PC, or to a lesser degree, a laptop.

Any time you see an ad for a consumer tablet, is it being used in any way that would seem to require it to be able to print?

Browsing photos whilst sat on a couch?

Reading an email, then somebody decides it may be nice to have a hard copy?

Of course not. It's being used for either entertainment or lightweight mobile data presentation (eg., showing a friend a new recipe or photos of the cat). Obviously more expensive and complex tablets will probably support printing. The playbook is not one of them.

My wife's HP TouchPad does - that's no more expensive or complex than the PlayBook.

I contend that whilst there's lots of choice in apps simulating fart noises, there's sufficient demands and interest in being able to print. The problem is - as always - diversity. It's a difficult nut to crack, because there's a fair degree of divergence in the tablet market (largely, it's either an Apple iPad or an Android tablet).

That's all I'll say on the matter, life's too short to debate trivial points.

And yet you have.

Nobody makes you, so either do so and quit your whining about doing so, or don't - I suspect nobody cares whether you feel it's too trivial or beneath you.

[rthonpm]

If Research In Motion would implement a CUPS server and client integration with the 'print dialogue windows' for the BlackBerry PlayBook we could easily print to most networked printers (Ethernet or WiFi). For example, I should be able to open Calendar and swipe down to reveal a menu with the Print option and then a dialogue window to select the previously configured printer. This is not rocket science for the QNX team.

Agreed. Almost every major manufacturer has some kind of CUPS driver or PPD that's readily accessible, and is pretty much universal: PostScript, PCL, or any other PDL is the same no matter what kind of device it's coming from. QNX has the ability to print, so porting the functionality over to the PlayBook, and by extension BB10 phones, is possible it's just a matter of desire for the feature. Native printing will always beat any kind of cloud or wireless only printing solution: if it's plugged into my network with a unique IP address I should be able to print to it.

In case there are any developers reading this with a little bit of time and want to make some money, here's a link to a page on QNX support, though not quite PlayBook or BB10 QNX, for printing. Feel free to make us a native app that can print and then feel free to take a little of my hard earned money for your trouble.

Printing