Why Wait for AirPrint? Printer Pro Brings It to Your iPad Now (Updated)
Posted 10/08/2010 at 5:49am
| by J.R. Bookwalter

Printing is finally coming to iOS with an update in November, but third-party developers clearly feel that Apple’s official solution leaves something to be desired. Among them is Readdle, who is bringing full-featured printing to the iPad with a new app expected imminently.
Readdle, the creator of popular productivity apps such as ReaddleDocs and PDF Expert, is launching a multi-week campaign leading up to the release of iOS 4.2 in November. The company is kicking things off with a brand-new app called Printer Pro which promises to add essential printing capability to the iPad -- without having to wait for Apple’s own solution to arrive.

"Printer Pro lets you print right now, month before the release of iOS 4.2 update,” explains Readdle CEO Igor Zhadanov. “It supports a wide range of document formats, integrates with other applications and core iPad services like clipboard, address book and photo library.”
Printer Pro allows iPad owners to print e-mail attachments, documents, web pages, photos and almost any other type of content from their device. The app allows direct printing to any USB or LPT printer connected to a Mac or Windows computer. For the impatient, you’ll be happy to know that Printer Pro has been designed to complement Apple’s forthcoming AirPrint technology, rather than directly compete with it.
With Printer Pro installed, the app will appear when you use the “Open In…” selection in compatible apps such as Mail, Safari, Dropbox, ReaddleDocs and others. It also takes just a few taps to download files from popular cloud services such as MobileMe iDisk, Dropbox or Google Docs and send them right to your printer.
Printer Pro is expected to hit the App Store on Friday for $6.99 and requires an iPad with iOS 3.2.2 or later. The free companion software, Printer Pro Desktop, is now available as a free download from the Readdle website.
Update 10/11: Readdle has let us know that Printer Pro was rejected by Apple over what they call a “formality” which has now been addressed. The company expects the app to now get approved and available for sale the week of October 17.
Update 10/19: Readdle pinged us again to let us know that Printer Pro is finally available in the App Store (it actually went live over the weekend).
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