iOS AirPrint Profiles

[bumbletech]

For some reason, this year we're getting a number of requests to be able to make paper from devices that are supposed to replace paper. Go figure...

I've been testing out Printopia Pro as not all of our printers support IPP/AirPrint. Anyone had any luck with using AirPrint Configuration Profiles? Configurator 2 has a nice tool in its configuration profile creator that will pull out the resource path and IP for any AirPrint Printers mapped to your Mac, but I can't get the iPads to see them outside of the local bonjour network. I would have thought that since the profile has the Printer's IP that wouldn't matter.

Turning on DNS-SD/Wide-area-bonjour would advertise all of the printers everywhere—managed device or not—and that doesn't seem like the best idea.

Anybody have any experience with this?

[bentoms]

@jbourdon AFAIK, Airpirnt is over Bonjour etc as you said (well on iOS).

One thing I've seen people use before is an "email print server"..

Basically, folks email an address.. this would then go to a print queue that they could release on the printers or each printer would have a queue that they could email.

[CasperSally]

We pay for PrinterOn which allows us to easily print from iPads to our existing network printers via config profiles. Pricing is in printer packs (25 printers, etc). No complaints so far.

[CasperSally]

Actually, I did have a complaint with PrinterOn. Their documentation had us using Bonjour printing and then someone offhand mentioned we could add printers via Apple Configurator.

They sent me some very rough not yet complete documentation for the Apple Configurator set up - which was much more easily done via JAMF/MDM.

[conitsupport]

Google Cloud Print?

[PatrickD]

Hi @CasperSally,

Really hoping you can help me as I am trying to setup a proof of concept for PrinterOn however I am having some trouble. We have non-AirPrint compatible print devices and I am trying to setup PrinterOn with the MDM method of deployment without using Bonjour at all. Can I ask how your system is configured?

Hi @jbourdon,

You are not alone in this conundrum! I too am trying to deliver AirPrint to our Junior School iPads however I have not found a solution that works with the Config Profiles and non-AirPrint capable printers. I have tried Printopia, custom CUPS server running on Ubuntu etc. When using the Config Profiles, my understanding is that you enter the IP and RP (if req.) however the IP address you enter must be able to listen, receive and respond appropriately to IPP requests on port 631, which is currently occupied by the CUPS server running on you Mac. I believe Printopia listens on 6310 and cannot be changed to 631 therefore it relies on Bonjour which is not possible without serious network changes when you want to scope printers to different iPads and there are many different subnets involved.

The closest I have come is PrinterOn, they specifically mention in their documentation (Print Delivery Gateway (PDG) Installation Guide) that you can enable native iOS AirPrint without the use of Bonjour by configuring the PDG to listen on port 631. So far this is not working and PrinterOn support have been less than helpful.

Good luck, and if you find a way please let me know!

Many thanks,
Pat

[bumbletech]

I've been able to get the Printopia printers from profiles to show up outside of the local bonjour range with a configuration profile and by turning off CUPS on my host mac, but I can't print to them unless I'm within the bonjour range. Printopia Pro shows the print job as completed, but nothing actually prints.

This is the message that shows up on the iPad when I move to a different VLAN and try to print:

Security Warning The printer ""ISD-PRINTSERV-ESB Tech Services Copier @ techsetup" appears to be a different printer than the previously used printer with the same name or the connection may not be trustworthy.”

[CasperSally]

@PatrickD Here's the notes I have for printeron

Our server admin gets the printers into printeron (I can get you more info on this if you need it probably). Our network guy also makes sure the iPad network can talk to the printeron server via port 631.

Navigate to Printeron config at https://printeronserver:8057/printers

Make sure ports are set correctly in PrinterOn
- Go to Advanced, Components, PDG (I forget what it's an acronym for, look for the full words, not acronym) - Configure - IPP - change Default IPP Port from 6310 to 631
- Go to Advanced, Components, PDS (again, acronym) > Listeners > change Default IPP Port from 631 to 6310
- Restart both PDS and PDG services on server

Configure printers in Printeron
- Find printer under printers, click plus button to expand, click configure
- Navigate to PDS - change Server Address port to 6310, the new PDS port (10.2.x.x:6310)
- Document the unique printer ID for each printer (ex 900005xxxxxx)

Set up mobile config profiles
- in JSS create a config profile with the Airprint payload with IP address of PrinterOn server and resource path will be /900005xxxxxx for each printer scoped to this payload

[sweetimage]

@jbourdon, did you get a response to resolving this issue by any chance with the error message 'The printer '' appears to be a different printer than the previously used printer with the same name or the connection may not be trustworthy. If this is expected, tap "continue"."

[bumbletech]

I was given a beta of Printopia Pro from one of their support reps. That resolved the issue—for the most part. When out of the bonjour range the printer is named after the resource path. It works, and if it's the only printer that's coped to the devices it's not that bad...