Printing Issue with iPad and AirPort Express

While the AirPort Express can indeed support connection of a USB Printer and network printing, this does not of itself resolve absence of AirPrint support by the connected printer. The AirPort Express Router is not a Print Server.

For Mac or Windows PC, you can use the AirPort Express to provide a remote connection to a USB Printer, but this connection still relies upon printer supported print-protocols along with installed Printer Driver software installed on the host computer.

By contrast, Apple AirPrint is a driverless connection protocol - but is entirely reliant upon the Printer (or an intermediate device) supporting this protocol. A high proportion of modern printers intended for Home, SoHo and Business environments now support AirPrint:

• About AirPrint - Apple Support
• Use AirPrint to print from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
• Connect an AirPrint printer to a Wi-Fi network - Apple Support

If your Printer does not support AirPrint, you might add AirPrint support to your existing USB Printer using a Print Server (e.g., Lantronix xPrintServer - or a Raspberry Pi running CUPS). Both are viable, however, you may find that purchase of a cheap AirPrint-capable printer may be more cost effective.

You did not mention the exact Canon laser printer model. However, since you bought an AirPort Express (for a USB connection), it would probably be correct to assume that the printer does not have built-in networking capabilities.

Otherwise, some networked (non-AirPrint) laser models are supported by a separate iOS/iPadOS app (Canon PRINT).

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/canon-print/id664425773?platform=ipad

If you have access to a Mac computer with working drivers for the USB-connected laser printer, a third-party paid Mac application like Printopia could possibly be an alternative solution.

https://www.decisivetactics.com/products/printopia/

LotusPilot mentioned a Raspberry Pi print server. The posts by Techguyuk in Can’t print with iPadOS17 - Apple Community and Tesserax in Can I connect my laser printer to my netw… - Apple Community) may be of interest to you.

In absence of AirPrint support by the printer - or a Print Server that you must add to your network - the PrintCentral Website indicates that the App is reliant upon installation of a helper-App on a Mac computer or Windows PC.

"PrintCentral will print direct to most wireless printers, or to ALL printers (Bluetooth, USB, WiFI, Network) via your Mac/PC using the free WePrint software. If WePrint is required on your Mac or PC you will not need to touch or be near your computer to print, you simply tap print on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch and the computer will act as a relay and automatically pass the print job from your device onto your printer without user intervention.

Installing WePrint on your Mac or PC will also give you the ability to print via 3G/4G, so even when you are out of your office/home you can quickly and easily send print jobs to your printer from your iPad, iPad 3, iPhone or iPod Touch."

As such, this App does not appear to provide an AirPrint-independent solution.

Per my initial response, if you don't wish to use a computer as "bridge", you may find that purchase of a cheap AirPrint-capable printer may be the easiest and most cost effective solution for your printing needs.

That's why I always buy printers with an ethernet port. If it's got ethernet I can just put the printer wherever I like in the house and plug an Airport Express in next to it, plug it into the ethernet and there it is on the network. I can block its access to the web with the router firewall and prevent it downloading firmware that stops me using cheap cartridges. USB is a pain unless you're plugging it directly into the computer. Wireless connection is rubbish in my experience and I wouldn't waste any time on it.

Zurarczurx wrote:

That's why I always buy printers with an ethernet port. If it's got ethernet I can just put the printer wherever I like in the house and plug an Airport Express in next to it, plug it into the ethernet and there it is on the network. I can block its access to the web with the router firewall and prevent it downloading firmware that stops me using cheap cartridges. USB is a pain unless you're plugging it directly into the computer. Wireless connection is rubbish in my experience and I wouldn't waste any time on it.

This being largely irrelevant to the Original Poster. AirPrint is key to being able to print from an iOS/iPadOS device; having an Ethernet connection does not, of itself, allow these devices to send a print-job to a printer.

Some printers that have a wired Ethernet port support AirPrint over both wired (Ethernet) and wireless (WiFi/Bluetooth) network interfaces - by example, HP SmartTank 7605. Printers that support AirPrint over a wired interface in addition to wireless offer maximum flexibility for all computers, whether or not they have reliance upon AirPrint.

LotusPilot wrote:

AirPrint is key to being able to print from an iOS/iPadOS device; having an Ethernet connection does not, of itself, allow these devices to send a print-job to a printer.

I haven't got AirPrint and I can print from from my iDevices to my printer (which is connected to a Airport Express via ethernet) so your assertion that "AirPrint is key to being able to print from an iOS/iPadOS device" is clealrly not true. If the OP goes out and buys a new Ethernet printer that's Mac compatible then they will be able to use the Airport Express to connect to their network and print.

Zurarczurx wrote:

I haven't got AirPrint and I can print from from my iDevices to my printer (which is connected to a Airport Express via ethernet) so your assertion that "AirPrint is key to being able to print from an iOS/iPadOS device" is clealrly not true. If the OP goes out and buys a new Ethernet printer that's Mac compatible then they will be able to use the Airport Express to connect to their network and print.

Then for iPad/iPhone, if you not using AirPrint, you will be using a non-native printing protocol to connect with your printer however it is connected to your network.

For this you will either be using a third-party App and/or an external print service - possibly using IPP or Socket services - to support printing from iPad/iPhone.

The Canon i-SENSYS MF3010 is a laser printer in the USD/EUR 150-200 price class. Typically, a monochrome laser printer can be used for a long time, and the cost per page is relatively low. The least expensive AirPrint-compatible printers are often inkjet models. If you are satisfied with the current printer (and the way it is working with an existing Mac), but want to add the ability to print from an iPad or iPhone without any extra iPadOS/iOS apps or special software on a bridge computer, it could possibly be worth checking what a Raspberry Pi print server with AirPrint-like capabilities has to offer (see the links in my previous message) as an alternative. You would have to look upon this as an experiment, though, and expect to pay anything between USD/EUR 50 and 100 for the extra hardware.

You're very welcome.

Having an AirPrint capable printer certainly makes printing from iOS/iPadOS devices straightforward - without reliance upon other hardware.