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If you have a printer that doesn’t support Apple’s wireless printing protocol, AirPrint, don’t worry! You can easily and affordably add AirPrint to your non-AirPrint printer using a Mac app called usefulPrint.
What You Need
To use this solution, your printer needs to be fully connected to a computer, making it ideal for users with a desktop Mac or MacBook in ‘clamshell’ mode. Although we’ll be configuring usefulPrint with a Samsung ML-1860 series laser printer in this article, you can use any printer that does not yet support AirPrint.
Please note that usefulPrint now requires a minimum donation of $5 (£3.90) to use after the 14-day trial (previously AirPrint Activator was a free app). However, it is one of the most affordable apps of its kind and reliably handles incoming print jobs while being easy to configure.
Use usefulPrint to Add AirPrint
To add AirPrint to your non-AirPrint printer, first download usefulPrint 5.5.0 from netputing.com. Although this version added compatibility with macOS Mojave, we’ve found that usefulPrint 5.5.0 is fully compatible with the latest macOS Catalina as well.
After downloading the file, find the usefulPrint .dmg file in your Downloads folder, open it, and drag the usefulPrint app to your Applications folder. You can then delete the usefulPrint disk image from your Finder app.
Once usefulPrint has been copied to your computer, launch Finder, select Applications, and double-click the usefulPrint icon. If your Mac asks you to open usefulPrint because it is an app downloaded from the internet, go ahead and select Open.
As long as your printer is on and connected to your Mac, you should see your printer appear in the usefulPrint app. To add AirPrint functionality to your printer, simply set the toggle button to the left of usefulPrint to On. Depending on your security settings, you may be asked if you want usefulPrint to accept incoming network connections – if you see this message, select Allow.
That’s it! Your wired printer should now appear as an AirPrint printer on your iOS and macOS devices.
To test if it works, find a photo or document on your iPhone, open the Share menu, and select Print. Choose Select Printer, and you can then wirelessly print using the printer you just configured with usefulPrint!
Remember that for this solution to work, your printer must be powered on and connected to a Mac, and all of your devices must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network. However, you should find that AirPrint with usefulPrint works even when your Mac is asleep, as long as your printer stays connected and powered on.
You can try usefulPrint for free for 14 days, after which a minimum donation of $5 (£3.90) is required to unlock the full license for the app. You can access its settings or configure a license by clicking on the usefulPrint icon in your Mac’s menu bar.
If you want to purchase a fully AirPrint-compatible model, check out our extensive collection of the best Mac printers. And, read How to Print Wirelessly from iPad & iPhone for more related advice.
FAQs
Can I use usefulPrint with Windows computers?
No, usefulPrint is a Mac app, and it can only be used on macOS.
Can I add AirPrint to any printer using usefulPrint?
Not all printers will work with usefulPrint. It will only work with those printers that have drivers compatible with macOS and that can be shared over a network with Bonjour network discovery.