Enable Apple AirPrint on Windows 7

About a month ago, I bought the new Apple iPad 2. I’ll spare you the details, but in short, I love it. One of the neat features available to new Apple iOS devices is AirPrint, which allows you to wirelessly print to AirPrint-enabled printers or printers attached to a Mac. I have neither a Mac nor an AirPrint-enabled printer. Nonetheless, there is a leaked beta of the Apple AirPrint software for Windows that brings this functionality to Windows users. Here’s what you need to do to run it on your own computer:

  1. If you haven't already, download and install the latest iTunes. You will need at least iTunes 10.1.
  2. Download this leaked AirPrint for Windows installer and run it as an administrator to install.
  3. Once installed, you will need to allow the executable at C:\Program Files (x86)\AirPrint\airprint.exe access in your firewall. Depending on your firewall, you may need to allow access to the ports TCP 3689 and UDP 5353.
  4. Lastly, share your printer over your network.

Assuming you follow the steps above correctly and your printer is properly shared on your network, you should be able to access your printer from any iOS 4.2.1 or greater device. Depending on your network security settings, you may be prompted for your local computer login to access the printer remotely. More information on using AirPrint can be found here.