ThinPrint Cloud Printer (for iPad)

Pros Free. Prints all standard document types. Works with Windows or Mac. Works with non-WiFi printers, as long as the network has a WiFi access point.

Cons Software must be installed on computer as well as iPad. Prints from iPad's camera roll, but not (directly) from photo galleries. Won?t let you print from many apps. No print options. Bottom Line Cortado ThinPrint Cloud Printer (for iPad) lets you turn any networked printer into a cloud printer, but prints from a limited selection of sources.

By Tony Hoffman

As popular as the iPad is, there is still a need for effective mobile printing solutions that support it. Cortado ThinPrint Cloud Printer (for iPad), free for personal use, in effect turns any printer on a Wi-Fi network, even non-wireless models, into a cloud printer, though it requires installing a utility on a computer on that network. ThinPrint supports printing from various apps and cloud-based services. If it works with the programs you need to print from, it could well be your solution of choice.

Interface
ThinPrint Cloud Printer has a minimalist interface, from which you can only print directly from your iPad's camera roll (and not from any of its photo albums). A line of text on the app's only screen reads Print From [[the Open In/Save As icon]]. It's not a button; you have to open a document in another app (say, GoodReader or DropBox), tap the Open In/Save As icon, and tap Open in ThinPrint Cloud Printer for it to print. (It sends the document to Cortado's ThinPrint cloud, where it's processed and returned for printing. It's similar in concept to Google Cloud Print, although the latter is geared largely to the Google ecosystem.) A virtual dial shows the status of print jobs (in percentage printed). There's a question-mark icon, which simply reveals that you need to install software on the computer connected to your printer for the app to print.

Functionality
The desktop client is called Cortado ThinPrint Connector, and you can use either a Windows or Mac version. You must register with Cortado, log in on the computer and your iPad, and you're ready to go. If there is more than one printer on your network, it will select the default printer, though you can change to another printer. The app then runs in the background, enabling printing as long as your computer is turned on.

If you want to print photos from your iPad's photo albums other than the camera roll, you can do so indirectly, by using an app such as GoodReader that can access the albums. You select a photo, download it to GoodReader, and open it in ThinPrint Cloud Printer; the printing will begin automatically.

The app will support printing from any app that lets you open a document in ThinPrint Cloud Printer. They consist mainly of productivity apps (on my iPad, Pages, GoodReader, FileApp, and Documents for Free were all supported) and cloud storage services such as Google Drive and DropBox. I was also able to print from a scan utility.

Compatibility
Many other apps and utilities that I tried lacked the option to print to ThinPrint; this was true of my iPad's email client; its Safari browser, and browser and search apps such as Bing, Google, and Chrome. It can't print from EverNote, or Flickr. Although I wasn't able to print from Gmail, I could save an email to Google Drive and print it out from there.

ThinPrint Cloud Printer may be best suited for use with the Cortado Workplace cloud desktop, the company's own free file management service, which comes with 2GB of cloud storage. You can upload documents and emails from your desktop to Cortado Workplace, tap on one, and by touching the eye icon, send it to print from the cloud printer. (You could print directly from Cortado Workplace, but in my case that proved problematic as it would not recognize the printer in Workplace, though it had no problem in printing to it with ThinPrint.)

Strengths and Weaknesses
Cortado ThinPrint Cloud Printer's strengths are that it allows you to print to any designated printer on your Wi-Fi network, regardless of whether the printer is either AirPrint or Wi-Fi compatible. It's platform-neutral; either a Windows PC or a Mac can anchor the network. It can print from various productivity apps and cloud-based services, including the company's own Cortado Workplace. And it's free for personal use. On the downside, there are many common apps, browsers, and document sources that it won't print from. It doesn't support scanning, offers no print options, and doesn't preview photos.

Competition
There are other potential solutions to printing from iPads. For $19.99, Presto (which was Fingerprint 2 when I reviewed it) in effect turns any printer on your network into an AirPrint printer, and offers the ability to print from many more apps and document sources than ThinPrint. Printopia does much the same, though only for Macs. Manufacturers offer their own print apps, many of them adding useful print features, and in some cases offering scanning as well.

That said, ThinPrint Cloud Printer lets you print to any selected printer on either a Mac or a Windows network. It's free. It's not a panacea, but works with many popular productivity and cloud storage apps. If you have an iPad but your network printer doesn't support Wi-Fi, it might be just the solution you need.

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