Printing often isn’t easy for iOS users—especially in large organizations. Luckily, Massachusetts-based Ecamm has just released Printopia Pro, an enterprise-class version of its extremely popular Printopia utility, which allows iOS apps to print to any printer without the need for special iOS software.

Like its consumer-level counterpart, Printopia Pro runs on a Mac and acts as an AirPrint server, allowing iOS devices to connect to it and send documents as if they were dealing with a real printer. It also circumvents the need to buy a printer model that supports Apple’s AirPrint—most of which are aimed at the consumer market, rather than SMB or enterprise.

Printopia Pro adds a number of features designed for corporate users to the mix, such as additional security, improved support for complex networking setups, and the ability to centrally manage arbitrary numbers of printers and users, tightly controlling access and privileges.

According to a company press release, the software is fully scalable, can support hundreds of users and printers from a single server, and is even capable of storing—rather than printing—the documents it receives to one or more Web-enabled folders. From, there documents can be accessed as part of more complex workflows for a variety of applications, ranging from education to business processes. However, it does lack some of the more consumer-facing features of Printopia, such as sending to a specific application or Dropbox.

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The Uncovermac line of products was created after this company's Amsterdam-based masterminds realized that the MacBook’s screen has a whole light panel behind it. They started designing the Uncovers, each of which offers glowing pieces of art—from flames to radioactivity symbols and more—to replace the Apple logo on your laptop. Prices start at €249, or around $325 in U.S. dollars. (Hat tip to Engadget.)

Lexmark International has exited the inkjet printer business and is laying off 1700 people as part of a restructuring plan to improve profitability.

Lexmark’s restructuring will result in job cuts mainly tied to the inkjet business, including 1100 manufacturing positions, the company said in a statement Tuesday. As part of the restructuring plan, the company is shutting down an inkjet supplies manufacturing facility in the Philippines by the end of 2015, and eliminating other inkjet development assets by the end of 2013.

While the company will stop offering inkjet printers, it will continue to provide support, services and supplies for its inkjet installed base, said Marty Canning, Lexmark executive vice president and president of imaging solutions and services. Supplies will continue to be available through the channel and the company’s website, and Lexmark will fulfill warranties.

Lexmark will now exit the consumer business and focus on enterprise products, including higher-margin products such as multifunction printers, managed print services, content management and other software products, Canning said. Lexmark is also working with advisers to explore the sale of its inkjet-related technology.

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Canon has announced several new photo printers—three all-in-one desktop models and a compact unit—designed for consumers and photo enthusiasts. They feature, in various combinations, wireless capability, Apple AirPrint and other mobile printing functionality, auto-duplexing, and software that lets you enhance images both online and off.

All-in ones

Canon has introduced three new desktop multifunction models that print, copy, and scan—the Pixma MG4220 Wireless, the Pixma MG3220 Wireless, and the Pixma MG2220, a non-wireless printer.

Each has the company’s new FastFront feature that facilitates easy changing of ink and paper from the front of the printer. They can also produce borderless, edge-to-edge 4-by-6-inch photos in approximately 44 seconds at a maximum color resolution of 4800-by-2400 dots per inch (dpi).

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Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday announced the OfficeJet 150 Mobile All-in-One portable printer, which the company called the world’s first mobile multifunction device that can “print, copy and scan on the go.”

HP hopes to provide a printer, copier and scanner that users can carry on the road, just like laptops. At 6.8 pounds, the multifunction device is lighter than stationary inkjets, making it easy to move inside homes or between work sites. The printer measures 13.98 by 6.95 by 3.52 inches.

While the OfficeJet 150 is a breakthrough in design, the all-in-one feels as bulky as a high-end gaming laptop, and may not be practical to carry to work on a daily basis. The device is priced at $399, which is relatively high compared to HP’s standard all-in-one inkjet multifunction devices, which are available starting at under $100. The OfficeJet 150 will start shipping worldwide in May.

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The days are getting longer, and the weather’s getting warmer. You’re forgiven if you forgot to refresh Macworld.com as obsessively as often. Luckily, the Weekly Wrap, our collection of the best Macworld stories from the week gone by, is here to help you catch up on what you missed.

On the Mac side

Apple released a standalone Flashback removal tool; if you haven’t run Software Update, take a few minutes now and do so. We’d rather you ensure your Mac is clean and protected than that you finish reading the Weekly Wrap. Just promise you’ll come back again later.

In addition to eradicating Flashback, Apple put an end to free trials for iWork and Aperture. But while Apple taketh away, it also giveth, at least if you’re still running Leopardeth: The company is offering Snow Leopard as a free upgrade to MobileMe customers with the aim of getting them signed up for iCloud.

If you’re looking to go from power user to superpower user, don’t miss our tips on unzipping almost any archive file, creating custom HandBrake presets, capturing video from an iOS device, sending video messages with Mail, and bending Spotlight to your will.

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Apple introduced AirPrint in iOS 4, but the feature—which allows you to print from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch—is limited to folks with AirPrint printers. Luckily, a small utility called Printopia makes it possible for your iOS device to print to any printer your Mac can see. And that’s only half of what Printopia can do.

Download Macworld Video #183

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Human blood costs about $17.27 an ounce, silver about $34 an ounce. But both are bargains compared to the ink sold to the owners of inkjet printers, which can exceed $80 an ounce. Meanwhile, the ink used to print newspapers costs about 16 cents an ounce.

Today, color inkjet technology offers essentially photo-realistic output from consumer or home-office printers that cost less than $100. But even those who print out as few as 20 pages a week will probably have to buy several ink refills a year, at minimum, costing way more than the original price of the printer. Those who understand the issues can avoid the worst shocks. (See “Shopping advice,” below.)

“Everyone complains about the price of ink, but consumers do not do a net-present-value analysis when shopping—we only do it with higher-ticket items,” explains Federico De Silva, an analyst at Gartner, a market research firm. “They are going for a $49 printer, but when they have to refill it they realize they are spending $50 to $60 just on ink.”

Shopping advice

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Looks like you can’t teach a new iPad old Smart Covers. Elsewhere, HP shareholders want to know why everything it can do Apple can do better, BlackBerry lets the homefront slip through its fingers, and the iPhone might soon get all the G’s. The remainders for Thursday, March 22, 2012 will sleep when they’re dead.

iPad 3 Smart Cover Sleep/Wake Feature Not Working (Mark’s Hangout)

It seems that some Smart Covers, as well as some third-party cases with embedded magnets, aren’t playing nicely with the new iPad’s built-in magnets. The answer? Looks like Apple slightly tweaked the magnets in the new tablets, requiring a cover with a specific polarity. Man, I knew if I kept suggesting “reverse the polarity” as an answer that it would eventually pay off.

HP shareholders question why company isn’t more like Apple (AppleInsider)

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The writing may finally be on the wall for Hewlett-Packard’s storied print division.

HP is expected to announce soon that it will merge its Imaging and Printing Group into its PC-making Personal Systems Group as a way to reduce costs and simplify its business. Under the plan, Vyomesh “VJ” Joshi, who has run HP’s print business for the last 20 years, will step down, and Todd Bradley, head of the PC group, will run the combined division, according to reports.

HP has yet to confirm the move, though it has not denied it either. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, said the change would be announced Tuesday. Reuters also reported that a move was imminent. If the announcement is made, it’s likely to come before HP’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

The move would reflect two realities, industry analysts said: That the market for printers and printer ink, long the backbone of HP’s business, has a dwindling future, and that HP needs to cut costs somewhere in order to boost spending on research and bring innovation back to the company.

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Apple has released a slew of updated printer drivers, but chances are the only ones most of us will care about are those for Canon, Ricoh, and Samsung printers.

For Canon, Apple released Printer Drivers 2.8, providing the latest printing and scanning software for OS X Lion and OS X 10.6; those drivers will help those same OSes work with roughly a jillion different Canon printers and multifunctions. Ricoh owners can get version 2.2 of their drivers for the same OSes and covering an equally enormous roster of machines. And for Samsung, Apple provided version 2.3 of its drivers, again for the last two versions of OS X; ditto on the enormity of the list of supported hardware.

At the same time, Apple also released drivers for printers from Gestetner, Infotec, and Lanier, but those are likely to be of less interest to most Macworld readers: Gestetner and Lanier both specialize in selling “document solutions” systems to enterprise customers, while Infotec is a reseller catering to that same market.

With iOS printing in high demand, more and more wireless printers are adding this function to their lineup of standard features. On Tuesday, Canon announced that two new Pixma printer models now have AirPrint compatibility: the MX512 and MX432 Wireless Office All-In-One inkjet printers. These aren’t the first Canon printers to feature AirPrint—Canon added AirPrint to three other Pixma all-in-one printers (the MG8220, MG6220, and MG5320) back in September 2011. According to Canon, AirPrint will be available with the majority of Pixma wireless printers launched from this point forward.

If you don't own an AirPrint-compatible printer, there are other options for printing from your iOS device. Third-party hardware and software, like the Lantronix xPrintServer and Ecamm Network’s Printopia, add AirPrint features to almost any printer.

Canon's MX512 will cost an estimated $150 and the MX432 will have an estimated price of $100; the company, however, has not announced a specific release date. AirPrint is available on any iPad, iPhone (3GS or later), and iPod touch (3rd generation or later) running iOS 4.2 or later.

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Epson introduced three new wide-format printers to its WorkForce line on Tuesday. The printers include all-in-ones WorkForce WF-7520 and WorkForce WF-7510, along with the single-function inkjet Workforce WF-7010. Each offers small businesses and creative professionals high quality wide-format printing and scanning capabilities.

According to Epson, the new all-in-one printers boast the fastest single and double-sided print speeds in their class—15 ISO pages per minute in black and 8 ISO pages per minute in color for single-sided documents. They print 7.8 ISO pages per minutes in black and 5.2 ISO pages per minute in color for double-sided documents. Additionally, both the WF-7520 and WF-7510 models can print documents up to 13 inches by 19 inches and scan documents up to 11 inches by 17 inches.

The all-in-one printers also offer mobile printing for on-the-go use. Users can print remotely to the printers from their mobile devices using Epson Connect, Epson's mobile and cloud-based printing service.The single function inkjet WF-7010 offers built-in Ethernet networking, and is replacing the Epson's WorkForce WF-1100 model.

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Silicon Valley stalwart HP, a company with deep roots in the Mac community, has arrived at Macworld | iWorld bearing printer goodies in the form of several new color LaserJets for small offices, home offices, and mid-sized businesses. The company is showing one single-function and two multifunction models on the show floor.

The four-color multifunction (MFP) models showcase a new 3.5-inch touch screen display, with intuitive, visual navigational controls. The touch screen is large, responsive, and much easier to operate than the navigation in previous models.

"The design has been streamlined so that these new printers are very easy to operate," said Sherri Harper, HP's LaserJet marketing expert. What's more, these printers are all about mobility and printing on the go."

The HP LaserJet Pro 400 color M451 is a single-function model designed for businesses that want to create professional-looking color documents, such as marketing materials. It prints up to 21 pages per minute in either black or color, at 600 dpi. The printer comes in three models. Automatic duplexing is available only on the M451dn (duplex/network) and M451dw (duplex/wireless) models. Built-in wireless is available only on the M451nw (network/wireless) and M451dw (duplex/wireless) models. The M451nw is $449; the M451dn is $499; and the M451dw is $549.

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Back when I was young, printing was complicated. Printer drivers were a nightmare of options, and standards were rare. Today, there are all sorts of standards for printing but the nightmare still continues. Even printers that sell for $50 can have multiple drivers, often support various printing protocols, have multiple driver updates—and then there is the printer installation software.

Most printers still come with some kind of installation program, and unless you're very careful, you'll find a raft of bloatware installed along with your printer. There's something weirdly eccentric about the whole printer business.

In 2010, Apple finally included something that we'd been waiting for: A way to print from iPads and iPhones. This feature called AirPrint initially supported only 12 printers, which were all in the HP Photosmart Plus e-All-in-One series, a range of multifunction printer, scanner, and fax devices.

Since then, Canon and Epson have both added AirPrint support, but there are still many printers that aren't AirPrint compatible. So, what can you do if you are an iPhone or iPad owner and don't have one of the anointed printers? Consider the Lantronix xPrintServer.

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Struggling Eastman Kodak said Thursday that it and its U.S. subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to reorganize its business.

Kodak which has recently charged Samsung Electronics, HTC, and Apple for alleged patent infringement, faced challenges in making the transition to digital technology.

In November, the company lowered its revenue outlook for 2011 to up to $6.4 billion, and said it expected losses in 2011 in the range of $400 million to $600 million from continuing operations. It reorganized its business structure earlier this month.

The company said in a statement that it and its U.S. subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 business reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

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Apple has released Brother Printer Drivers 2.8 and Lexmark Printer Driver 2.7 for users of OS X 10.6 or later. The downloads include the latest drivers for Brother and Lexmark devices, and should show up in Software Update if you’ve used a printer/scanner from one of those companies in the past.

As usual, the incremental updates via Software Update are pretty small, but the full downloads weigh in at 149.6MB and 182.9MB for Brother and Lexmark, respectively. Both are available from Apple’s Support Downloads page.

Multifunction printers (also called all-in-one printers) combine a printer, scanner, copier, and sometimes a fax machine into a single device. Having all these functions in one unit not only saves room, but it can also be more affordable than buying separate individual devices.

But with that convenience comes questions about how to differentiate between seemingly similar all-in-ones. If an MFP is on your shopping list this holiday season, here are some tips to keep in mind when considering different models.

Multifunction printer buying advice

Inkjet or laser: MFPs use either inkjet or laser technology for printing. Inkjet is ideal for consumers and small businesses with modest print demands. Laser MFPs are good for medium to large businesses that print often.

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On Wednesday Ecamm Network updated its $20 Printopia utility, which extends Apple’s wireless AirPrint technology to any printer on your network and allows you to virtually print files from your iOS device to your Mac or to your Dropbox folder.

The update fixes a major problem for users running iOS 5. When running previous versions of Printopia with iOS 5, screenshots taken on your iOS device would be converted to PDF files while being transferred to your computer, degrading image quality. This version, 2.1.5, now preserves PNG images—such as the screenshots you take by holding down the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons—when you send them to a virtual printer (for example, a folder on your Mac or your Dropbox folder).

I tested the update out on an iPhone 4 running iOS 5, and sent a screenshot to my Dropbox folder. It showed up immediately in its native PNG format.

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The HP TopShot LaserJet Pro M275 is now available in the U.S. for $400, HP has announced. This hotly anticipated device—targeted to small and home-based businesses—represents a new category of multifunction printer: it's equipped with HP's TopShot scanning technology.

While this color laser multifunction printer performs the traditional MFP tasks of printing, copying, and scanning, it offers a completely different way to scan 3-D objects to produce eye-catching images to post or store online.

The scanner features a camera with a high-quality optical lens and high-resolution sensor embedded into a hinged arm above the device. The technology captures six images of a single 3-D object—three with flash from different angles, and three in ambient light at different exposure levels. It then combines those shots into a single high-resolution image.

With this device, users can quickly and easily scan documents or small objects and integrate the resulting images into their workflows without a computer. Under certain conditions, this MFP could substitute a complex photo shoot setup with lighting and staging in favor of a streamlined process of capturing and uploading product images.

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The HP printer driver v2.8 is a 515MB download, while the Epson printer driver v.2.9 is a 972MB download. Both updates were released today and are available via either Software Update or from Apple’s support website.

The update installs the latest software for your Epson or HP printer or scanner. And that is pretty much all anyone needs to know, as Apple takes care of the gory details.

If you’re curious, feel free to check out the list of all Epson or HP printers covered by this update.

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The following article is excerpted from Digital Arts.

Canon has launched its new flagship Pixma Pro printer for gallery-quality prints of photos and artwork. The company says that the Pixma Pro-1 is the world's first A3+ printer to feature 12 separate inks.

The Canon Pixma Pro-1 features a design inspired by the company's EOS digital SLR cameras. The 12-ink system significantly expands the printer's colour gamut over previous Pixma Pro models. There are two black inks (Photo and Matte), three grays (Dark Grey, Grey and Light Grey), six colors (Cyan, Photo Cyan, Magenta, Photo Magenta, Yellow and Red) and a Chroma Optmizer, which Canon says "increases black density and makes glossiness uniform."

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Looking to print a few flyers for your garage sale this weekend, or maybe print a few things for your upcoming Halloween party? If you use a Canon or FujiXerox printer, you probably should use one of the new drivers released by Apple on Thursday.

Canon Printer Drivers v2.7 for OS X installs the latest software for Canon printers and scanners. The 324.08MB download requires Mac OS X 10.6.1 or later. Apple provides a list of supported devices.

FujiXerox Printer Drivers v2.2.1 for OS X is a 50.06MB download that requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later. The release notes has a list of supported devices.

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Hewlett-Packard CEO Leo Apotheker was ousted from his position on Thursday and replaced by HP director and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, less than a year after he took the job.

Rumors had swirled in recent days that HP's board was about to part ways with Apotheker, a former CEO of business software vendor SAP. Only a tiny amount of HP's business currently comes from software, a fact Apotheker sought to change in a strategy he laid out soon after joining the company in September 2010.

Apotheker came to HP at a turbulent time following the departure of its high-profile CEO, Mark Hurd, after a scandal involving his relationship with an HP contractor. Hurd ended up securing a post as co-president of HP rival Oracle.

The market did not react well to a number of announcements and moves Apotheker made, including the planned purchase of infrastructure software vendor Autonomy and talk of spinning off HP's PC division. This last topic sparked a major downturn in HP's stock price, which may have quickened Apotheker's removal.

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Wirelessly printing from your iOS device is now a little easier if you own one of a trio of Canon Pixma printers. On Tuesday, Canon announced that three of its all-in-one inkjet photo printers—the Pixma MG 8220, MG6220, and MG5320—have added AirPrint compatibility.

AirPrint first appeared in iOS 4.2; the feature lets users print wirelessly from from an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch without having to download any software or drivers. Unfortunately, the feature has been limited to a handful of HP printers; owners of non-compatible printers have had to turn to third-party software utilities like Ecamm Network’s Printopia.

Other hardware vendors have also come up with their own solutions, creating iOS apps that provide similar functionality as AirPrint. Among them are Epson’s iPrint, Brother’s iPrint&Scan, and Kodak Pic Flick, to name a few. Each of these apps makes it possible to wirelessly print photos, webpages, documents, or emails directly from an iOS device to the specific company’s printers. If Canon’s move to make AirPrint-compatible printers spurs more companies to do the same, however, the feature might live up to its original promise.

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We know some Macworld.com readers visit the site several times a day to check up on the latest news, reviews, and how-tos. At the same time, we understand that some of you can’t come by as frequently, and that it can be hard to catch up on everything that’s been posted since you last stopped by. (We typically post 15 to 25 stories a day—miss a couple of days and that’s a lot of stories to read through.) We also know that some readers are particularly interested in our stories on specific topics—everything about iTunes, for example, or anything having to do with graphics and design.

To make it easier for our readers, we have a whole roster of email newsletters that highlight the latest stories on specific topics. Now we’ve added three new ones. Create Weekly offers news, reviews, and how-tos about using the Mac for video, graphics, web publishing, and other creative pursuits. Digital Photo Weekly provides the latest techniques and gear for shooting, editing, and managing great digital photos. And Business Center Weekly includes up-to-date news, products, tips, tricks, and tools for Apple products in the workplace.

So if you’re ready for something good in your inbox, click here to sign up for one (or all three) of these new offerings. And take a look at all the other great newsletters we offer, including Mac Gems, Mac OS X Hints, Playlist Weekly, iOS News, New to Mac, and more.

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For those running HP printers and scanners alongside their Macs, the company on Thursday announced a series of new products at its Imaging and Printing Conference 2011. The new developers are aimed at helping both HP’s home and business consumers adopt mobile and 3D printing.

With the popularity of tablets and smartphones, HP is broadening its support for printing directly from mobile devices. Supported HP printers can now run HP ePrint Wireless Direct, meaning users can print from mobile devices via a peer-to-peer connection, all without the need of network or Internet access.

Those with iPhones running iOS 4.2 or greater can take advantage of the new HP Printer Control app, which allows complete wireless control of a printer. Users can scan photos and documents directly from a supported HP scanner to Facebook or Google Docs via their mobile phone, as well as being able to scan directly into an email message. The app can also monitor the printer’s status, so no one will ever run out of ink at a crucial moment. The release date for the app is yet to be confirmed by HP.

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For Lexmark printer owners, it’s time to give your device some love by downloading Apple’s latest driver update.

Apple released Lexmark Printer Drivers v2.6 late Thursday, less than three months after making the v2.5 update available. The updated driver includes the latest Lexmark printing and scanning software, and runs on OS X Lion and Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). Wondering if your device has driver support? Take a look at the full list of supported Lexmark models on Apple’s site.

The download is available now, either through OS X’s Software update feature or from the Downloads section of Apple’s support site.

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