As previously described in our article“DNP WCM-2 Makes DNP’s Dye-Sublimation Photo Printers Wi-Fi-Capable,”professional photo printers that use dye-sublimation technology can only be connected to computers via a USB cable. This has not changed to this day, meaning that anyone who wants to use photo printers on the go or print from mobile devices is left out in the cold.
While nearly all manufacturers tried to come up with solutions and offered adapters for their photo printers—which, on one end, have a USB port for the printer and, on the other, create a Wi-Fi network that users can connect to with a smartphone, tablet, or other Wi-Fi-enabled device— However, all earlier approaches had one thing in common: they were expensive and/or didn’t work reliably, were cumbersome to use, or required clunky apps. Consequently, these products quickly disappeared from the market.
A turning point didn’t emerge until late 2021, when DNP introduced the WCM2. This Wi-Fi print server made it possible for the first time to connect professional thermal printers in the way we expect today. However, this was limited to DNP printers—and wasn’t always without its issues, as there were frequent instances of longer print times and connection drops. These “teething problems” should have been resolved by now, but as we’ve heard from some customers, such issues can still occur even with the latest version, V3.
AirCastPro II is now the game-changer in this field—a high-end wireless print server for wireless printing from all common devices to all common dye-sublimation photo printers! Specifically, this means printing from devices running Android, iOS, iPadOS, Mac, Windows, and Linux to all photo printers from CITIZEN, DNP, FUJIFILM, HITI, KODAK, MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC, PRIMERA, SINFONIA (SHINKO), and Sony. And if desired or necessary, AirCastPro II can also be connected to a network the traditional way via a LAN cable and function as a standard print server.
Other highlights:
- AirCastPro II allows you to access the Internet while printing. This means, for example, that you can share photos being printed at an event on social media at the same time.
- With AirCastPro II, multiple devices can easily access the connected printer(s). This can really liven things up at parties and events.
- Multiple printers can be connected to the AirCastPro II. This allows you to either print different image formats without changing materials or achieve particularly short production times for batch printing in a single image format.
The AirCastPro II is now available for order and delivery from NORDFOTO Versand and costs 389.00 EUR net / 462.91 EUR gross: AirCastPro II in the NORDFOTO Versand store