Software applications and information apparatus for printing over air or for printing over a network

A system that includes an information apparatus and application software executable at the information apparatus for printing digital content from the application software of the information apparatus to a printer, and the information apparatus prints, at least part of, the digital content at the printer without using, at the information apparatus, a printer driver that is specific to the printer, the information apparatus includes:

• one or more processors;
• a communication interface for establishing a local area network connection to a local area network;
• and
• one or more memory or storage devices storing software components, the software components include:
• a discovery software component for discovering, via the communication interface, a printer available in the local area network, and the discovery software component further facilitates receiving, via the communication interface and from the printer, device information associated with the printer;
• a data generation software component for generating, using the one or more processors, print data related, at least in part, to the digital content, the generating of the print data is based, at least in part, on the device information received from the printer;
• and
• a transport software component for transmitting, via the established local area network connection and using the communication interface, at least part of the generated print data to the printer that is available in the local area network;
• and
• wherein at least part of the application software is stored in the one or more memory or storage devices of the information apparatus, and execution of at least part of the application software, by the one or more processors of the information apparatus, causes the information apparatus to:
• (1) use the application software to obtain the digital content;
• (2) use the discovery software component to discover, by the information apparatus, the printer that is available in the local area network;
• (3) use the discovery software component to receive the device information, over the established local area network connection and via the communication interface, from the printer discovered in (2), the device information is associated with the printer, and the device information includes one or more of language information supported by the printer or format information supported by the printer, individually or in any combination;
• (4) use the data generation software component, to generate, at the information apparatus, the print data from at least part of the digital content obtained in (1), the generating of the print data is based, at least in part, on the device information received from the printer in (3), and the generated print data conforms, at least in part, to the language information or the format information, individually or in any combination, that is included in the device information received from the printer in (3);
• and
• (5) use the transport software component, to transmit, over the established local area network connection, at least part of the print data generated in (4) to the printer discovered in (2) for printing at least part of the digital content at the printer.

An information apparatus, comprising:

• a display screen;
• one or more processors;
• a communication interface for establishing a local area network connection;
• and
• memory or storage component storing at least a software program, wherein execution of at least part of the software program, by the one or more processors of the information apparatus, causes the information apparatus to perform a printing method, comprising:
• (1) obtaining, at the information apparatus, digital content for printing;
• (2) establishing, using the communication interface, a local area network connection to a local area network;
• (3) discovering, by the information apparatus, via the communication interface and over the established local area network connection, a printer that is available in the local area network;
• (4) receiving, via the communication interface and over the local area network connection established in (2), device information from the printer discovered in (3), the device information includes one or more device attributes corresponding, at least in part, to the printer discovered in (3);
• (5) displaying, on the display screen of the information apparatus, a graphical user interface that includes a print item or a print function control for user selection, the print item or the print function control is related, at least in part, to printing the digital content at the printer discovered in (3);
• (6) receiving, at the information apparatus, at least an indication of a selection of the print item or the print function control displayed on the display screen of the information apparatus in (5);
• and
• (7) subsequent to having received at least the indication of the selection of the print item or the print function control in (6), transmitting, using the communication interface, print data via the local area network connection established in (2) to the printer discovered in (3), wherein the print data is related to at least part of the digital content obtained in (1);
• and
• wherein the transmitting of at least part of the print data in (7) is based on having received the device information in (4) from the printer that is available in the local area network, and wherein at least part of the transmitted print data is in accordance, at least in part, with the one or more device attributes corresponding to the printer and that are included in the device information received from the printer in (4).