Plug your printer into your iPad or your Mac and start handing out prints. USB Direct Printing sends photos straight to a DNP, Citizen, or HiTi dye-sub printer over one cable. No print server, no WCM, nothing to install.
A cable can't fall off the network in the middle of your event, and prints go straight to the printer with nothing in between.
Compatible printers
DNP | DS620 / DS620A, DS-RX1 / DS-RX1HS, DS820 / DS820A, DS820DX, QW410, DS40, DS80 |
Citizen | CX-02 / CX-02W |
HiTi | P525L |
What you'll need
LumaBooth 5.3 or later, on an iPad or a Mac.
On iPad, an Apple silicon (M-series) model. That means iPad Pro (M1 or later) and iPad Air (M1 or later), running iPadOS 16 or later. USB Direct Printing does not work on iPhone or on older, non-M iPads. You also need the LumaBooth Printer Driver switched on, a one-time toggle in Settings that LumaBooth walks you through the first time.
On Mac, macOS 12 or later. There is no driver to enable and no chip requirement. Connect the printer and LumaBooth finds it.
A way to plug the printer in. The cable in the printer's box ends in a rectangular USB-A plug. If your iPad or Mac has only USB-C ports, you need a hub or adapter in between. See Your USB-C hub below for the ones we recommend.
Setup
Connect the printer. On iPad that means the printer's USB cable into one of the hub's USB-A ports and the hub into the iPad's USB-C port. On a Mac with a spare USB-A port, the printer's cable goes straight in.
Power on the printer and wait for it to finish warming up.
In LumaBooth, go to Print setup → Select print method and choose USB Direct Printing for DNP/Hiti.
On iPad only: when prompted to enable the driver, tap through to Open Settings → Apps → LumaBooth → Drivers and turn on LumaBooth Printer Driver. You only need to do this once. On Mac there is no driver step, so skip straight to the next one.
Back in LumaBooth, the status row now shows your printer's model, paper size, and prints remaining, for example DS-RX1 · 6×4 · 574 prints.
Printing options
Cut 4×6 prints into two 2×6 strips. Turn on Cut into 2×6 strips in Print setup and classic photo strips come off the printer ready to hand out. The option only appears on printers and media that support it.
Read printer messages in plain language. When a printer needs attention, LumaBooth tells you what's actually wrong, like "The printer cover is open," instead of a numbered error code.
Ride out brief connection hiccups. If the connection drops for a moment, LumaBooth reconnects and finishes the print on its own.
Your USB-C hub
A hub isn't just a nice extra here. Three reasons to run one:
It bridges the cable. The printer's USB-A plug goes straight into a hub port, exactly as the cable came in the box, so there's nothing extra to buy.
Your iPad charges while it prints. The iPad has one USB-C port, and the printer is using it. A hub with Power Delivery gives that port back, which counts when you're running all evening.
Your camera can join too. A Canon, Nikon, or Sony body plugs into another port on the same hub. Printer, camera, and power all share one connection to the iPad.
Two hubs we recommend:
UGREEN 5-in-1 USB-C Hub, with three USB-A ports and Power Delivery.
Anker 5-in-1 USB-C Hub, with two USB-A ports and Power Delivery.
Either one has room for the printer and a camera at the same time, and leaves the USB-C port free for charging.
Charging the iPad while you print
This one is for iPad. A Mac is already on mains power, so it has nothing to solve. Your printer and hub are already connected from Setup. To add power, run a USB-C cable from your power adapter into the hub's Power Delivery port. That's the USB-C port on the hub, usually marked PD or with a battery icon, not one of the rectangular USB-A ports.
Power passes through the hub to your iPad with everything still connected. Use your iPad's own charger rather than a small phone adapter. The hub keeps some power for itself and its other ports, so a small adapter may not keep up with a booth running all evening.
Connecting a camera to the hub
Connect the camera to a free USB-A port on the hub using the USB cable that came with the camera, then turn the camera on. The printer stays in its own port, and the two won't get in each other's way.
For which cameras are supported and how to set one up, see LumaBooth Supported Cameras and Camera Setup Guide for Webcam, Canon, Sony, and Nikon.
Troubleshooting
Printer not found?
If LumaBooth doesn't see your printer, work through these in order:
On iPad, confirm the LumaBooth Printer Driver is turned on in Settings → Apps → LumaBooth → Drivers. A driver that's switched off is the most common cause. Macs have no driver, so there is nothing to check there.
Make sure the printer is powered on and has finished warming up.
Check that the USB cable is firmly seated at both ends, and try a different cable, hub port, or hub if you have one.