AirPrint is one of the coolest new features of iOS 4.2 – with it, iOS devices can now print. Unfortunately, at least for now, AirPrint works only with a small handful of printers. At present, Apple lists 11 models manufactured by Hewlett-Packard (HP) as “AirPrint-enabled.”

[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]AirPrint support for other printers is waiting in the wings, apparently, but if you have a printer that isn’t on the list, are you out of luck for now?

No, thanks to the efforts of Ecamm Network. The Mac software developer behind utilities like PadSync, PhoneView and Call Recorder for Skype has released Printopia, a $9.95 utility that enables you to print to any printer on your network using an iOS 4.2-equipped iPad or iPhone.

Printopia is a utility installed on a host Mac on the same network as the printer. It appears in the System Preferences, and you simply select which printers you wish to share with AirPrint-enabled devices. Ecamm is careful to note that Printopia doesn’t modify your Mac or iOS operating system in any way, and it runs independently from printer sharing as well.

The software also generates a “virtual printer” on the Mac, so you can output printouts from your iPad or iPhone as PDF files. You can also output PDF or JPG images directly to your Mac’s Dropbox folder, if you’re a user of the popular file synchronization service.

A free demo is available. Printopia costs $9.95 to register. It works with Mac OS X 10.5.8 and Mac OS X 10.6.5, as well as iOS 4.2 or 4.2.1.