Can you print from an ipad to a wireless printer if the printer is not connected to the internet?

Question

I am purchasing an iPad for my mother; she lives in a farm with no possibility of high speed internet, however, Verizon does have good cell phone coverage there.
So here is my question: she will have an iPad with 3g internet access. I want her to be able to print to a wireless printer; however, the printer that I buy will not be hooked up to any computer or internet...
1) can a wireless printer be discovered on the ipad without any additional hardware?
2) will i need to purchase a router and hook this router up to the printer to send out the wireless printer's signal?
someone please help. her ipad won't be much good if she can't print docs and photos.
thanks in advance...

Answer 1

It sounds like her situation is like mine at school--I find what I want with my Internet capable network, then switch to my ad hoc network for printing, so make sure she's comfortable going into settings and turning WiFi on and selecting a network.
And make sure you allow yourself time for the initial printer setup--and do that somewhere where you have Internet access for the firmware updates and test the printer and then do the ad hoc setup at her home.
(You can also use an Airport Express to set up local network and just connect to the Internet (and ignore the warning light). I played around with this and it's a much more powerful network but overkill for what most people need.)
The ad hoc network just requires a name and a WEP password. Make sure you write down the password and the network name in case she has to join the network again.
I actually found the Amazon reviews for my printer very helpful in terms of explaining the set-up process.