Im looking for a way to use usb drives and printers on an ipad. my first thought is a pogoplug like device that also supports airprint. Anything from raspberry pi to network usb devices.(just keep the price lower that $100)
is your'e ipad jailbroken?
if so, you need to buy a camera connection kit as well as a powered usb hub (some low voltage sticks work also without hub)
then you can hook up the stick to the hub and the hub to your ipad. download ifile from cydia, if you haven't already, and voila the Flash Drive will show up
Even with all that, not all USB flash drives will work, only the low power/low capacity ones. Apple did another dick move and limited the power draw, so on top of JB, iFile, camera connection kit, you need a USB hub with aux. power connector to maybe ... work.
Another reason to never buy Apple crapware again.
Not my ipad if it was me it would be no problem. I have to figure out if she also needs to connect a usb printer(not sure if it is wireless). I know there are devices that work as air print server.
The base iOS doesn't allow writing to USB and is very limited in most regards. For example, most of the USB plug ins won't be recognized without using a third party app.
The easiest solution is using an app that allows it...
I'd honestly pass those up and buy something that could actually do it, as you'll probably run into big problems with trying to get it to work correctly. If you have a $100 budget.. You could easily just get another device that could and use Dropbox, email, or something to transfer the files and print them.