Have you received an important document from the office or employer but don’t have time to open it and print it from your computer?
All Methods to Print from Android or iPhone Mobile
You no longer have to depend on your computer to print a document with your home or office printer! In the following article, find outhow to print from a mobile phoneusing wireless technology or by relying on the right network printers and apps for your smartphone.
Methods for printing from smartphones
In order to print from a mobile phone it is necessary to take advantage of some technologies already integrated in the device and increasingly popular on new printers; find out below which ones:
- WiFi: the most effective and fastest method. You connect the wireless printer to the home or office WiFi network, then connect the smartphone to the same wireless network; with the right apps you can immediately print all the documents on your smartphone.
- Ethernet: by connecting the printer to the WiFi router via an Ethernet cable, the latter will be available as a network printer to all devices. Smartphones connected to the same network are included. You can print simply by opening the specific App for the printer.
- Bluetooth: some printers allow you to print using Bluetooth technology that allows you to connect your mobile phone directly to the printer without having to have a WiFi network or a support router to print.
- WiFi Direct: with this technology, the printer and smartphone communicate via a wireless network created specifically for the occasion, without the need to use a support router. One of the best methods to print quickly without too many configurations.
- NFC: some printers also have NFC technology but it is never used for printing, but only for communication between connected printers and smartphones using WiFi Direct / Bluetooth (you don’t even need to enter a password).
- USB cable: some older printers allow you to print by connecting the USB cable directly to the smartphone (after purchasing the adapter), to manage the printing process without problems. It is currently the most uncomfortable and disused method.
Now that you know all the technologies used by printers and smartphones to print, find out in the rest of the guide, how to configure Android devices or an iOS device (iPhone, iPad) to send documents for printing.
How to print from Android smartphones
In order to print from Android it is necessary to add some plugins to the operating system, so that you can see and manage the print queue in an optimal way. Depending on the printer you use, you need to download the print plugins:
- Epson Print Enabler
- Samsung Print Service Plugin
- HP Print Service Plugin
- Brother Print Service Plugin
- Canon Print Service
- RICOH Smart Device Print & Scan
- Lexmark Print Service Plugin
Once you have added the necessary plugins for the printers you manage, the rest is very simple: open theSettings->Printmenu , activate the chosen plugin and configure access with the printer present on the network or connectable via WiFi Direct or Bluetooth.
Now all you have to do is open the program with which to manage the document (for example a PDF, web pages, docx, etc.), open the menu at the top right and select “Print” to be able toprint any document.
As an alternative to the official printing plugins, it is possible to use programs thatvirtualize the drivers bytransforming the printer into an internal or functional network device directly via the Internet.
One of the Apps to print on any type of WiFi / Wireless printer isPrinterShare, available for download from the following link:
DOWNLOAD |PrinterShare
With this app, simply choose the technology with which to connect the printer, start the search and immediately associate it with the app, so you can use it to print anything (from other apps, simply use theSharebutton to load any document into the app and start the printing process).
How to print from iPhone smartphone
If you own an iPhone, you can print usingAirPrinttechnology , which is increasingly popular on printers and which allows quick configuration between devices on the same WiFi network or connected to the same router.
In order to print on the iPhone then you will have to open the document and touch the sharing icon of the App, then tap onPrint; in the menu select thePrinteritem , wait for the end of the search and select the printer compatible with Apple AirPrint.
The complete list of AirPrint compatible printers can be found on Apple’s official website:
LINK |AirPrint compatible printers
If you don’t know how to use AirPrint or you don’t have a printer compatible with this technology, you can still print using the paid app (but available on trial) Printer Pro:
DOWNLOAD |Printer Pro Lite (Free)
With this app you can print any document with any printer compatible with WiFi, Bluetooth, WiFi Direct or connected as a network printer to the router, without having to install any type of plugin.
How to print from smartphones with Google Cloud Print
As an alternative to the methods described, you can add your printer to Google Cloud Print; the Google service that allows you to print connected to the same network or even remotely and provides a high level of compatibility with any printer.
First, with a Google Account, open the Google Cloud Print page:
LINK |Google Cloud Print
If the printer is compatible with the cloud features of Google Cloud Print, just click onAdd cloud ready printer; if your printer is not compatible or you don’t know how to do it, just click onAdd classic printeror alternatively open the Google Chrome browser and type in the address bar.
chrome://devices
You will have access to the screen where you can add any type of printer to the Google Cloud Print.
Follow all the steps described to finally have the printer in the cloud on Google. Once you add the printer to Google Cloud Print, simply add the Cloud Print app to your Android phone:
DOWNLOAD |Cloud Print(Android)
If you use an Apple device instead, Google Cloud Print is integrated into all the Google apps available for iPhone and iPad; all you have to do is open the document to be printed with one of the Google apps, tapShare->Printand finally select Google Cloud Print to use the printer added to the cloud.