Printing from your smartphone or tablet

iOS

AirPrint

Do you use an iPhone or iPad? By far the easiest way to print is to buy a printer that supports Apple’s AirPrint. Fortunately, these are not in short supply. The Apple website lists hundreds of AirPrint models. As soon as your printer and your iPhone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, the printer will automatically appear in the list of available machines when you want to print out a photo or a document. All you have to do is press the ‘Print’ button.

Manufacturer’s app

Do you unexpectedly have a printer that does not support AirPrint? If so, there is a good chance that you can still print via the Wi-Fi Direct function. In that case, via an app from your printer manufacturer (HP, Canon, Epson, etc.) you can send your documents directly from your phone to your printer: Epson iPrint, Brother iPrint&Scan, Lexmark Mobile Printing, etc.

Printopia

And there is yet another means of wireless printing, using software such as Printopia. You install this on a Mac and it acts as a sort of bridge connecting your iPhone and your printer to one another. That may be a solution, for instance, if you do not have a wireless printer.

Android

Mopria

Android has a variation on the Airprint technology, too, called Mopria, Mobile Print Alliance. Many printers that support AirPrint also have Mopria on board. A Mopria app is also available in the Google Play Store if your phone does not have this as a standard component. What’s more, in some cases Mopria is installed instantly if you put the app from your printer manufacturer on your smartphone.

Manufacturer’s app

Do you have an Android device and no Mopria-compatible printer? In that case, the Wi-Fi Direct method usually works via apps from printer manufacturers as well. For this, you need to look for the app that your printer manufacturer has put in the Play Store.

Printing in the Google cloud

Finally, there is another attractive method of printing via the internet, whichever printer is on line, even if you do not have your own network. That can be done among other things via Google Cloud Print. The idea here is that you first send a file to a Google server, which then forwards it to a printer that is connected to the internet, anywhere in the world, as long as this is compatible with Google Cloud Print. For security reasons, however, the owner of the printer does have to give consent for this.