Printing has become extremely familiar to office workers. Normally, users need to download data to the computer to perform document printing. But what should we do if the computer you are using has trouble connecting to the printer or we do not have a laptop with us?

Today, there are many smartphones or tablets that can take on the role of a computer, connect to a printer and execute print jobs directly.

In the article below, Appngon will show you how to print documents directly from a smartphone or tablet when connected to a printer.

To print from your phone or tablet, you must first go to the Play Store or the App store. Most major brands, including Canon, Epson, and HP printers, have their own dedicated applications that will install the necessary drivers to allow you to print directly to your wireless printer. surname.

1. Connect the printer to the Android device

Google Cloud Print used to be a popular service to connect your Android device to a printer, but it stopped working at the end of 2020. Fortunately, there is an easy option available in the Android operating system – Translate Default Print service.

1. Connect your Android phone to the printer via Wi-Fi

Basically, Android's Default print service tells your phone or tablet to find a printer on the same Wi-Fi network. Printers must also support it, but the good news is that every major manufacturer is involved.

To avoid any problems, you need to stay connected to the same Wi-Fi hotspot throughout. Often you will have multiple Wi-Fi hotspots, and sometimes one device will search for the best Wi-Fi signal, which means your smartphone can connect to another hotspot without you even knowing it. know well. If you find yourself unable to print, check that your phone is on the Wi-Fi hotspot you expect.

To connect your phone via Default Print Service, go into your phone's settings, search for “Printing”. Next, tap Print in the Connections preference list, select Default Print Service, and turn it on.

A list of compatible printers on the network will appear. Please choose your one from the list.

If your printer doesn't appear in the list, you have three options.

Go back to the printer settings first, but instead of selecting the default Print Service, tap Add service. This will take you to a list of printer services for specific manufacturers. Choose your brand, download it, then open the printer settings to find your model. Follow the steps in the brand-specific service to find your printer.

If that doesn't work, or if the plugin hasn't been released by the manufacturer, try a third-party service on the Google Play Store like PrinterOn and PrinterShare Mobile Print. They will scan your home network for any active printers, regardless of brand. PrinterOn and PrinterShare Mobile Print.

As a last resort, you can manually add your printer to the Default Print Service via Wi-Fi direct or the printer's IP address.

To use IP, go into your router's settings (steps vary from brand to brand) and look for a section called Attached devices or something similar. Locate your printer in the device list, note down the IP address (eg 192.86.255.7) and then return to the Default Print Service. Next, tap on the three vertical dots in the top right corner, select Add printer, then Add printer by IP address. Enter the IP, tap Add and it will appear in the list.

To use Wi-Fi Direct, go to Add a printer, then turn on Wi-Fi Direct printing. This will scan the area for printers that support Wi-Fi Direct to establish a direct local connection that doesn't require an internet connection.

Tap the three dots under Default Print Service to manually add your printer.

You can enter the printer's IP address (left) or select it from the list of Wi-Fi Direct-enabled models near your location (right).

2. Connect your Android phone to the printer via Bluetooth

While there are few printers that support Bluetooth, it's actually a bit easier than using Wi-Fi because you don't need to worry about any network connections. If you've ever connected your phone or tablet to a Bluetooth speaker, you know what to do, as the process is essentially the same.

First, turn on the printer's Bluetooth scanning. Each brand (and even model) does this slightly differently, so check the manual. After scanning, go to your phone's settings, tap Connected devices and select Pair new device.

This will ask the phone to scan for nearby Bluetooth enabled devices. When your printer appears in the list of nearby devices, tap to connect.

Note: the printer will disconnect if you turn off Bluetooth or your phone or tablet is too far away. It will automatically reconnect when you enable Bluetooth on your printer and phone or tablet. If not, go back to the connected devices section and select your printer from the list of previously connected devices.

You can also rename the printer in the Bluetooth settings. Tap the gear icon next to the printer in the list of previously connected devices, then tap the pencil icon next to Device details. Enter a new name and press “Rename” for the changes to take effect.

3. How to print documents from an Android device

Now that your printer is connected, you can print all the photos, web pages and documents in the world!

To print a document (such as a PDF), tap the three vertical dots in the top-right corner and select Print.

To print an image, tap the same three vertical dots, then scroll to the bottom of the horizontal menu and tap Print.

Once you're in the print menu, tap Select a printer, choose your printer from the list, make any adjustments you need in the print options, preview the document, and then touch the print icon .

2. How to print documents from iPhone

Like Android, iOS has a printer service that can easily connect supported devices on the same Wi-Fi network. It's called AirPrint and you can find a long list of supported printers on Apple's website.

1. Connect printer from iPhone using Airprint

If you're buying a new printer and want to print from your iPhone, make sure you have one with the AirPrint logo on the box. Once it's unzipped, connect it to your home network, then make sure AirPrint is enabled in the settings.

Your App will have instructions on how to access the settings through a web browser. Once you're there, under the Network tab, look for the AirPrint section and turn it on.

Next, open the document, photo, or web page that you want to print from your iPhone or iPad and tap the share icon (a square with an up arrow). This will open sharing options.

Scroll down and select Print to open Printer options.

If this is your first time using Printer options, there will be an option at the top of the screen for Select printer.

Tap it and select your AirPrint-enabled printer from the list. It will save this printer as default for future use.

Once it's connected, tap Print in the top right corner to print your document.

Select “Print” from the share menu to open Printer Preferences. The “Printers” section will be blank until you add your printer, which will be set as the default option.

If your printer doesn't have AirPrint, you'll need to download a free app from the manufacturer with similar functionality. Simply search for the brand in the app store, download it, and follow the steps to connect.

You can also try a third-party app like Printopia 3 or Print n Share. These apps handle the same basic tasks, but may have an interface or extra features you like.

2. Connect the printer to iPhone via Bluetooth

While there are some claims that you can print from an iOS device via Bluetooth, there's been no official word from Apple and we haven't been able to get it to work either. It can happen, but we recommend sticking with AirPrint.

3. Print via email

Another option you can use if you have a supported printer is to print via email. Many new models from Epson and HP now feature HP ePrint or Epson Email Print. Simply email a photo or document file to the printer's designated email and the printer will take care of the rest.

The benefit of this is that you can print from anywhere at any time (as long as your printer is turned on and connected to the network). The printer doesn't have to be on the same network as your phone.

The downside is that it only supports certain file types. These include all common office and image files, but if you have a proprietary file type from a particular application, you won't be able to print it via email.

Printing by Email is also done in a relatively simple way. You just need to follow these steps:

Step 1: Activate Email

First you need to activate your Email. Depending on the device used, the email activation process will be different. This connection is usually instructed in the printer's manual or the manufacturer's Web site.

After enabling Email, the printer will be assigned a default email address, which will likely generate a bunch of random characters at a specified domain name. You can change this domain name to make it easier for you to remember. Finally you need to connect your printer to Wifi.

Step 2: Print

After the above requirements have been set, the files or documents to be printed will automatically print according to the default specifications. You can change these parameters by making adjustments on your printer.

Is Google Cloud Print still available?

The commonly recommended way to print from an Android phone to any printer is to use the Google Cloud Print service.

Google Cloud Print is no longer available. It was phased out at the end of December 2020. Even if you used it before, you can no longer use it.

Cloud Print is a system that allows you to print to almost any printer, even if it's not wireless. It's a classic Google product: in beta for a decade and then decommissioned.

It's easy to print from your phone

Printing files may not be as important as it once was, but when it does, there's no other choice. Whether you need to print important PDFs, emails, or just photos from your vacation, it's easy to do right from your friend's phone or tablet.

And if you print a lot, make sure you have a quality wireless printer to work with. Hope the above article helps you to successfully print documents with your smartphone in hand.