wifi_printing 1

No Strings Attached Printing 

Using a printer wirelessly from your smartphone or tablet can help you be more productive when you’re on the move. You don’t even need to be physically present near a printer to get it working– simply send a command to your printer and your document (or documents) will be waiting for you when you get there. Also, printing from your smartphone is usually much easier than going to the trouble of booting up your PC for it, especially if don’t have many documents to print.

Given below is a collection of techniques that you can use to print documents from your smartphone wirelessly. Needless to say, you will need an internet connection for this to work. Your printer also must be connected to your local network or same WiFi network for it to be able to communicate with your smartphone.

See Also: How to Receive SMS on your PC Without Using Your Phone

Use Printing Apps

The easiest and least-roundabout way to print documents wirelessly is to control your printer with a printing app. Most new printers – Canon, Epson, HP and the like – have their own custom printing apps. Check the documentation your printer was shipped with and the manufacturer’s website to see if your printer supports its own app.

If your smartphone runs on Android 4.4, it has built-in wireless printing support. You can check which version of OS you’re running in the Settings > About Phone menu. Once you’ve made sure you have 4.4, check to see if you have “Cloud Print” enabled in the Settings > Printing menu. Once that’s done, you can install apps on your device and print wirelessly through them.

If you have an iPhone or other Apple product, you can use Apple’s AirPrint app to get printing. It’s a very simple app to operate, but it doesn’t support all the printers in the market. If it doesn’t support your printer, you will have to download third-party apps that do support your printer.

For a printing app to work, you must ensure that your smartphone and your printer are connected to a common Wi-Fi network. Once your smartphone and printer can communicate with each other, printing itself is a simple process.

Use a Cloud Storage (and Printing) Service

If using a printing app doesn’t work out for you, you can use a Cloud storage service to print wirelessly. Google’s Cloud Print sup ports a very wide range of printers, so we recommend you use this service if possible. To use Cloud Print, your first need to connect your printer to your Google account.  Some Cloud Print ready printers are capable of connecting to the Cloud Print account by themselves.

If you own an old printer, though, chances are you will have to do it manually. To do that, you will need a PC or laptop connected to your printer. You will also need the Google Chrome browser to get your printer recognized by Cloud Print. You will be able to manage your classic printer in Google Chrome’s Settings > Show Advanced Settings > Classic Printer section.

Once your printer is recognized by Cloud Print, just get the Cloud Print app for Android. Just open the document or photo from within the app and tap the Cloud Print option to begin printing.

Also Read : What Is Google Cloud Print and How To Enable It For Your Printer

If you own an Apple smartphone, you could use Evernote to print wirelessly. Evernote is the world’s most popular note-taking app. You can print your notes, which can be complete documents and photos, wirelessly with the app.

Send an Email to Your Printer    

Some printers support printing through emails (check your printer’s documentation or official website). All you have to do is send an email, containing the document you want to print, to the address associated with your printer. Your printer will automatically receive the email and print the document wirelessly.

To get this feature of your printer to work, you will probably have to sign up for an account at the manufacturer’s website to receive the unique email-id. The documents you email to your printer, depending on the brand, will also have to be made up in a printer-friendly format. Check your printer manufacturer’s website for more information about email printing.

Final Thoughts

Wireless printing is very convenient and helps you save a lot of time. However, it will probably take you a while to get used wireless printing -smartphones, even if they are powerful, are less versatile than PCs when you compare modifying, editing and formatting capabilities.