![]() ![]() HP’s ePrint may be brand-specific, but it’s still the most mature mobile printing solution. Google When you connect to a printer or print service using Google Cloud Print, their names appear as destinations in the Chrome browser’s print dialog. Not bad for an app that’s still officially in beta. You can also share your printer with friends or colleagues who have the same basic setup, either as individuals or as part of a Google Group. A Print option will appear for printing Gmail attachments or files uploaded to Google Drive. The sending device has to run Android or iOS and use the Chrome browser, and you have to have a Gmail account. If you see the term “Google Cloud Print Ready” in your printer’s specs, that means it can connect directly to the Internet, skipping the computer intermediary. To use Google Cloud Print, an older printer needs to be connected to a Windows, Mac, or Linux PC that’s turned on and connected to the Internet. (If your printer doesn’t support iPrint, the third-party FingerPrint app may help.) As with many direct-connect printing apps, you’ll have little to no control over the details of your print job, but you’ll usually get a decent, if not perfect, print. Your iOS device will detect the printer and print to it. AirPrint lets you print from an iOS device to any AirPrint-compatible printer that shares the same wireless network. If you use an iOS device, you’re in luck: Major printer vendors-such as Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, HP, and Lexmark-cover iOS devices through either their own app or compatibility with Apple AirPrint. An office you’re visiting may even have a printer that you can connect to in one of these ways. Conversely, if it’s connected to the Internet, you can use an e-mail-based sending app to print to it remotely. If it’s on a wireless network, you can print to it directly from nearby. The easiest kind of mobile printing targets the printer you know: the one that’s sitting in your home or office. While most mobile solutions will let you print Microsoft Office files, photos, and PDF files with decent results, formatting hiccups could include extra pages, cut-off pages, font substitutions, and odd scaling. More commonly, you’ll miss that driver when your print job comes out looking funny. Printer vendors have had about three years to work out the biggest transmission kinks, but it’s still possible that your print job will go astray, and you’ll have to resend it. Accept limitations: A major challenge with mobile printing is the lack of a reliable connection and an installed driver. If you’re part of a big company, your IT department may require you to stick with implementations that lie within protected networks.ģ. If you’re sending to a printer that’s not immediately accessible, look for a solution that gives you a passcode and holds your job until you get to the printer and enter the code. Simple wireless printing usually prints the job immediately, so you’ll need to be nearby to pick it up. You want to protect remotely printed jobs from being seen by prying eyes, and also protect your Web-connected printer from being accessed by unauthorized users-or even hackers. Print prudently: Security is a big issue with mobile printing. You can also visit the iOS App Store or Google Play to search for a mobile app from the company that makes the printer you want to use (conversely, you won’t have much luck searching for these apps in the Windows Phone Store or Windows Store). And if you want to find printers in random places as you travel, apps can help you detect accessible printers-at places like office stores and copy shops that offer printing on the fly (for a fee).Ģ. But what about when you must send a job to an unfamiliar printer? Luckily, checking a printer’s online feature sheet will tell you whether it supports a solution to cover your mobile device or situation. Obviously, it’s easy to set up mobile printing around your home or office, where you own or already have access to the printer. ![]() Find your printer, find your app: Your device and printer of choice need to find each other. You’ll also have to consider three basic issues:ġ. Where and how you get started depends on how far you want to take your printing capabilities. ![]()
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