How to Print From Your Smartphone or Tablet

With people increasingly using their mobile devices to get work done on the go, what then happens when you need to print a PDF or a spreadsheet off your smartphone or Ipad? There are solutions for this. Printing companies have responded to this need creating apps to help you print a document without having to open your laptop or run to your PC. Here are a few options available:

For Android users, Google created Cloud Print. If your Android was purchased in the last year or so, Cloud Print should be preinstalled on your device. You can verify this by going into your Settings and scrolling to where your Printing options are listed. If you can’t see it, you can install the Cloud Print app for free from the Google Play store.

How Cloud Print works is by scanning your WiFi network for any compatible printers and then installing all the necessary plug-ins in the background. When you send print from you tablet or phone, your file is then securely sent to the printer of your choice over the web. According to Google Cloud Print, it “works whether you’re in the same room as your printer, or on another continent.”

For Apple folks, there is AirPrint. AirPrint requires that your iPhone, iPad, and or iPod touch is connected on the same WiFi network as an AirPrint compatible network. To see a list of AirPrint supported printers, check out Apple’s support site.

If you are in luck and you’ve got a printer that supports this, you simply need to click on the icon with the rectangle that’s got an arrow pointing up, which will bring up a menu that has a print option. Tap on ‘Print’, select your printer and the number of copies you’d like, hit ‘print’ and voila, it’s sent.

For those that don’t have an AirPrint compatible printer, worry not. Most manufacturers of WiFi enabled printers have created their own apps which you can purchase through Apple’s App Store. For example, HP has its ePrint app, Cannon has its Mobile Printing app, and Lexmark has got one as well.

Printing off one’s smartphone or tablet is absolutely possible especially with technology responding to the challenge and printing manufacturers stepping up to the plate. If we failed to mention an option that works with your current system, search things out in Google’s Play Store or Apple’s App Store, there is sure to be a solution available that will work for you.