Even though we’re living more and more of our lives online, that doesn’t mean we’ve gone completely paperless. Despite the effortless convenience of emails and text messages, sometimes a digital image or document isn’t enough. When all our computing was done on a laptop or desktop, printing to a physically connected printer was a simple affair (once you had your drivers sorted out). But today, more and more people do their computing on their phones. How do you print something from a smartphone? Hint, use a niftynew network-connected printer.
Printing from your Android device via USB
It might not be immediately apparent to most, but you’re able to plug your printer into your phone. Most printers connect to computers via a USB Type B (the square one) to USB Type A (the normal one) cable. To connect this to your phone, you’ll need aUSB hubor On-The-Go adapter, which lets you connect an old-school USB to your phone.
Some printers are detected automatically by your phone, and others may require you to install software to connect with the printer. HP, for example, requires you to installan appon your phone.
Printing from your Android device wirelessly
Wireless printing comes in two basic flavors: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. No matter which method you prefer, setting it up can be a tricky process, and it can be unique to the printer manufacturer and also between different printer models. After you set it up, printing from your phone or tablet is mostly universal across all Android devices, with slight variations between apps.
Printing from Google Docs
The Google Docs suite of office software is free and available on every modern Android device. It’s also easy to print from.
The option to print is also available from the document view, but the process is slightly different.
This process also works on Google Drive (which can display PDFs and Word documents), Sheets, and Slides.
Printing from Google Chrome
Printing from a web page isn’t as common as it once was, but you can if you want to do it.
There isn’t an option to print in Firefox mobile, but you can save a page as a PDF, open it in Google Drive, and print it from there.
Printing from Gmail
Printing emails isn’t as common as it used to be, but it’s not unheard of that you might want to.
Printing from Google Photos
Printing from your Android isn’t all business. Sometimes, you want to print photos so that you can look at your memories instead of forgetting them in the cloud.
you’re able to also access the menu with the print option by long-pressing a photo in your album.
The freedom to print
With the ubiquity of wireless home networks and the ever-increasing sophistication of our pocket computers, printing from our phones is easier than ever. The biggest speed bump you’ll likely face along the way is navigating your printer’s horrible UI to get it on your network. And if you’re not keen on keeping in the Google ecosystem, check out thesetop alternatives to Google Docs.
