How To Print From Phone & Tablet To A Wired And Wireless Printer

It is not that you can always be prepared or you should always have enough time to print from your laptop or computer. 

Sometimes you may need to print from your smartphone. So, it is better to have the knowledge of how to connect and print from your smartphone. 

In this article, we will give you a full guide on how to print from your phone or tablet from a wire and wireless printer. 

How To Print From Phone To Wired Printer?

Have you ever wondered that you can print from your mobile phone, even when you have a wired printer? 

Thanks to advanced technology, there are various ways by which you can print documents and files from your mobile phone, whether it is Android or iOS. 

Here is how to print from a phone using a wired printer.

Note: Printing steps may vary depending on your mobile phone’s Android / iOS version.

To print from your android phone or android tablet, first of all, you have to check the requirements.

1. You should have a USB OTG (On-The-Go) cable or adaptor.
2. Your android phone or tablet should be compatible with an OTG cord.
3. Make sure your printer cord can be connected to the OTG cord.

Now, if you fulfil all the requirements, you are good to go.

• Plug the printer cord into the electric switch and turn it on.
• Now, you have to connect the OTG adaptor or OTG cord to the end of the printer’s USB cable.
• After that, you have to connect the USB cord to your phone.
• Now, you should see a pop-up on your android phone.
• You have to activate the plugin which pops up on your phone by tapping “OK”. If the plugin doesn’t appear on your phone, you may need to download it from Google Play Store. All printer brands have their own dedicated app. For instance, HP printers require the “HP Print Service Plugin”.
• Now, choose the file you want to print. It can be a photo or a document file.
• If it is a photo, then select “More” and then click on “Share”.
• The print option will appear here, so click on print, and you are done.

How To Print From Phone To Wireless Printer?

Printing from a mobile phone wirelessly is not a tough task. It can be easily done with the help of a stable wireless connection and a mobile app. 

However, many people find it difficult when they want to print for the first time. 

Many new users prefer to print from their mobile phones rather than printing from their PC or laptop.

To start with wireless printing with your mobile phone, you have to remember that the steps may vary depending on the android version you are currently using. 

However, the concept is pretty much the same for all devices and versions of OS.

Wireless Printing from Android using Plugin

Before starting be sure that the WiFi printer and phone are connected to the same local network. 

Step 1: The first thing you have to do is go to your mobile phone settings. 

You can drop down the notifications panel and tap on the “Settings” icon to reach into settings.

Step 2:Now, the different android phones will have different settings menus. You have to use the search option in the Settings menu and search for “Printers”.

Step 3:One of the search results will show up as “Printing” or “Printers”.

Step 4:Click on the “Printing” option and a new menu will pop up.

Step 5:Now, you have to download the printer plugin depending upon your printer brand. 

You can download the plugin by clicking on the “Download Printer Plugin” option, and it will redirect you to the google play store to choose the desired plugin for your printer. 

Moreover, it will show you some universal printing apps which work for almost all types of printers. 

However, if you want the best customisation settings, you can download the manufacturer’s original app.

Step 6: Make sure that the printer is connected to the same WiFi network as your mobile phone. Also, you can connect the printer using an ethernet cable.

Print Using Default Print Service

Step 1: If you don’t want to download any third-party apps or plugins on your phone to print a simple file, then you can use the default print service on your phone. 

Most android phones have a default print service, which can be activated in settings. 

So you have to make sure the service is enabled. And be sure that the WiFi printer and phone are connected to the same local network. 

Step 2: To enable the default print service, go to your phone settings “Printing” section. 

This option can be found under phone Settings>>Connections>>Connection Preferences or More Connection Settings>>Printing>> Print Services. 

Step 3: After connecting the printer to the same Wifi network, click on Default Print Service. 

The service will be started and will scan for the printers connected to your Wifi network.

Step 4: Now, the printer will show up in the list. Connect to it by tapping on the option that popped up on your screen, and the printer will be successfully connected to your phone.

Step 5: To print anything from your connected printer, just select the file and click on the “Share” option, a new dialogue box will pop up. 

From there, select Print, and the photo or file will be printed.

Print Using Wi-Fi Direct

Wi-Fi direct is another simple way to print from your mobile phone wirelessly. Your printer should support Wi-Fi Direct to use this feature.

Step 1: Go to the settings of your android phone.

Step 2: Now, find “Network & Internet” and open it.

Step 3: Open Wi-Fi and click on “Wifi Preferences”.

Step 4: Click on “Advances Wi-Fi settings” and open WiFi Direct.

Step 5: It will start scanning for the printer. To connect with the printer, accept the connection.

Step 6: Now, choose the file you would like to print, and click on share. A dialogue box will pop up, choose the print option from here, and choose the printer you wish to print with.

Step 7: If you want to print photos, go to Google Photos or open your phone gallery. 

Tap on the share, and choose the “Print” option, select the printer and configure the settings like Color Print or Black and White, and then click on print, the photo will be printed.

Print Using Printer’s Cloud Service

Modern printers have an option, “Cloud Print”, by which you can connect your phone to the printer from anywhere in the world. 

But remember your printer must be connected to the internet to print remotely.  

You will have to send an email to your printer. Use the email account which you created during the initial setup of the printer. 

You can use any third-party app or original brand app to use this feature. 

Here is how you can print with the Cloud service app of a brand:

Step 1: Download the app from Google Play Store. Here we will be using the Epson iPrint app.

Step 2: Open the app, and choose the category like Photos, Documents, files, etc. Tap on “Printer is not selected” at the top.

Step 3: On this page, you can select Local (for home printer) or Remote (if you want to print remotely. Click on “Add” at the bottom left. 

Step 4: Enter the email address you created at the time of the printer’s initial setup. Email should look like this format: print.epsonconnect.com or you can create a new email address by tapping on “Get Email Address” below.

Step 5: After that, follow the on-screen instructions, and the printer will be added.

Step 6: Now, choose any file you wish to print.

Print Using Email App

Step 1: Open the Gmail app, and click on the Compose button in the bottom right.

Step 2: Enter the email address of the printer, for example, print.epsonconnect.com

Step 3: Attach the file you wish to print. The file should not exceed 20 MB.

Step 4: If you add text in the email, it will print a separate file.

Step 5: Click on send, and the printer should print the file within seconds.

Print Using Bluetooth From Android Phone or Windows 10

Step 1: Go to the settings of your computer or phone and open Bluetooth.

Step 2: Click on Add a device, and pair it with your printer.

Step 3: Now, choose the file you would like to print.

Step 4: Click on share, and choose Bluetooth.

Step 5: On this page, select the Printer, and the printout will come out instantly.

Related Topic: How Do I Connect A Wireless Printer To My Mac?

What About Google Cloud Print?

As Google Cloud Print is decommissioned from its service from December 2020 as it is no any more necessary. 

Google developed it especially for Chromebooks users as they don’t have any native printing support. 

But now modern printers come with all sorts of advanced and important features so there is no use in having Google Cloud Print. 

The cloud service has served over 10 years and is no longer available from 1 January 2021.  

Google Cloud Print is a great option to print any file or document from any corner of the world. 

Additionally, the Google Cloud Print was capable of working as a fax machine for you, as your colleague or friend can send commands to your printer from a remote place or office. 

But that’s not the end. Google has provided some alternative printing partners like Directprint.io, LRS, NT-ware, PaperCut, Pharos, PrinterLogic, and more. 

Print Using Universal Mobile Printer App

Most of the printers support universal mobile printing apps such as the PrinterShare Mobile Print app. That we find more reliable than other apps. 

Such apps can come in handy when your printer app is not working properly, after receiving an unstable update, or multiple other reasons. 

1. Go to Google Play Store and look for the “PrinterShare Mobile Print” app.
2. Download and install the app.
3. Make sure your Phone and Printer is connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
4. Open the app and select the category of the file you would like to print.
5. Choose the best configurations and click on the Print option.
6. Now, you can connect your printer with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, and more. Here we will choose the Wi-Fi option.
7. The app will start scanning the printer connected to your Wi-Fi.
8. Finally, select the printer, and start printing. 

So, in this way you can successfully print from your phone to a wired or wireless printer. If you have a Tab you can follow the same procedure as described above.