Android USB printer app. How to print and scan with Android

How to print from your Android smartphone or tablet

Printers may be on the way out, given the rise of digital file sharing, but they’re unlikely to go away completely any time soon. Thankfully, you don’t need a computer to print files. Instead, you can do it straight from your smartphone. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you learn how to print files straight from your Android phone.

What You Need

There are a number of ways to print files from your Android phone. Not only has Android itself gotten better at printing, but the best inkjet and best photo printers have been getting new features to accommodate wireless printing. In case you need to print from your iPhone or iPad, check out our other guide. For this guide, we’re focusing on Android devices.

How to print a file/document from your Android phone or tablet

Android has printing services built-in now, but you’ll likely need a companion app for your printer, which can easily be installed as part of the process. Here’s how.

Step 1: If you haven’t set up a printer, you’ll need to do that first.

Step 2: Head to Settings Connected devices Connection preferences Printing.

Step 3: Select Add service. The Google Play Store will open.

How to print something on the internet from your Android phone or tablet

You don’t have to download something to print it out, though. Instead, you can just print straight from the internet. You can do this on basically any smartphone or tablet browser, and the process is largely the same. We’ve used Chrome for this guide.

As mentioned above, you’ll need to make sure your printer is set up, so follow the steps above if you haven’t done that already.

Step 1: Open Chrome and head to the webpage you want to print.

How to print using email on Android

Printer manufacturers have been building features into their printers that give printers email addresses. What that means is that you can send an email to the printer with a document you want to print, and it will automatically print it. Setting this up varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, so if you’re having trouble, we recommend looking at the manual for your printer or getting in touch with the manufacturer.

Also, we’re using Gmail as an example here, and other email clients may have a slightly different process or interface. The process should be fairly similar, though.

Step 1: Open your preferred email client and create a new email.

Editors’ Recommendations

How to print and scan with Android

We may live in an increasingly digital world, but sometimes — love it or hate it — good old-fashioned pulp-based paper is still a necessity.

No matter what type of work you do, you’re bound to encounter the occasional page that needs to be printed or document that needs to be scanned. With your Android phone in hand, though, such scenarios don’t have to be a hassle. In fact, printing and scanning from Android is surprisingly simple these days — if you know where to look.

Follow this guide, and you’ll never be caught off guard again.

Printing from Android: The basic method

‘Twas a time when turning a document on your mobile device into a zesty combination of pulp and ink required a cumbersome third-party plugin — or, worse yet, the daunting, often unreliable, and only just recently put out of its misery Google Cloud Print service (gasp!).

Well, take a deep breath and calm your inner person: Such horrific complications are no longer needed. At this point, provided you have a reasonably up-to-date Android device, the ability to print from your phone is built right into the operating system and as easy as can be.

As of 2017’s Android 8 (Oreo) release, Google has partnered with the Mopria Alliance — a nonprofit mobile printing standards organization — to bring a native and no-thought-requiring printing function to all Android devices. There’s really nothing to it: So long as you’re connected to the same Wi-Fi network as a Mopria-certified printer (and odds are, any printer in your office or home has that designation; Mopria says the overwhelming majority of printers sold nowadays do), all you have to do is find the print command in any app that offers it and then tap away with that pretty little finger of yours.

In the Gmail or Microsoft Word, or instance, you’d tap the three-dot menu icon in the upper-right corner and then look for the Print command in the list of options that appears. In Google Docs, you’d open that same menu but first tap Share export and then select Print.

Regardless of where you find it, once you start the printing process, your phone will automatically detect any printer’s presence on your network and list it as an option — and you can print away to your heart’s content (or discontent, whichever the case may be).

Printing from Android: The advanced path

The built-in system we just walked through works fine for most basic printing needs — but if you require more intricate forms of mobile printing authentication (and if you’re working in an enterprise environment, there’s a decent chance you do) or if your printing demands other advanced work-oriented features (such as folding, stapling, or accounting-related input), you’ll need something a bit more robust.

The easiest answer comes from the same aforementioned Mopria Alliance, which has a free Mopria Print Service app that enables those sorts of next-level options. Once you’ve installed the app, accepted its terms, and granted it the necessary permissions to operate, you’ll follow the same steps described above to print from any print-supporting program on your phone. The Mopria Print Service will automatically take over as your device’s default print service and provide you with any advanced possibilities available on the printer you’re using.

(You could also opt to install your printer manufacturer’s own print service plugin — like the one offered by HP, for instance — but the Mopria app has the advantage of working seamlessly with practically any printer and preventing you from having to change apps or install additional apps whenever a new printer makes its way into your life.)

The Mopria Print Service app is a viable option for phones running older versions of Android as well — since it’ll work with practically any phone and Android version — and it has the side perk of empowering you to print from anywhere on your device, regardless of whether a proper print command is present: Simply use the standard Android share command and then select Mopria Print from the menu that appears. You could even use that capability to select a chunk of text from an email, a web page, or anywhere else imaginable and then send only that specific text to a printer.

Scanning with Android via a physical scanner

If you’re near a physical scanner or multifunction printer, capturing a document and saving it onto your phone is a cinch: Just grab the free Mopria Scan app, created and maintained by that very same organization we talked about in the last two sections (how ’bout that?!).

Open the app up, accept the necessary terms and permissions, and make sure you’re connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the scanner you want to use — then look for your scanner in the list the app spits out. If you don’t see the scanner you need, look for the button to manually add a scanner by entering its name (whatever you want to call it) and IP address (usually listed somewhere within a scanner’s front-screen menu).

Once your scanner shows up, just tap its name to initiate a scan.

Scanning with Android via your phone’s camera

Maybe you don’t have or want to fuss with a standalone scanner and would rather just capture something using your phone’s camera instead. Believe it or not, you can actually get reasonably high-quality scans that way.

The Google Play Store houses a variety of apps that are up to the task, but the most powerful and versatile option for documents and other text-centric scanning is the free Microsoft Lens app. Just open the app, confirm what kind of content you want to capture — such as a document, a whiteboard, or a business card — and tap the shutter button. Microsoft Lens will handle the rest, including straightening out and neatly cropping your scan to make sure it looks proper and professional.

You can edit or annotate the image as needed and save it as a PDF or JPG, either locally on your device or directly into Microsoft’s OneNote or OneDrive service. You can also send the image straight into a Word file, where the program will extract any text from the scan and save it as plain text for your editing pleasure.

If you’re already using the Google Drive app on your phone, it has a similar though less robust scanning function built right in — and if all you need is the occasional basic scan, without any advanced editing or adjustment options, it might be good enough to get the job done. You can either open up Drive and tap the circular plus icon in its lower-right corner or press and hold the Drive icon in your app drawer (or on your home screen) to find the function.

Last but not least, if you’re looking to scan physical photos, Google’s free PhotoScan app is the way to go. PhotoScan walks you through a multistep process of positioning your photo in different places in order to capture every angle in the best possible condition. It then stitches the various images together and applies a healthy dose of technological magic to make the photo look as if it had been professionally scanned — complete with automatic cropping and an almost eerie lack of real-world glare.

With technology like this, the line between physical and digital has never been easier to straddle.

This article was originally published in August 2019 and updated in March 2021.

How to Print Directly from Android Phone Using USB Cable

Some Android phones let you print directly from it by connecting a printer to the phone via USB cable, but not all printers are supported. If your Android phone does not support your printer, there is another way to print directly from your Android phone by using a USB cable. This guide lets you know how to print from your phone.

Printing documents and images directly from your phone make your life a lot easier because you do not need to turn on your PC, connect your phone to the PC via a USB data cable to print images, emails, and documents stored on your phone.

How to Print Directly from Android Phone via USB Cable

If your phone does not detect your printer, then you need to install PrinterShare Mobile Print app from Play Store. It installs a virtual printer in your phone that you can access via phone Settings. Printing. PrintShare. Select and enable it by flipping the on-off switch.

Now, connect your printer to your phone via an USB OTG cable, then open the PrintShare app, tap ‘Select’ button and then choose ‘Nearby-USB’ option. Your phone should detect your printer.

Once your printer is detected, you will be asked to download the appropriate drivers. Confirm it and it takes only a fraction of a second. After this, your Android device is ready to print documents and pictures to your USB OTG connected printer.

Note: The free version of PrintShare app does not allow you to print via USB cable. You need a premium key to do so.

Other Method to Connect Printer to Android Phone (Using Google Cloud Print)

If you own a Wi-Fi enabled printer, it easy to print from your phone, but if you don’t own such a printer, there is an alternative method to connect your printer to your Android phone. The Google Cloud Print service is the best alternative method to connect your ordinary printer to Android, but it required a computer.

• Open Chrome browser on your PC choose Settings and expand the Advanced section.
• Click Printing click on Google Cloud Print and sign in with your Google account (linked to your Android phone).
• Now, choose Mange Cloud Print device and click on Add printer button.
• Connect printer to your PC and turn on it.
• Follow the instruction to add the printer.
• Now, install Google Cloud Print app from Play Store (link), if you don’t have it already on your phone.
• Now, when you print from your phone, select Cloud Print.

So, this is the easiest method to connect your Android phone to an ordinary printer. If you know any other way to print from your phone, let us know in the comment.

Simple and consistent user experience for printing from mobile devices in an enterprise environment

Lexmark delivers solutions that address the challenges of printing from a mobile device on an enterprise network.

Engaging mobile printing experience

• Improved user experience
• Increases flexibility for users on the go
• Improves security compliance with access controls
• No print servers required
• Conveniently print from mobile devices
• Intuitive mobile device setup and configuration

Simple Printer Discovery Configuration

Lexmark Print lets you send documents and images directly from your mobile device to a Lexmark printer connected to your network. When you are ready to print, simply share the file with Lexmark Print.

When prompted, choose an available printer. If necessary, you can also add a printer through network search, QR code discovery, or by manually typing the printer IP address, host name, or URL. This app is available for iOS and Android.

Native Printing Experience

The Lexmark print service plugin enables native printing from your Android device to supported Lexmark products without requiring a 3rd party app. Documents and images can be easily printed directly to Lexmark printers on the same network as the Android Device.

Familiar printing controls such as paper size, color, orientation, and number of copies are available. This app is available for Android.

Easy Setup

Lexmark Mobile Assistant allows you to perform initial setup of your Lexmark printer through your mobile device. This app uses the initial setup wizard for a consistent user experience regardless of Lexmark printer and interface.

On Lexmark devices that are wireless-enabled, a user can easily connect to the device, configure wireless connectivity, as well as complete the mobile device setup. This app is available for iOS and Android.

Mobile Device Management Integrations

Lexmark has developed the Lexmark Print app with security in mind.

We have worked with MobileIron and AirWatch to manage our application for enterprise ready deployment and configuration.

Convenient Mobile Scanning

Mobile capture capability is available and designed to support the needs of mobile employees and users across the enterprise. Users can directly scan to their mobile device from a discovered Lexmark printer. no server needed. Scan sharing is enabled to share scanned files with available applications on the mobile device such as email and Cloud applications.

Users can also conveniently append scanned files with images from the camera or photo gallery to create a single attachment. Mobile scan functionality on the Lexmark mobile app takes capture to a new level.

Lexmark Print Management Integration

Lexmark Print integrates with our Lexmark Print Management platform in both Premise and SaaS environments. In this setup, the user can send the print job to a single global queue with no need to return to his/her desktop.

Now users can enjoy an engaging and seamless omnichannel experience which is consistent no matter how the job was submitted. via PC, tablet, phone or even emailed into the queue.