Printing technology has become a paradox. On the one hand, it has never been so easy to not print : the majority of paper documents in the home, on school and in the office you can use directly from the computer screen, smartphone, tablet or e-book. On the other, it is absolutely to die is also not going, yet almost all companies and organizations publish something every day – and even though the volume of pulp is reduced every year, according to experts, will need another quarter century to become completely paperless office.
Until then, agreements, contracts, emails, different mandatory and optional daily fines will be displayed on the paper. And that means – it’s time to learn to type.
No, about the “learn” I’m not kidding. Ten years ago, there was a problem: It’s printed from a computer. But since then something has changed fundamentally. Smartphones and tablets become more than desktops, mobile devices are now a significant part of the document passes. Therefore, why not print directly from them?
And this is at all possible, you ask? Maybe. However, the problem still is non-standard and is useful to know the details, so that at the right moment does not shade and confidently use the available functions. So here are four of the most modern way to print documents from your mobile device – sorted in ascending order of complexity. In the same manner, and I recommend them to use: go to the next only if the previous did not work!
1- The most versatile. Most likely your phone (at least its software, which is updated on a regular basis), and the printer is modern, that is issued three or less years ago. In this case, they support one of the two most common universal printing technology: Google Cloud Print (for Android-devices) or Apple AirPrint (for iOS).
A sample set of “icons”.
Both are good that there is no need to think about the drivers: you only need to specify the smartphone, which printer to use, and can be printed. But first make sure that the printer has an appropriate logo (indicating the support of the desired technology) and the printer is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your smartphone or tablet, from which you intend to print. What happens next depends on what your mobile device.
On the “Android” open “Settings -> System -> Print -> Virtual printer”. There’s a look in the “Settings -> Add a printer”, which should appear on your printer. If your network has multiple printers, select the one you want. By the way, if the printer is only one, perhaps, will not have to configure anything, he connects himself. But in the old “android” built-in support for Google Cloud Print was not, so if that is the case, it is necessary to install an additional, using the official application the Google of .
On Apple devices can skip this step, all happens as the pros say, “automatically”.
Then simply open the application, the document from which you wish to see on paper, look at his “Print” function, display the desired size and other properties, and – print! Just like a computer, with the only difference being that while not all mobile applications are able to print. Office documents, web pages, photos can be printed out, but here, for example, the correspondence of social networks – is problematic.
This method is good by the fact that there is nothing to fix. If the printer does not show up, wait a few minutes. That’s all you can fix here.
2- After the firmware application. You can always try to find a “native” mobile application, written by the printer manufacturer. That is the Epson the iPrint, the Canon the Print, the HP ePrint, the Brother the iPrint, and so on, all of whom are generally available in versions for Android, and iOS.
The printer again, must be connected to the same wireless network as your smartphone / tablet. But here only printing is performed from the most corporate applications, which means that the range of documents that can be printed in this way, only a limited number of popular formats. But such applications often let you use the printer functionality for all hundred percent, for example, they are able to check the level of ink or scan when the printer is combined with the scanner.
3- If the printer is quite old and does not support the universal seal and has no corporate applications, it is possible to try to revive with the help of mobile applications direct printing. In this embodiment, a smartphone installed a program that is able to access the printer directly through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB cable, or to see it in the network, if it is displayed in the “Sharing” on the computer. These are, in particular, PrinterShare and Printer the Pro .
Since the Android and iOS do not know how well, these applications are typically paid. Worse than that, they understand only a limited range of formats and is known far not on all printer models. Therefore it is necessary to check whether they are compatible with your particular printing device: it can be done by printing a test page in the free version.
4- Print to file: This method allows you to receive, instead of a paper copy of the electronic document (in PDF format), which will look the same on all devices and operating systems. Perhaps it is even better than the paper version, because such a document can be sent over the network, and the print is already in place. Settings are made in exactly the same to the first method, but the printer is not needed: at the time of selection simply select the option “Save as PDF”.
