I’d like to buy a printer and just be able to plug it in, turn it on and have my phone find it right away. Then once paired, I can print directly to it.
There’s gotta be something out there but I’m having no luck finding it. The ability to print photos and 8.5 x 11 would be ideal.
Thanks in advance.
It’s not a printer you’re looking for, it’s the app.
Something like this, for instance.
It should work with just about any modern, WiFi-enabled printer.
You might not be able to do it as easily as “Turn it on and have your phone find it right away,” but it’ll still be easy.
It’ll vary from model to model, but I suspect most will require at least a one-time setup from a PC. Though there’s a chance that they’ll have a web-enabled setup, so you might actually be able to do it from your phone’s browser.
I have an Epson all-in-one printer, a WF-somethingsomething series. I can print, scan, and fax directly from my Android phone (and separate tablet, too) via an app I downloaded. If that suits your query, I’ll be happy to answer questions about it.
OK let’s narrow the window a bit. There will be no PC and no WiFi. Bluetooth or NFC would be an option.
I’d like be able to have a mobile office printer that I can plug into an outlet on a job site and print out a doc or photo. There typically will not be WiFi or a PC anywhere in sight.
Then find a printer that has Bluetooth or will accept a Bluetooth dongle, and get the proper app. What am I missing?
My setup is WiFi based, but does not require PCs to be in the mix.
ETA: WiFi Direct will also do what you want without a router or PC. Epson has a metric buttload of WiFi Direct printers.
I happened to look through the B&H catalog this morning and saw several stand alone printers for use with Android or IOS devices. They seemed to be photo oriented, but check the B&H website.
You may be looking for something like the Canon Pixma iP100, which prints both documents and photos and (the description claims) can connect to a smartphone via Bluetooth.
Thanks for clearing that up. I thought WiFi direct meant you needed a router in the mix.
That Cannon pixma looks like a candidate judging by the description too. Thanks for the help so far!
The new HP printers (and probably others) are set up so you can email print jobs to them. It’s nice because then I can get an email on my phone and email it to the printer (totally not while I’m driving) and having it sitting on the printer. Saving precious seconds of firing up my email client and hitting print from there.
Honestly though, as nice as it is, I don’t use it because I can fire up Thunderbird and hit print in about 10 seconds, but my boss (my dad) isn’t anywhere near as fast as I am and it’s a lot easier for him for forward an email from his phone than to try to find it again on his computer. It’s still strange to be sitting in an empty office and hear the printer spin up.
I think there’s app for when you’re in wifi range and works no matter what you’re doing on your phone/tablet, but if you email it, it doesn’t matter where you are and, if you want, you can give the email address out to other people.
Yeah, I’ve freaked the wife out more than a few times by emailing photos home while I’m at work.