Did you know that you can print from your Apple iPad?
To some, the ability to print, or scan, may sound like something that is relegated to laptop and desktop PCs running Windows 10 or Mac OS X, but mobile devices running iOS, Android and Windows 10 Mobile are just as much capable to communicate with modern printers, as their desktop counterparts.
One major caveat, of course, is that printers, scanners and other devices, including file storage drivers, must be able to work wirelessly, and connected to a local Wi-Fi.
If your printer is wireless, and connected to your local wireless network, there is a multitude of apps available that are designed to allow print jobs to be sent from your iPad, iPHone or Android phone, to any wireless printer on your network. Many of these apps require no setup at all, and are designed to work with printers natively.
Most modern peripherals are equipped for wireless functionality, with a small number requiring the host computer to be connected via a USB cable. In the latter case, there still may be a few ways for your Apple iPad, or other mobile device, to communicate with your wired printer, so long as it’s connected to a Mac where Apple AirPrint is running, which is an app that allows to make wired peripherals like printers and scanners available to devices on the same Wi-Fi network.
Apple has created a list of all compatible printers, which is quite extensive, and can be found at the following link: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201311.
If AirPrint isn’t an option, for instance if you have a Windows PC, and your printer isn’t wireless, there are still a few things you can try, such as Printer Pro, an app for Mac and Windows 10, that works in a similar way as AirPrint, and can be downloaded here: https://readdle.com/.
The maker of Printer Pro has also created Scanner Pro, an application that enables mobile devices to communicate with scanners as well.
Printing from an iPad or iPhone may follow a slightly different workflow compared to printing from a PC or a Mac. On a mobile device. While on certain apps the option to print is rather obvious, for instance in Safari, or MS Word for iOS, there may be a number of social media apps and other programs that may not offer a streamlined way to access a print dialog. Fortunately, most apps that offer a Share option, will normally include print as one of the options, which will likely enable you to get to a printing option page.
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