How to Print From an Android Smartphone or Tablet

Printing from an Android phone or tablet is now easier than ever. Like printing from a PC, just open the file you want to print and send it over for a paper copy. You don’t even need to be on the same network if you own an internet-friendly printer.

In this guide, we show you how to print from Android using the platform’s default printing service. We also provide an example of how you can print remotely without Google’s now-dead Cloud Print service.

Note: The following instructions are based on a pure build of Android 10 on a Pixel 3 smartphone and may be different on Samsung and other third-party devices. Additionally, the methods listed in the cloud portion of this guide are based on an Epson printer and may be different on your model.

Bye-bye Google Cloud Print

This guide originally showed how to use Google Cloud Print to print from Android. This service allowed you to print from any device, not just Android, and from any location so long as your target printer was registered with Google and connected to the internet. It mainly targeted Chromebooks because they lacked native printing support, but that has since changed. And now that modern printers are internet-friendly, Google Cloud Print isn’t necessary.

After offering the service as a beta for just over 10 years, Google depreciated Cloud Print in December 2020. You can no longer use Google Cloud Print as of January 1, 2021. As an alternative, Google provides a list of printing partners, including Directprint.io and PaperCut.

Use the Default Print Service

With modern Wi-Fi-enabled printers, Android will detect your printer if both devices are on the same local network. Here’s how to enable the Default Print Service feature and print from Google Photos.

Step 1: Make sure your Wi-Fi printer and Android device are connected to the same local network.

Step 2: On the Android device, pull down the shade and tap the gear icon. This opens the settings panel.

Step 3: Tap Connected Devices.

Step 4: Tap Connection Preferences.

Step 5: Tap Printing.

Step 6: Tap Default Print Service.

Step 7: Tap the toggle to switch this service on. Your compatible Wi-Fi printer should now appear below.

Step 8: Swipe the settings screen closed and open the file you want to print. In this example, we used a picture in the Google Photos app.

Step 9: Tap the default viewer’s three-dot Menu icon typically located in the top right corner.

Step 10: Tap Print on the roll-up menu.

Step 11: Tap Select a Printer.

Step 12: Select the Printer detected by the Default Printing Service you enabled earlier.

Step 13: Tap the blue Printer icon to finish. If you see a pop-up confirmation, tap OK.

Use the printer’s plugin

Install this if you’re using an older device with Android 4.4 and newer. We didn’t need a plugin with Android 10.

Step 1: Make sure your Wi-Fi printer and Android device are connected to the same local network.

Step 2: On the Android device, pull down the shade and tap the gear icon. This opens the settings panel.

Step 3: Tap Connected Devices.

Step 4: Tap Connection Preferences.

Step 5: Tap Printing.

Step 6: Tap Add Service.

Step 7: Tap on your Printer manufacturer’s plugin, such as HP Print Service Plugin, Canon Print Service, or Epson Print Enabler.

Step 8: Tap Install.

Step 9: The manufacturer’s print service should now appear on the printing page. Swipe to close the Settings panel.

Step 10: Open the File you want to print and then tap the three-dot menu icon located in the top right corner of the related app. Again, we used Google Photos.

Step 11: Tap Print on the roll-up menu.

Step 12: Tap on your Printer.

Step 13: Tap the blue Printer button to finish. If you see a pop-up confirmation, tap OK.

Use Wi-Fi Direct

Here’s another way to print from Android if the printer supports Wi-Fi Direct.

Step 1: On the Android device, pull down the shade and tap the gear icon. This opens the settings panel.

Step 2: Tap Network & Internet.

Step 3: Tap Wi-Fi.

Step 4: Tap Wi-Fi Preferences.

Step 5: Tap Advanced to expand your options and then tap Wi-Fi Direct.

Step 6: Tap the detected Printer.

Step 7: On the printer, accept the connection.

Step 8: Open the File you want to print and then tap the three-dot menu icon located in the top right corner of the related app. Again, we used Google Photos.

Step 9: Tap Print on the roll-up menu.

Step 10: Tap Select a Printer and select the Printer you added.

Step 11: Tap the blue Printer button to finish.

Use the printer’s cloud service

Many printers now have a “cloud print� component. For instance, Epson printers include an Epson Connect service that allows you to print from anywhere by sending an email directly to the printer. Yes, it has an email address that you likely created during the printer’s initial setup process.

You can use any email client to print, or take the shortcut and use the manufacturer’s app — in this case, the Epson iPrint app for Android. We’ll use this as an example because it’s the printer we have on hand.

Note: The printer must be connected to the internet to print from a remote Android device.

Use the manufacturer’s app

Again we are using an Epson printer as an example. The following instructions are for the Epson iPrint app, and will likely be different for apps provided by other manufacturers.

Step 1: With Epson iPrint open, you’ll see five services: Print photos, print documents, print from the cloud, scan, and document capture. To add a registered Epson printer, tap the blue Printer is Not Selected banner.

Step 2: If you’re at home, the printer should appear under the Local tab already. Since we want to print remotely, tap the Remote tab instead.

Step 3: Tap Add located at the bottom.

Step 4: Tap Yes on the prompt to acknowledge that a communication charge may be applied depending on your network environment. This refers to cellular data.

Step 5: Enter the Printer’s email address you created during the initial setup process. It likely ends with the print.epsonconnect.com address. Alternatively, tap Get Email Address if you didn’t create one earlier.

Step 6: Tap Done and the app will add the printer.

Step 7: Go back to the main screen and tap one of the services, like Print Photos. Select the photos you want to print and follow the prompts.

Use an email app

In this example, we chose Gmail. You can use any email client to print Word (doc, docx), Excel (xls, xlsx), PowerPoint (ppt, pptx), PDF, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG, and TIFF files so long as the printer is online and has a valid email address.

Step 1: Open Gmail and tap the Compose button located in the bottom right corner.

Step 2: In the To field, enter the printer’s email address. For our example printer, this address ends with print.epsonconnect.com.

Step 3: Attach the image or document you want to print. You can attach up to 20 files or up to 20MB combined.

Note: If you add text to the email body, it prints as a separate document. On our printer, text printed on paper in Tray 2 while the emailed image printed on paper in Tray 1.

Step 4: Tap the Send (“paper airplane�) icon to complete. The printer should come alive and start spitting out your file in a minute or two.

Note: When you are viewing a file using its default app, like a picture in the Google Photos app, you can tap the Share button and then tap your Preferred email client on the roll-up menu. In this case, you won’t need to manually attach the file.

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