How do you print from an ipad to a printer

The convenience of wireless printing is likely obvious to any small-business owner on the go. Added to the mobility offered by Apple's iPad tablets and smartphones, you're rarely inconvenienced when away from the office because you no longer need a cabled connection to your iPad or iPhone printer. Apple's AirPrint utility makes the connection between your Apple device and compatible AirPrint printers fast and easy.

Table of Contents Show

How to Add a Printer to an iPad
Printing a Document on an iPad
How to Print Without an AirPrint Printer
Table of contents
How to print from iPhone and iPad
Print with an AirPrint printer
Print without AirPrint
Print from iPhone with third-party apps, email, and Bluetooth
Read more 9to5Mac tutorials:
About the Author
Michael Potuck
How do I connect my iPad to a printer?
How do I get my iPad to connect to my wireless printer?
How do I print a document from my iPad?
How do I print from my iPad to my HP printer?

Tip

The most efficient way to print from an iPad uses the AirPrint function integrated into Apple iOS devices.

How to Add a Printer to an iPad

Unlike many operating systems, iOS devices don't configure printers using options under Settings or similar menus. Power up your printer and open a standard iPad app, such as Mail. Tap the "Share" icon and select "Print." Tap "Select Printer" and tap your AirPrint-enabled wireless printer in the available printers list. You're ready to print. You'll find the Share icon in most of the apps on the iPad.

Printing a Document on an iPad

The simplest way to print from your iPad or any other supported Apple device is through the built-in AirPrint function. There are other alternatives if you don't have an AirPrint-enabled printer. However, most current model printers from major equipment manufacturers include AirPrint support.

Open the app from which you want to print on your iPad.
Tap the app's "Share" icon and select "Print," if it's available. Many, but not all, apps support AirPrint.
Select a printer from the "Printer Options" dialog. Available AirPrint printers may already appear.
Choose other options, such as the number of copies, pages, and color or black-and-white printing.
Tap "Print" in the upper right corner of the dialog.

Tip

AirPrint first appeared in Apple devices running the iOS 4.2 operating system. It is built in on every iOS device since then including the iPad Pro, the iPad and the iPad 4 Mini.

How to Print Without an AirPrint Printer

While the AirPrint function is highly convenient, some wireless printers still aren't compatible with AirPrint. Your device may be able to use these successfully, but this depends more on the capability of the printer than the iPad.

Printers that can set up a wireless access point can connect to your iPad using Settings and Wi-Fi. The printer's manufacturer likely has an app for use with iOS devices. For example, Canon, Hewlett-Packard and Lexmark each have iOS apps for use with their compatible printers. Using these apps approximates the AirPrint function, but there are added steps that vary by manufacturer.

There are also third-party apps, such as AirPrint Activator, that offer alternatives to AirPrint. The success of these apps again depends more on your printer than your iOS device. Some printers permit internal setup of an email address so that you can print via mail from any device. Bluetooth printing is also possible, but this is a comparatively limited option on printers.

Whether you’ve recently gotten an iPhone or iPad or have had iOS devices for years and need a refresher, it’s handy to print directly from your device. Read on for several options for how to print from iPhone and iPad.

Background
How to print from iPhone and iPad
- Print with an AirPrint printer
- Print without AirPrint
- Print from iPhone with third-party apps, email, and Bluetooth

Background

The easiest way to print from iPhone and iPad is with AirPrint, an Apple protocol that is built into iOS and many printers on the market.

If you’re not sure if you have AirPrint on your existing printer keep reading to find out quickly. If you know you don’t have an AirPrint-enabled printer, there may still be other options to print from your iPhone or iPad.

If you’ve had your printer for while and you’re almost out of ink, it could make sense to buy a new one (and recycle or donate your old one). Sometimes you can pick up a new printer with AirPrint for not much more than ink refills. Great options from Canon and HP are available from Amazon, Best Buy, and more.

One last thing to keep in mind before diving in is that iPhone and iPad don’t support wired printing, just wireless.

How to print from iPhone and iPad

Print with an AirPrint printer

Whether you want to print from your iPhone or iPad, the process is almost identical. The only difference is where you might find the share button (square with up arrow). This button may also move around depending on if you’re using portrait or landscape mode.

Make sure your iPhone or iPad is on the same Wi-Fi network as your printer
Find the document, image, or other file you’d like to print
Tap the share button (square with up arrow, available in almost all apps)
If you don’t see the share button, you can either tap your screen to see if it shows up or take a screenshot (press side button and volume up on modern iPhones) then you can print from the Photos app
After tapping the share button, swipe down and tap Print
Choose a printer if you don’t have one already selected
Tap Print in the top right corner

If you have an AirPrint compatible printer, you’ll see it automatically show up across iOS. Here’s how the process looks in the Files app on iPhone (share button in the top right on iPad Files app):

As long as you see the share button on the content or file you’re looking at you should be able to print directly from your device.

Here’s what it looks like to print from the web via Safari:

As shown above, for Safari and many other apps, the share button may hide as you swipe through content, use the app, etc. Tap the screen or tap the top of your screen to see buttons reappear.

Print without AirPrint

Even if your printer isn’t AirPrint enabled you may still be able to print from iPhone and iPad. The most common way this works is through an app from the manufacturer.

Here’s how the HP Smart iOS app works with HP printers:

For example, you can browse your iPhone or iPad’s documents, photos, and more directly from the app and quickly print.

Check out similar apps from Canon and Lexmark, or search the App Store for an app from your printer manufacturer. Many printers are both AirPrint compatible and work via the manufacturer’s app.

Some printers may also offer an option to connect to a local network.

Look for a button similar to the one shown above. Once you’ve pressed it, navigate to Settings → Wi-Fi on your iPhone/iPad and look for an open network that contains your printer’s brand or model name in it.

This Canon printer allows me to print wirelessly with this Canon_ij_Setup network and the Canon iOS app.

Print from iPhone with third-party apps, email, and Bluetooth

Another way to print from iPhone and iPad is with third-party software. Some solid options have been shared in the comments and via Twitter by readers. The most mentioned is Printopia while others have recommended Printer Pro by Readdle as worth checking out. Thanks for sharing, all!

Most of these apps give more control to how and what you can print and give you functionality even if you don’t have AirPrint.

One more feature is that your printer may have its own email address. This process is usually set up during the product registration or automatically in some cases.

Once complete, you can print by using this email address, even if you’re away from your printer. Here’s how it looks to find your printer’s email address in the HP Smart app:

One less common way to print from an iOS device is via Bluetooth. This usually applies to a small portion of mobile printers, check your owner’s manual if this applies to yours.

Since every printer is different, you might need to look up your specific printer model on your manufacturer’s website.

iPad

Apple's tablet debuted in 2010. Since the original version, it's expanded into multiple screen sizes and Pro and non-Pro options.

iPhone

Introduced in 2007 by Steve Jobs, iPhone is Apple's flagship iOS device and easily its most popular product around the world. The iPhone runs iOS and includes a large collection of mobile apps through the App Store.

How-to AirPrint

About the Author

Michael Potuck

@michaelpotuck

Michael is an editor for 9to5Mac. Since joining in 2016 he has written more than 3,000 articles including breaking news, reviews, and detailed comparisons and tutorials.

How do I connect my iPad to a printer?

Print with AirPrint.

Open the app that you want to print from..

To find the print option, tap the app's Share button or or the Actions button ..

Scroll down and tap the Print button or Print. ... .

Tap No Printer Selected and choose an AirPrint-enabled printer..

How do I get my iPad to connect to my wireless printer?

Print with AirPrint.

Open the app you want to print from..

To find the print option, tap the app's share icon – or. ... .

Scroll down and tap. ... .

Tap Select Printer and choose an AirPrint-enabled printer..

Select the number of copies you want and other options, such as which pages you want to print..

How do I print a document from my iPad?

Print a document.

Open the document, tap the document's name in the toolbar, then tap Print..

If no printer is selected, tap Select Printer, then choose one. ... .

Choose print options (page range, number of copies, and so on). ... .

Tap Print in the top-right corner..

How do I print from my iPad to my HP printer?

Print from your Apple device Open the item you want to print, and then tap the Share icon ( or ), or the menu icon . Scroll down the screen and select Print from the list of options. Select your printer, and then select print job settings such as paper size, number of copies, and page range.