How to print from your iPhone and iPad with or without AirPrint

Whether you got your first iPhone or iPad or have been working on iOS devices for a while and need a quick update, it’s helpful to know how to print directly from your device. Keep reading for a few options to easily print directly from your iPhone and iPad.

The easiest way to print from your iPhone and iPad is through AirPrint, Apple’s protocol built into iOS as well as many printers on the market.

If you’re not sure if you have AirPrint on your existing printer, keep reading and you’ll soon find out. If you know you don’t have an AirPrint-enabled printer, there may be an additional option for printing from your iPhone or iPad, which we’ll cover a little later.

If you already had a printer and are almost out of ink, it might make sense to buy a new one. You can buy a new AirPrint brand printer for about the same price as an ink refill. Great options from Canon and HP start at about $45 shipped on Amazon.

One last thing to keep in mind before taking the plunge is that iPhones and iPads do not support wired printing, only wireless.

Printing on an AirPrint printer.

If you want to print from your iPhone or iPad, the process is virtually identical. The only difference is where you can see the “Share” button (the square with the up arrow). This button can also move depending on whether you are using portrait or landscape mode. I’m using the iPhone 7 Plus for the examples below. Let’s start with printing photos.

In the photo app, I found a photo I wanted to print.

Start by tapping the “Share” button (the square with the up arrow in the upper right corner of the screen, if you’re holding your phone in portrait mode, the share button is in the lower left corner).

On the next screen, you’ll see a checkmark on the selected photos. You can swipe left and right to select more or print just the first one selected. When you’re ready, click Next in the upper right corner.

Now click “Print” (if you don’t see the print on the bottom option bar to see more). On the next screen, click Select Printer.

If your printer supports AirPrint and is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your iPhone or iPad, your printer will appear automatically. Tap on it and you’ll see an option to enlarge copies or switch to Black White.

Here’s another way to print an article from a website in portrait mode.

If you see a “Share” button on the content or file you are viewing, you can print directly from your device.

Printing on a non-AirPrint printer

Even if your printer doesn’t support AirPrint, you can still print from your iPhone and iPad. The most common way is through an app from the manufacturer and a wireless access point that the printer creates.

Look for a button similar to the one shown above. Once you’ve clicked it, go to Settings → Wi-Fi and look for an open network that has your printer name or model.

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