Smartphones now contain a lot of photos and some of which have accumulated over time.
However, even though most people prefer having digital copies of those pictures, there may be times when you would want to print photos from android phone.
However, determining where and how to print photos from your android phone can be difficult. You can print the pictures either by transferring them to the computer, printer, or other third-party applications.
However, it is impossible to print pictures without the proper hardware and software. There has been a surge of several applications and hardware to assist phone users in directly printing their photos.
Ways to Print Photos From Your Phone
- Print photos from professional printers
- Print photos from the phone with portable printers
- Other Mobile Printing Apps
- Bluetooth
Transfer Photos from an Android to a Computer
PC Windows
Initially, you will have to connect your Android to your computer using a USB charging cable first. Your device will receive a notification. Another window will appear after you tap Other USB Options. Choose File Transfer.
You will now be able to access the pictures on your PC and learn how to print clear photos from your phone.
Your phone will also be listed under drives and devices. Following that, you’ll see a list of files that contain data on your phone.
Your photos will be saved in one of the three folders, Pictures, Albums, or DCIM. Open the relevant folder, select your images and also drag them to your desktop. If you’re transferring multiple images to print, you can make a folder.
Once you have finished transferring the files, you can easily eject the device from the computer.
Macbook
Getting photos from an Android device to a Mac isn’t as simple as getting photos from your phone to a Mac, but the pictures can easily be printed from your phone. In some cases, your Mac will recognize your device as an external device.
This is similar to how an SD card is recognized. This isn’t always the case, and it could be due to operating system compatibility.
If your computer does not recognize the device right away, or if your Mac is unable to transfer the photos.
You will have to install the application on your Mac. Once you have installed the application, use your charging cable to connect your Android to your Mac.
You will also have to make sure that your phone is unlocked before launching the Android file transfer app on your Mac.
Your phone will display a notification asking you to grant access to your data. Click on Allow.
Your Mac may report that is unable to access either the device storage. In case you can’t connect your Android you will have to unplug and reconnect it.
You will then get a notification after it is synced, and the device will ask you which option you want to use the USB connection for. After that, select File Transfer. You can now access all the files.
Go through the DCIM and other picture folders for the pictures that you want to transfer.
You can save them here by dragging and dropping them to create a new folder. You can now print photos from your phone.
1. Print photos with professional printers
One of the most convenient ways of printing pictures from your android photos is by transferring the pictures to your system.
After you have transferred the pictures to your computer or laptop, you can directly print them with professional printers.
You will have to make sure that your computer or laptop is connected to a professional printer so that you can print them. However, if you do not have a professional printer, you can now easily get access to portable printers which are more common in the market.
2. Print photos from the phone with portable printers
Some printer manufacturers, such as HP, and Epson have released several portable printers which were made for smartphones. Furthermore, an increasing number of Wi-fi and Bluetooth technologies support those printers.
Customers can then connect their portable printers to their phones with the help of Bluetooth and also immediately print pictures from their phones. These portable printers have been released for the convenience of users.
Some of the most popular portable printers are as follows
HP Envy 4520 Wi-Fi Printer
The HP Envy 4520 Wi-Fi Printer is an easy-to-use smartphone photo printer. It is very easy and simple to print from Android devices. It also has versatile copying and scanning capabilities.
Some of its features include scanning, copying, and printing borderless and automotive duplexing pictures.
Additionally, this portable printer works with several operating systems including Windows 8, 10, RT, iOS, Android, and others.
The picture format that it supports is PDF, BMP, PNG, JPEG, and TIFF. Additionally, it can support 25 sheets in the output tray and 100 sheets in the Input tray.
The pros of this portable printer are that it can be set up easily and is cost-effective as well. The only downside is that double-sided papers can slightly more time to be printed.
Polaroid ZIP Mobile Printer
The Polaroid ZIP Mobile Printer is one of the most popular portable printers. This printer is battery-powered and the pictures can directly be printed from your device with the help of NFC technology or Bluetooth.
This printer can be used on both iOS and Android, and also provides a sticky back that is completely smudge-proof.
Moreover, there are several other features which include emoticons, stamps, stickers, frames, and color filters.
The picture format for this portable printer is JPEG and the paper capacity is only 10 sheets. The Polaroid ZIP Mobile printer is considered one of the best ones for an easy zero-ink picture.
Fujifilm Instax SHARE SP-2 Wireless Printer
The Fujifilm Instax SHARE SP-2 printer, as the name suggests is wireless. You can print the pictures directly from your iOS and Android devices. You can also use the application to use this portable printer.
Even though it only prints 2.4 x 1.8’’ images, the resolution is 320 dpi and supports PNG and JPEG. Additionally, this portable printer can print pictures in less than 15 seconds with great quality.
This printer also provides many filters and templates along with 20 color sheets.
Kodak Photo Printer Mini
Kodak Photo Printer Mini is very well known for its top-notch quality. It allows you to print pictures wirelessly and also combines both color ink and paper for easy maintenance.
The pictures are usually 2.1 x 3.4’’ and to avoid any damage to the picture quality, there is an overcoating layer on its cartridges.
This portable printer is integrated as one set which includes an ink ribbon, paper sheets, and a cartridge.
The color quality is worth mentioning with numerous templates and filters. The printer itself is very lightweight and compact. However, there aren’t enough editing features on the mobile application.
VuPoint Smartphone Photo Cube
The VuPoint Smartphone Photo Cube has a free mobile application that allows you to print 4 x 6’’ pictures from your android devices. You will have to note that there is no option of printing wirelessly for this printer.
However, it can directly print the images from your Android device with the help of thermal transfer technology.
This portable printer is also comprised of 60 photo papers along with one color ribbon.
It includes features such as panoramas, ID photos, and wallet-size photos. The resolution of the images is also good, and it supports JPEG format.
The Prynt Case
This portable printer is exclusively for iOS devices. All you need to do is plug in your phone, and take a picture and you’ll have a printed photo in seconds.
Some of the features of this printer include instantly printing your photos from your iPhone along with magical hidden videos inside.
Moreover, there is no need for ink cartridges and everything you need is included in the Prynt ZINK Paper. It also allows you to preview and edit your photos using several effects, frames, stickers, and custom filters.
It supports the JPEG format and the capacity is 10 sheets. Even though it is slightly complex to set up, the entire concept is relatively modern and unique.
LG Pocket Photo Printer
The LG Pocket Photo Printer is available for both iOS and Android devices. It is one of the easiest and most simple printers to use. You can share and edit the pictures anytime you want without any hassle.
Along with the printer, you can download the application which is available on both the App Store and Google Play.
Bluetooth connectivity is also supported and you can tap to pair other devices which are NFC-enabled using NFC technology.
This printer allows you to edit images using a variety of available options. It also quickly adds QR codes by pressing the QR button.
The paper capacity of this printer is 20 sheets and it supports both PNG and JPG with a resolution of 313 x 600 dpi.
One of the major advantages of this printer is that is very compact and lightweight and has ZINK printing technology. Even the photo paper is not available for this printer, it has several other features and effects.
Impossible Instant Lab
This portable printer can be used with a variety of devices. It can work with Android, HTC, Samsung Galaxy, iPod Touch, iPad, and iPhone. You can also install the Impossible App to use Impossible Instant Lab.
This printer adds distinct texture and analog depth to the pictures. It creates high-resolution which screens up to 4’’ in size.
Impossible Instant Color and black and white film are used. The printer resolution for expanded and collapsed is 5.8 x 4.3 x 6.9 and 5.8 x 4.3 x 2.4 respectively.
The supported format includes TIFF, PNF, PDF, BMP, and JPEG. The results are stunning even though it is more on the expensive side compared to other portable printers.
3. Other Mobile Printing Apps
NFC has been around for a long time, but it is now changing the way digital transactions and interactions take place through our smartphones. Printers have been added to the list of such devices.
If you want to use NFC to print photos from your phone, you must have a phone with an NFC antenna and an NFC-capable printer. In some cases, you must also have Wi-Fi Direct available.
This also requires you to have an application installed on your smartphone. The apps listed below are all available for Android devices.
The downloading and installing process is identical to that of Google Cloud Print.
You will also have to keep in mind that it is integral to enable NFC both on your printer and phone. Since different printers and applications operate differently, it is slightly difficult to provide exact instructions on how to use NFC.
The following are some general instructions for printing photos from your phone with the help of mobile applications.
HP iPrint Photo (Free)
The HP iPrint Photo is also free software that is very convenient and simple to set up. This printer allows you to edit and crop pictures before you print them. Additionally, it also supports more than 200 HP inkjet printers.
The user interface of the application is also very straight forward and it allows you to take any pictures from your gallery or folder and edit them. This application works best on iOS devices and Windows Mobile as well.
Polaroid PoGo App (Free)
An advantage of this application is that Wi-Fi is not needed. You will only need Bluetooth to use this application.
It supports any mobile device that has Bluetooth. You can either take a picture from your camera then and there or print a picture that is already stored in your gallery.
This application also allows you to custom frames and borders to your images and provides test prints as well.
Brother iPrint & Scan (Free)
With the help of this application, you can directly scan pictures on your phone. Even though the setup takes a longer time, you can consult the user manual especially if you are not being able to configure the settings properly.
Open the iPrint and Scan app on your smartphone. Select the “Use NFC” option and then print. Tap “Photo” from the list of options that appears. Browse your pictures and select the picture you want to print.
Tap on the printer’s NFC tag on your phone and click on the picture which is on the screen to confirm the transfer. Your photo will automatically be printed thereafter.
Epson (Epson iPrint)
Touch your mobile device’s NFC antenna to the NFC tag which is on your printer. After that, your Epson iPrint will get launched. Touch your mobile device’s NFC antenna to the product’s NFC tag once more.
You will have to make sure that the mobile device and printer are linked. In Epson iPrint, you will have to open the picture that you want to print. To begin printing, place your mobile device’s NFC antenna against the NFC tag on your printer again.
Samsung (Samsung Mobile Print)
You will have to tap your smartphone’s NFC antenna against the NFC tag on your printer. After that, wait for some time to launch the Samsung Mobile Print application and then select the image that you want to print.
Tap your phone once more and wait for it to connect. Once you tap the NFC tag on the printer, the process ends and it will begin printing.
Cypria
Cypria is a third-party printing application for Epson wireless printers. It is available in both a free and paid version on the Android Market which is slightly more than $5.
The free version of the application allows you to create and print notes, CD labels, index cards, and photos, the paid version also allows you to print web pages from your phone’s mobile browser in addition to photos.
There are numerous printing options available and this is compatible with other applications on Android. This is a must-have since it prints more than just pictures from your phone.
Canon Easy-PhotoPrint
According to Canon, its Easy-PhotoPrint application for Android allows you to print any picture from your SD card or phone wirelessly.
You can also print up to 39 different pictures at once. You can also choose the number of copies you want and the type of paper to use.
However, you will have to keep in mind that the application is not working with all of Canon’s wireless printers. This application will also search your wireless network for compatible printers.
It allows you to select multiple images for batch printing and is excellent for printing a large number of photos at once.
4. Bluetooth
Bluetooth is one of the most common and convenient ways to print pictures directly from your phone.
The first step is to ensure that Bluetooth is enabled. Depending on the printer’s brand, and model, the Bluetooth button could either be on the menu or on the printer itself.
To print your pictures from a computer with the help of Bluetooth, you will first have to transfer the images from your phone to your system. This can also be done either via instant messaging, email, USB, or Bluetooth.
Once you have transferred the image you want to print on your computer, you can do so.
From your phone
You will have to enable Bluetooth on your smartphone by going to the settings menu. When your printer has been discovered, you can select it from the devices and connect your phone to your printer and pair it.
After that, open the photo you want to print by navigating to it. Select Bluetooth from the three-dot menu, if you are not able to see this option, it means that printing via Bluetooth from the application is not possible.
Once you choose the Bluetooth printer from the list, select the picture as well. Check the printer for any confirmation prompts and your photo will be automatically printed after that.
Conclusion
Instead of using print services, you can easily get quality prints of your favorite photo or other google photos from the comfort of your own house.
You can install certain applications which will allow you to print high-quality photos merely by connecting to the wi-fi network or via Bluetooth.
All you require is a portable or professional printer and you can print any picture from your camera roll directly from your phone.
Additionally, you can also create photo books since this method is very cost-effective as compared to other printing services.
