Thanks to advances in wireless printing technology, you can now upgrade existing wired printers so that they can accept print commands over a wireless network. Working much like fax, emails can now be sent directly to printers and mobile apps enable issuing print commands from Android, iOS and Blackberry devices.
Wired printers are now giving way to Wi-Fi printers which can print from a huge range of wireless devices. Cloud printing is now the buzzword among printing majors due to the anticipation of a massive proliferation of mobile internet devices. It is now possible to send an email to a printer from any location and the content would be printed automatically.
HP ePrint
Using the ePrint platform from HP, a printing solution that leverages the cloud, you can issue printouts via email from any new ePrint-enabled printer from any location that has connectivity. The printout can be sent from any smartphone or computer using the email address of the printer. You can print images, spreadsheets, presentations photos, PDFs and of course docs composed using word processors. The HP ePrint service which is free at present, allows you to mange print jobs sent to your printer using the printer Job History that is available on HP ePrintCenter. However, the style, formatting, and text flow of documents printed with ePrint may differ slightly from the original document. For documents that need to be printed with a higher quality (such as legal documents), HP recommends that you print using the software application on your computer, which gives you more control over the appearance of your printouts. You are advised to checkout the list of email clients and attachment file types tested for compatibility by HP an other specs from their website.
EFI PrintMe
Another cloud printing solution is PrintMe from EFI. Mobile pros who require secure, confidential and round-the-clock access to print devices can use this service for which they need to subscribe to the service and use PrintMe-enabled printers. You can use the printing function of your application. Files can be uploaded to www.PrintMe.com using any web browser. You can also print by sending an email with attachments to a PrintMe-enabled printer. Do remember to check the supported operating systems file types from the EFI website. The service supports most of he printer models in available in the market today. An EFI representative would help you confirm the compatibility of the printer model. Security in transfer of documents is implemented using SSL.
Google Cloud Print
The Google cloud print service lets you print to your printers from Google Cloud Print-enabled apps on any computer or smartphone. All cloud ready printers such as those from the HP ePrint line are supported. Classic wired printers can also be accessed using Google Chrome for Mac or Windows. Connecting to the HP ePrint printer only requires submitting the email address of the printer. To connect a classic printer, install Google Chrome on your Mac or Windows system that is connected to the printer and then enable th e Google Cloud Print connector fro the settings in the Chrome browser.
Printing over Wi-Fi networks
Another useful option is to use wireless technology Most printers hitting the market today are Wi-Fi compatible. Startup Businesses who need to move or reorganize office layout frequently found that is a great help.
Any printer can be used in a wireless network. You only need to connect to a print server. A print server is a small device with an antenna that acts as an intermediary between wireless printers among all users. Print servers are sold for as little as $ 50. An even cheaper option is to convert an old office to a server by simply adding a wireless card.
Mobile apps for printing
Printershare for Android, PrintDirect for iPhone and Remote Print for BlackBerry are the leadinfg smartphone apps for printing. While PrintDirect is free, PrinterShare has both free and paid versions. These apps also come with value added features. Check the respective store for the details before making a choice.
