How to print from a Mac straight to a print shop
The Print dialog on a Mac already knows how to talk to printers you own. Print@ teaches it about the ones you do not.
What it adds
After install, every app's Print dialog lists a printer called Print@ Nearby. Choosing it does not print on your desk. It finds where you are, looks up the public printers, libraries, hotel printers, kiosks and shops nearby, ranks them for your job (closest, cheapest, or open now), and sends the file to the one you approve. You get a receipt with the address and a pickup code. Independent shops reply to you by email.
Installing
Open Terminal and paste the one line from printat.co, or download the installer package. It needs the Xcode Command Line Tools and Node.js, both free. Then run printat connect with your email so jobs go out through the Print@ cloud with the full directory.
A job, step by step
- Cmd-P in any app. Choose Print@ Nearby. Set copies and color as usual.
- A window appears with the nearest options and how each one takes files.
- Approve one. Print@ emails the shop or submits the upload for you, with a cover sheet carrying your pickup name and code.
- Your receipt opens with the address. The shop's reply, if any, lands in your inbox.
- Pick it up. Print@ deletes the file as soon as the job is delivered.
Options worth knowing
In the Print dialog's Print@ settings you can set a maximum distance, prefer a shop type, confirm your location first, or let it send without asking for shops it already knows. The console at 127.0.0.1:4243 keeps your pinned shops, settings and job history.
It is open source
The driver is MIT licensed on GitHub. The hosted part at printat.co is free during the beta.
Print@ does this from the Print dialog on a Mac: pick Print@ Nearby, and it finds the closest shop or public printer, sends the file, and gives you a pickup code. From a phone, send a file to a Print@ Network shop.
Install on macOSPrint from the webAll guidesQuestions people ask
- How do I add a print shop as a printer on my Mac?
- Install Print@. It adds Print@ Nearby to every Print dialog and routes the job to the nearest shop or public printer.
- Does Print@ work with any app?
- Yes. Anything that can print on a Mac can print to Print@ Nearby.