How to print from an iPhone or Android when you have no printer
Your phone has the document. The printer is somewhere else. Here is how to connect the two without owning anything.
Get the document into a sendable form
From any app, use the share button and choose "Save to Files" or "Print", then pinch outward on the preview to turn it into a PDF you can share. Android has "Print" to PDF in the share menu of most apps. Screenshots work in a pinch but print small; a PDF prints at full size.
Send it to a printer near you
- Email to print. Libraries, hotels and many shops give you an address. Attach the PDF, put the pickup name in the subject, and say copies and color. A release code or a confirmation usually comes back within a minute.
- Upload page. Chains and some libraries have a page where you drop the file and pick the location. You pay there or at pickup.
- Kiosk. Pharmacy and convenience store kiosks take uploads from your phone's browser or a USB stick, and print while you wait.
- Walk up. A print shop will print from your phone over AirDrop, email or a cable.
Finding the printer
Maps apps find shops but miss library and hotel printers. The Print@ directory covers those and is searchable from a Mac. From a phone, the Print@ Network portal lets you upload a file to a participating local shop and get a pickup code by email.
What to send
PDF for documents, JPEG or PNG for photos. Avoid sending links to cloud files; the person printing may not be able to open them. Keep attachments small; hotel and library email printers reject very large files.
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 print a PDF from my iPhone without a printer?
- Email it to a library, hotel or shop printer, upload it on the shop's page, or take it to a kiosk. Print@ Network shops take uploads from a phone at printat.co/app.
- Can I AirDrop a file to a print shop?
- Many independent shops accept AirDrop at the counter; ask. Email is the universal fallback.