How to print without a printer: the complete list of options
Owning a printer is optional now. It is cheaper and less annoying to borrow one a few times a year, as long as you know where they are and how they take files.
Ranked by effort
- A Mac with Print@. Choose Print@ Nearby in the Print dialog of any app. It finds the closest public printer or shop, sends the file the way that place accepts it, and gives you a pickup code. One click, no searching.
- Email to a library or hotel printer. Two minutes if you know the address.
- A shop's upload page. Five minutes, pay online, pick up.
- Walk into a shop with the file on your phone. Ten minutes, pay at the counter.
- A kiosk with a USB stick. Works everywhere, including at midnight in a convenience store in Tokyo.
- Ask a neighbor or your office. Free, socially expensive.
Ranked by cost
Libraries are cheapest, then kiosks, then shipping stores and chains, then hotels and business centers. Independent print shops vary and are often the best value for anything beyond a few pages.
When each one is right
- One page, right now: library, hotel desk or the nearest shop.
- Fifty pages, double-sided, stapled: a print shop or chain; they finish it properly.
- Photos: a pharmacy kiosk or a photo lab, not an office printer.
- Labels and shipping: a shipping store; they print and often ship in one stop.
- Posters and large format: a print shop with a wide-format machine.
What to send
PDF. Always PDF. It prints the same on their machine as on your screen.
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
- What is the cheapest way to print without a printer?
- A public library. Per-page fees are the lowest you will find, and most take files by email or mobile upload.
- Can I print from my laptop to a store?
- Yes. Email the file, use the store's upload page, or on a Mac use Print@ to send it from the Print dialog.
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