Printing from the Infinity (and Android in general)

I'm looking at using the Infinity as a replacement for a laptop/netbook for some of my less tech savvy family members. One of the primary considerations is that they still need to be able to easily print and scan documents. This was a major concern, so I've done some research on the topic that I wanted to share here.

The first app that I looked at was PrinterShare - 3.7 stars:

I was able to get the app working by installing the PrinterShare Windows application on my desktop and using that to share the printer remotely (over the internet) and via WiFi (via Apple's Bonjour service that they include). Google Cloud Print support. There is a limit of printing something like 20 pages per doc unless you pay $12.95 for the Premium Key. App updated in May 2013.

So I took a look at Epson's Iprint - 4.0 stars
Epson supports a wide range of printers, but they are all still either network or WiFi printers:


The iPrint app on Android appears to support a far wider range of options and services. Box, Dropbox, Evernote and Google Docs are supported. Word, Excel, PDF, photos, scanning etc are all supported. It also explicitly states support for printing web pages directly from any browser.

Based on reviews, it appears that there are still some bugs to sort out with the app, but overall users are happier with printing from Android on Epson printers than Canon. Update added remote printing. App updated in April 2013..

Canon Easy-PhotoPrint- 3.3 stars:

I've been a big user of Canon products with the last 10+ years and have had relatively good luck with a number of their printers and cameras. Here is a list of Canon's supported printers:

Compatible models
PIXMA MG6300 Series, PIXMA MG5400 Series, PIXMA MG4200 Series, PIXMA MG3200 Series, PIXMA iP7200 Series, PIXMA PRO-10, PIXMA PRO-100, PIXMA MX890 Series, PIXMA MX710 Series, PIXMA MX510 Series, PIXMA MX430 Series, PIXMA MG8200 Series, PIXMA MG6200 Series, PIXMA MG5300 Series, PIXMA MG4100 Series, PIXMA MG3100 Series, PIXMA MX880 Series, PIXMA MX420 Series, PIXMA MX410 Series, PIXMA MG8100 Series, PIXMA MG6100 Series, PIXMA MG5200 Series, PIXMA MP495/MP499, PIXMA MX870 Series, PIXMA MX350 Series, PIXMA MX340 Series, PIXMA MP990 Series, PIXMA MP640 Series and PIXMA MP560 Series

Some of the app reviews hit on some important points. This canon app does not appear to support Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, etc. It also appears that you cannot print web pages or files from the app. It will only print photos or PDF files scanned from the printer. There are a number of reports of users returning Canon printers due to their poor Android app and buying printers from OEMs with better Android app support. App updated December 2012.

So those are only 3 of the many options out there atm. There are apparently a number of other options including:

Cloud Print - 4.6 stars - Does appear to be similar to PrinterShare in that it requires a PC with a Windows service running. But it appears to support a number of languages if that's important to you. Share to app print support. Updated added ability to print Facebook photos and Dropbox and Box support. App updated in February 2013.

PrintHand Mobile Print - 4.0 stars - WiFi and Bluetooth printing. $9.95 Pro version via in app purchase. Free version only prints test pages. You can print Office documents (DOC, XLS, PPT, PDF, TXT), Images and photos, Emails and attachments, Web pages, Calendar, call log, text messages, Google Drive docs, Content from many other apps via Share to app, Facebook albums, Files from Box. Mac and Windows shared printer support. USB wired print support. Google Cloud Print. Update added support for more Epson and Kodak printers and bug fixes. App updated in May 2013.

Samsung Mobile Print - 4.0 stars - Prints photos, documents, Gmail attachments, and web pages. Scans. Supports only Google Drive for cloud. Supports only their network or WiFi printers, or printers shared via Windows PC. Updated with support for most all laser printers, new UI refresh, landscape mode for tablets, scanner support, fax support. App updated in February 2013.

HP ePrint Home & Biz - 4.0 stars - Prints Word, Excel, Powerpoint, photos, PDF and text files. Supports network and WiFi printers and shared printers from a Windows PC. Does not appear to support Google Drive, Box, DropBox, etc. Update added Jelly Bean support and web page printing. App updated in March 2013.

Cortado Workplace - 3.6 stars - Bluetooth Wifi, and shared printer support. Some sort of cloud printing support (does not specify Google or not). Email attachment print support. Update added ICS support and test page printing. App updated in April 2013.

Let's Print Droid - 3.3 stars - Google Cloud Print support. Can print PDFs, JPG, PNG images, Text Documents and static web pages. Share to app print support. Enterprise printer support. Update removed email print support due to bugs. App updated in April 2013.

Finally, I was most happy with the reviews and support from the Epson app. I've had one Epson printer in the past and it seemed to work fine enough. So I took a look at the prices on some of the supported printers. They range from about $80-140 on the low end and go up beyond $200 for the latest models. I found a number of used network printers online for around $45-70 as well.

I'm not too excited about replacing at least 2 of the family's printers just to support Android/Infinity printing, but the price does not seem to be too much of a problem. So this doesn't look like it will be a major barrier to me, but it will be a bit of trouble, re-training, and expense.