How to Add a Printer to My iPhone: The Real Story Behind Apple's Printing Evolution

You know what's funny? I remember the days when people said iPhones would never need to print anything because we were heading toward a "paperless society." Well, here we are in 2024, and I'm still printing boarding passes because I don't trust airport Wi-Fi, contracts that need wet signatures, and photos that actually look better on paper than they do on Instagram.

Adding a printer to your iPhone isn't rocket science, but Apple's approach to printing has always been... let's call it characteristically Apple. They've created this thing called AirPrint that works brilliantly when it works, and leaves you scratching your head when it doesn't.

The AirPrint Revolution (Or Why Apple Decided to Care About Printing)

Back in 2010, when Apple introduced AirPrint with iOS 4.2, it felt like they were doing us a favor. "Fine," they seemed to say, "you can print from your magical glass rectangle if you really must." The beauty of AirPrint is its simplicity – no drivers, no setup wizards that ask you seventeen questions about paper types you've never heard of.

To add an AirPrint printer to your iPhone, you literally just need to be on the same Wi-Fi network. That's it. Open whatever you want to print, tap the share button (that little square with an arrow pointing up), select Print, and your iPhone will find any AirPrint-compatible printer hanging out on your network. It's almost suspiciously simple.

But here's the thing – and this is where it gets interesting – not every printer speaks AirPrint. It's like showing up to a party where everyone's speaking French, and you only know English. Sure, you might find someone bilingual, but you might also spend the evening awkwardly gesturing at the cheese plate.

When Your Printer Doesn't Speak iPhone

So what happens when you've got that perfectly good printer from 2015 that works fine with everything else but gives your iPhone the cold shoulder? This is where things get creative.

First, check if your printer manufacturer has an app. HP, Canon, Epson, Brother – they've all got apps now. It's like every company decided they needed to be in the app business. Some of these apps are surprisingly good (looking at you, HP Smart), while others feel like they were designed by someone who's never actually tried to print anything in their life.

I've spent more time than I care to admit wrestling with the Canon PRINT app. It works, eventually, but the user interface feels like it was designed by committee – a committee that couldn't agree on anything. Still, it gets the job done when AirPrint isn't an option.

The Secret Third Option Nobody Talks About

Here's something most articles won't tell you: you can actually make almost any printer AirPrint-compatible if you're willing to get your hands a little dirty. If you've got an old computer lying around (Mac or PC), you can install software like Printopia or handyPrint that basically acts as a translator between your iPhone and your printer.

Your computer becomes the middleman, speaking iPhone on one side and printer on the other. It's not elegant, but it works. I used this setup for years with an ancient laser printer that refused to die. The only catch? Your computer needs to be on whenever you want to print. It's like having a very overqualified printing assistant.

The Reality Check

Let me be honest about something: printing from an iPhone is never going to be as full-featured as printing from a computer. You can't usually adjust margins, you can't print multiple pages per sheet (why would you want to read text that small anyway?), and forget about any fancy duplex settings.

Apple's philosophy seems to be: if you need those features, use a computer. They're probably right. When I need to print something complex, I email it to myself and print from my laptop. It's an extra step, but it's better than squinting at tiny preview screens trying to figure out why my resume is printing across seventeen pages.

The Future Is Weird

What really gets me is how printing has become simultaneously more and less important. We print less than we used to, sure, but when we do need to print, we need it to work immediately. There's nothing quite like the panic of trying to print boarding passes ten minutes before you need to leave for the airport, only to discover your printer needs a firmware update.

And don't get me started on printer ink. I'm convinced printer companies have figured out how to make ink expire faster than milk. But that's a rant for another day.

Making It Work in Real Life

If you're setting up printing on your iPhone for the first time, here's my advice: start simple. Make sure your iPhone and printer are on the same Wi-Fi network. Not the guest network, not your neighbor's network that you "borrowed" the password for – the same actual network.

Try printing a photo first. Photos are forgiving. If the colors are a bit off or the sizing is weird, it's "artistic." Once that works, move on to documents. And always, always do a test print before you need to print something important. Murphy's Law applies double to printers.

One last thing – if you're buying a new printer specifically to use with your iPhone, just get one with AirPrint. Yes, they cost a bit more. Yes, it feels like you're paying extra for something that should be standard. But trust me, the time you'll save not downloading apps or troubleshooting connections is worth the extra thirty bucks.

The truth is, printing from an iPhone works remarkably well when everything aligns. It's those moments when it doesn't that remind us why people used to have dedicated IT departments just to manage printers. But for most of us, most of the time, it just works. And in the world of printing, "just works" is about as good as it gets.

Authoritative Sources:

Apple Inc. iOS 4.2 Software Update. Apple Support Documentation, 2010.

Fleishman, Glenn. Take Control of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. Take Control Books, 2023.

Pogue, David. iPhone: The Missing Manual. 14th ed., O'Reilly Media, 2023.