Trying to print something from an Android smartphone or tablet hasn't always been the easiest. Before Android 4.4 KitKat, the operating system didn't even natively support the function and required using a 3rd-party application. Thankfully though, this vital feature has evolved throughout the years with the help of Google and all of the companies who have joined the Mopria Alliance. Printing, in general, is still progressing and adding new technology on its own, and Android is keeping up with Android Pie and its support for WiFi Direct Printing.
WiFi Direct, which was initially referred to as "Wi-Fi P2P," is a WiFi standard that allows two supported devices to communicate with each other without needing to be connected to the same wireless network. It can be compared to WiFi ad-hoc mode except that it supports multi-hop radio communications and WiFi Direct is technology that allows for single radio hop communication. Printing on Android devices has been made easier thanks to the introduction of wireless printers.
The software would allow you to see a printer that was connected to the same WiFi network and use it for printing. WiFi Direct Printing makes this even easier since there's no need to be connected to a WiFi network (which is a huge benefit in areas where you don't trust the public WiFi network). All the way back in January of this year we talked about how WiFi Direct Printing could very well be coming to a future version of Android. This was discovered thanks to a commit found in the AOSP codebase and it was just announced thanks to the Mopria Alliance.
Mopria Alliance Press Release
Android 9 Default Print Service Includes Wi-Fi Direct Printing With Code Contribution From Mopria Alliance
San Ramon, Calif. – August 9, 2018 – The Mopria® Alliance, a global non-profit
membership organization chartered to drive industry-wide standards and solutions for
printing and scanning to connected devices, today announced Android 9 (Pie) users can
enjoy Wi-Fi Direct printing to Mopria certified printers as a built-in feature on their mobile
devices, courtesy of the Android Default Print Service featuring core printing technology
from the Mopria Print Service.
The Default Print Service was first debuted in the launch of Android 8 last year, and was
a result of an ongoing collaboration with the Google Android team via the Android Open
Source Project and the Mopria Alliance. The Default Print Service delivers convenient
and intuitive printing with automatic printer discovery allowing easy printing to more than
3,000 models and 100 million deployed Mopria certified printers from any Android 8 or 9
device.
Wi-Fi Direct is a convenient feature that allows users to wirelessly connect their mobile
devices directly to a compatible printer without joining a Wi-Fi network. This is an
alternative to the standard method connecting via a router to the same Wi-Fi network as
the printer. Wi-Fi Direct printing uses an encrypted, point-to-point connection that
streamlines printing because it does not require pairing or passwords.
"A key tenant of the Mopria Alliance strategy is to simplify print and scan while also
focusing on improving the printing experience on Android," said Brent Richtsmeier, Vice
Chairperson of the Mopria Alliance Steering Committee. "Through continuous
contributions to the Android Open Source Project, we will continue to make printing on
Android as streamlined, secure and intuitive as possible."
In the five years since the establishment of the Mopria Alliance by founders Canon, HP,
Samsung and Xerox, the nonprofit membership organization has 22 members
representing the worldwide printer and scanner business. In addition to the founding
companies, the Mopria Alliance today includes Adobe, Brother, Dell, Epson, Fuji Xerox,
Huawei, Lexmark, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Microsoft, NEC, OKI Data, Pantum, Primax,
Qualcomm, Toshiba, Ricoh, Sharp and YSoft.
The Mopria Alliance is responsible for making printing and scanning solutions more
accessible and intuitive for consumer and business users through the Mopria Print
Service App and Library. To date, Mopria print technology has been installed on more
than 850 million devices and has been used to print more than half a billion pages.
Additionally, Mopria Alliance has recently released the Mopria Scan beta app with
mobile scanning capabilities and the final release will be rolled out later this year.
More details on how to print using the Android Default Print Service can be found in this
video and FAQ. For the latest list of Mopria certified printers and print accessories,
please visit https://ift.tt/2w4Fwwa.
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About the Mopria® Alliance
The Mopria® Alliance is a non-profit membership organization of leading global
technology companies with the goal of simplifying printing and scanning from connected
devices. The Alliance develops and promotes technology standards that deliver an
intuitive experience connecting various devices and operating systems. The adoption of
these standards allows users to interact seamlessly with a printer or scanner,
regardless of brand. Learn more at www.mopria.org.
Android is a trademark of Google Inc.
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