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Tony Hoffman The Best Wireless Printers for 2019 Fewer cables in your home or office is a good thing. There are plenty of excellent printers that use Wi-Fi or other wireless technologies to streamline the printing process. Here are our current favorites. Cable-Free Printing Wireless and have become commonplace in both homes and small offices, and many larger businesses are adopting them as well.
Wi-Fi connectivity provides more flexibility in where you put your printer, lets you easily print from mobile devices, and gives you one fewer unsightly cable to worry about or trip over. Although wireless printers have been available for more than a decade, it's only in the past five years or so that they've come into their own. Most home printers have Wi-Fi capability, many of them eschewing wired networking for it, though some have both Wi-Fi and Ethernet. Many business also come with Wi-Fi enabled, and we're seeing more with either standard or optional Wi-Fi as well.
Connecting to Your Mobile Device Newer Wi-Fi printers offer mobile printing support. You can print or via Apple's AirPrint to compatible printers. Mopria-certified printers can print directly from Android devices, and many printer manufacturers and third parties offer apps for printing from iOS, Android, and other devices. Many directly support printing from cloud-based services. What's Wi-Fi Direct?
A small, but quickly growing, number of printers employ Wi-Fi Direct (or its equivalent), a technology that has the potential to greatly simplify wireless connectivity. Wi-Fi Direct-enabled computers and printers can easily connect with each other over a direct, peer-to-peer connection without requiring a wireless access point. A newer and even more direct wireless printing method is Near Field Communication (NFC), in which one has only to touch a compatible mobile device to an NFC-enabled printer for printing to commence. No Sacrifice On Speed One thing that's held people back from buying Wi-Fi printers is the perception that they may take a hit in speed.
That's occasionally true—a lot depends on the specifics of your Wi-Fi versus wired networks—but any time lost in data transfer is usually minimal compared with the total print time, particularly if the printer is proximate to your router. If speed is a concern, pick a Wi-Fi printer that also connects via Ethernet, just in case. (All printers offer at least USB 2.0 connectivity.). Pros: Small and spiffy. Voice control with supported smart home UIs. IFTTT scripting for extending smart capabilities.
Impressive print quality. Competitive ink costs with Instant Ink, plus free snapshot printing from your smartphone.
Cons: Borderless prints limited to 5-by-7-inch. Single, small paper input.
'Scans' and 'copies' only via smartphone. Bottom Line: HP's Tango X 'smart printer,' the first we've tested with voice activation and smart home features, is all about printing from mobile devices. It's not perfect, but given its unique free-snapshot printing angle, it will be a tough act for future models to follow.