How to connect a network printer over Android?

Question

I want to code an Android app, which will connect to a network printer with a specific IP address, and then make a printing.

For printing I know that I need to write my own Postscript for specific files types, and connecting to a network is not a problem over WIFI.

How to connect to the network printer?

Have you found a solution for this ? – Kishore Jun 07 '12 at 09:43 — Kishore, Jun 07 '12 at 09:43

score 20 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 27 '12 at 12:57

20

Any device connected to a network will communicate via their IP and Ports / sockets. The simplest way to connect via telnet or socket and write the data to their socket buffers.

try 
    {
    Socket sock = new Socket("192.168.1.222", 9100);
    PrintWriter oStream = new PrintWriter(sock.getOutputStream());
        oStream.println("HI,test from Android Device");
        oStream.println("\n\n\n");
        oStream.close();
        sock.close(); 
    }
    catch (UnknownHostException e) 
    {
        e.printStackTrace();
    } 
    catch (IOException e) 
    { 
        e.printStackTrace();
    }

answered Nov 27 '12 at 12:57

ReachmeDroid

959
1
14
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1

how to get the port ? – Menna-Allah Sami May 14 '15 at 12:43
3

it worked for me, i want to print a pdf file, could you help me there – Vishwajit Palankar Sep 19 '16 at 09:42
I have some different Url like Ip, Port like 192.168.100.101:9090/printer/print How to use this Url for Print ? – Satyam Gondhale Sep 20 '19 at 18:18
@luis can you tell me which printer you have used? – user3219477 Oct 03 '19 at 10:06
@VishwajitPalankar Which printer you have used? – user3219477 Oct 03 '19 at 10:06
@user3219477 I think it was an HP printer. The important thing for me was that the printer supported PCL (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_Command_Language) – Luis Oct 03 '19 at 12:53
Works great! But how can I print in xml format? Please help! – Sam Chen Nov 08 '19 at 23:00

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited Nov 30 '17 at 13:32

1

Just Add This Code After oncreate Method

if (android.os.Build.VERSION.SDK_INT > 9) {
    StrictMode.ThreadPolicy policy = 
        new StrictMode.ThreadPolicy.Builder().permitAll().build();
    StrictMode.setThreadPolicy(policy);
}

edited Nov 30 '17 at 13:32

GiftZwergrapper

2,602
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answered Mar 28 '17 at 10:05

sanjay malya

37
6

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 10 '11 at 01:53

1

You might be able to use lpdspooler, that is, if the printer supports LPR/LPD. If you can give some more details about the environment (printer, etc), I might be able to give more information.

answered Jun 10 '11 at 01:53

AC2MO

1,627
13
15

Test printer is EPSON TM-T88III (Ethernet). I need to check if it supports LPR/LDP. – Fallenlight Jun 10 '11 at 15:15
https://www-304.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas1aeb8bc2140732fb2862569c10078efbb&wv=1 It shows that printer supports LPR. – Fallenlight Jun 10 '11 at 15:19
1

I looked into lpdspooler again, and it doesn't look like exactly what you want, but I see your printer does support LPR and RAW. I found [this link](http://code.google.com/p/jprinterface/source/browse/trunk/src/sos/net/print/LPR.java?r=2) to the source for a project which sends a job to a printer through LPR in java; I believe it will do exactly what you want. – AC2MO Jun 10 '11 at 15:22
Thanks Gregory, let me try it. I will inform you about the results. Now at least i have something to start with. – Fallenlight Jun 10 '11 at 15:42
Did you figure out something? – Umair A. Jul 15 '11 at 14:28
1

Hi, i tried the link which Gregory provided, it worked as java application without any problem. But whenever i tried the same idea and code in Android, i ended up SocketTimeOut error while writing data file. I tried wakelock and increasing the amount of timeout but it didnt help, i will check with wireshark to see what is wrong, still working on it. It is early to say it but i think it can happen because of permission problems there is nothing i can think of for now, any help is appriciated. – Fallenlight Aug 29 '11 at 17:23
Hi guys, Even I am looking for print sdks, is this code is beneficial in android, explain how? – Anchal Radhwani Dec 30 '15 at 05:42

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 10 '12 at 07:24

0

Star has an Android SDK which has port discovery. It'll find any of their wifi receipt printers on your network. http://starmicronics.com/support/SDKDocumentation.aspx

answered Aug 10 '12 at 07:24

LtH

692
7
18

Andrey Zhukov · Answer 5 · 2018-11-29T08:51:06.763

Try to use PrintManager: https://developer.android.com/training/printing/custom-docs

  private void doPrint() {
    // Get a PrintManager instance
    PrintManager printManager = (PrintManager) getActivity()
            .getSystemService(Context.PRINT_SERVICE);

    // Set job name, which will be displayed in the print queue
    String jobName = getActivity().getString(R.string.app_name) + " Document";

    // Start a print job, passing in a PrintDocumentAdapter implementation
    // to handle the generation of a print document
    printManager.print(jobName, new MyPrintDocumentAdapter(getActivity()),
            null); //
}

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Jan 28 '21 at 20:50

My solution. I used Epson TM series. I think the port is 9100 for default. In Manifest add:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

in the activity use a Thread otherwise u you can the android.os.NetworkOnMainThreadException error.

Thread thread = new Thread(new Runnable() {

            @Override
            public void run() {
               try  {
                  Socket sock = new Socket("192.168.1.168", 9100);
                  PrintWriter oStream = new PrintWriter(sock.getOutputStream());
                  oStream.println("Hi, test from Android Device");
                  oStream.println("\n");
                  oStream.close();
                  sock.close();
                } catch (UnknownHostException e)
                  {
                   e.printStackTrace();
                  }
                  catch (IOException e)
                  {
                    e.printStackTrace();
                  }
                    }});

If not enough, add in manifest these:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE" />

score -2 · Answer 7 · answered Dec 19 '11 at 05:01

-2

Well, you cant connect any devices directly as you will need the driver installed. there are 3rd party apps like Google Cloud print that works seamlessly with Android though.

answered Dec 19 '11 at 05:01

Android Print

5
1

1

**No**, this is the microsoft windows' ed way. In fact, many **good quality** devices, like printers, modems, sound cards, etc, support standard communication protocols, so you can connect **without any drivers installed**. See the accepted answer for example. – Vassilis Jul 28 '17 at 18:49

How to connect a network printer over Android?

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