Mopria Print Service: Print from Android to a USB Printer

Android has supported network printing for years through Mopria, and on most modern phones it is built directly into the system as the Default Print Service. That means you do not need a printer app for each brand. You only need the printer to be visible on the local network, and that is exactly what Printman makes possible for a USB printer.

This guide walks through sharing a USB printer from Windows and then printing from an Android phone.

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How Android Printing Works

Android’s print framework discovers printers that advertise themselves over mDNS using IPP Everywhere or AirPrint. A USB printer attached to a PC advertises nothing, which is why it never appears in the Android print dialog on its own.

Printman runs an IPP Everywhere print server on the Windows PC and announces the printer over mDNS, so Android sees a normal network printer.

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What You Need

• A Windows 10 (build 19041+) or Windows 11 PC with the printer’s Windows driver installed.
• The printer connected over USB.
• An Android phone or tablet on the same Wi-Fi.
• Printman. Grab the standalone printman.exe from the releases page and extract it, for example to C:\Tools\Printman.

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Step 1: Share the Printer on Windows

In Windows Terminal or PowerShell, from the Printman folder:

./printman.exe share

That shares the default printer as Printman - <printer>. To choose printers yourself:

./printman.exe share --select

Approve the Windows firewall prompt on a Private network. The console prints an ipp:// URL you can use if a phone cannot discover the printer automatically. The full walkthrough is in the AirPrint and Mopria sharing guide.

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Step 2: Find the Printer on Android

1. Connect the phone to the same Wi-Fi network as the Windows PC.
2. Open any app and trigger a print, for example in Chrome open a page, tap the menu, then Share, then Print.
3. Tap the printer dropdown. Printman - <printer> should appear. Android caches the printer, so it stays available afterwards.
4. If it does not appear, open Settings, search for Printing, open Default Print Service, and turn it on. You can also add the printer manually with the ipp:// URL.

On Samsung phones the setting is under Settings, Connections, More connection settings, Printing. On Pixel and stock Android it is under Settings, Connected devices, Connection preferences, Printing.

If your manufacturer stripped printing out entirely, install the official Mopria Print Service app from the Play Store and repeat the step.

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Step 3: Print from Any App

Once the printer is discovered, Android’s standard print dialog is used everywhere:

1. In the app, choose Print from the menu or the Share sheet.
2. Select Printman - <printer> as the printer.
3. Pick paper size, copies and page range, then tap the print button.

Printman receives the job, renders the PDF, JPEG, PNG, PWG Raster or Apple URF it was sent, and pushes it through the Windows spooler to the USB printer.

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Keep an Eye on the Queue

Droid jobs and browser uploads share one serialized queue on the PC:

# Watch the live queue
printman.exe queue

# Cancel one job
printman.exe cancel 14

# Clear everything
printman.exe purge "HP Laser"

Prefer a web page instead of the native dialog? Run ./printman.exe share --web to keep both.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Mopria and why does Android use it?

Mopria is the standard Android print framework, now built in as the Default Print Service on most phones. It discovers and prints to IPP Everywhere and AirPrint printers over the local network, so apps do not need their own printer drivers.

Do I need the Mopria Print Service app?

Usually not. Modern Android phones include a Default Print Service that already supports Mopria. You only need the standalone Mopria app on older devices or when your manufacturer removed printing from settings.

Why does my Android phone not see the shared printer?

Make sure the phone and PC are on the same network and that the Wi-Fi is not a guest network with client isolation. Then check that printman share is still running and that Windows Firewall allows it on Private networks.

Can I print to the shared printer from any Android app?

Yes. Once the printer is discovered, the standard Android print dialog appears in Chrome, Gmail, Google Docs, Photos and most other apps through the Share or menu, then Print.

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If this saved you from buying a new printer, consider buying me a coffee.