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How to Print a PDF From an Android Phone

How to print a PDF from Android: turning on a print service, connecting to a Wi-Fi printer, print settings, what replaced Google Cloud Print, and workarounds.

By Published 4 min read

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AI-assisted article. Drafted with AI tools from the sources cited below and checked by automated tests and an AI editorial review. No person has reviewed it yet. How we write and check articles.

Key takeaways

  • Android prints through print services; Google's help puts them under Settings, Connected devices, Connection preferences, Printing, though menus vary by device and Android version.
  • Google's help says to add a printer that can receive data over Wi-Fi or a mobile network.
  • Google Cloud Print stopped working on 1 January 2021; printing now goes through these device print services.
  • The app you print from decides the steps; Google says you can often tap Menu or More, then Print.
  • If an app cannot print, Google suggests taking a screenshot and printing the image; for PDFs, print only the pages you need.

You can print a PDF straight from an Android phone: turn on a print service for your printer in Settings, open the PDF in an app that supports printing, and choose Print. This guide walks through setting a service up, printing a PDF and checking common problems, using Google's own Android and Pixel help pages. Menus differ between phone makers and Android versions, so treat the paths below as a guide rather than exact steps.

How Android printing works

Google's help explains that you can print from some apps on your device by adding a printer that supports Wi-Fi or mobile data. The link between your phone and a particular printer is a print service: software that Android uses to send the job (Google's Android help gives HP's service as an example). Printing is switched on and managed in Settings, and the app you print from decides how you start a print job.

There used to be another route. Google says Google Cloud Print was deprecated in December 2020, and from 1 January 2021 devices on any operating system can no longer print with it. Old instructions that mention Cloud Print no longer apply.

Step 1: turn on a print service

Google's Android help and its Pixel phone help give the same path:

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Tap Connected devices, then Connection preferences, then Printing.
  3. Select a print service and turn it on, or add a print service and enter the printer information.

The Android help page says some steps work only on Android 9 and up, and the Pixel page (written for Pixel phones) says some work only on Android 14 and up. Other makers can arrange Settings differently, so if the path does not match your phone, search Settings for "printing".

Step 2: print the PDF

  1. Open the PDF in an app that supports printing.
  2. Find Print: Google's help says the app determines how you print; often you can tap Menu or More, then Print (the Pixel page also mentions Share).
  3. Choose your printer from the list.
  4. Check the options the print screen shows, such as copies, pages or paper size. Which options appear depends on the app, the printer and its print service.
  5. Print, and check the first page before printing a long document.

A worked example: printing part of a long PDF

You need pages 3 to 5 of a 40-page manual. Printing the whole file would use 40 sheets single-sided, or 20 double-sided. Entering a page range of 3-5 prints three pages, or two sheets double-sided. If you print these pages often, extract them into their own small PDF once; how to split a PDF explains page ranges and extraction.

Paper size and scaling

PDF pages have a fixed size, and it may not match the paper in the tray. Wikipedia's paper-size article gives ISO A4 as 210 × 297 mm and US Letter as 8.5 × 11 inches (216 × 279 mm), so A4 is slightly narrower and longer, and it notes that the United States and Canada use Letter rather than the ISO sizes. If the print preview shows edges cut off or a large margin, look for a scaling option such as fit to page, and confirm the paper size setting matches the tray. For forms that will be scanned or posted back, check that nothing near the margins, such as a reference number or signature line, has been lost.

Draft or best quality?

If your print screen offers a quality or colour choice, draft and greyscale suit reading copies and use less colour ink; keep colour for photos, coloured charts and anything where colour carries meaning.

When the printer does not appear

If your printer is missing from the list, these checks are worth working through:

  • Network: Google's help says the printer must support Wi-Fi or mobile data, so check that it is switched on and connected to your network, and that your phone is connected too.
  • Print service on: confirm the right service is turned on in Settings.
  • Printer awake: if the printer has a sleep mode, wake it and try again.
  • Add a service: if no service on the list matches your printer, Google's help describes tapping Add service under Printing and entering the printer information.
  • Restart: turning the printer and phone off and on again is a simple next step before deeper troubleshooting.

When the app cannot print

Not every app supports printing. Google's help suggests a workaround: take a screenshot of the app's screen and print the image. For a PDF there is another option: open the file in a different app that supports printing, or share it to one.

Before you print

A little preparation saves paper. Fill in forms on screen first, so you print the final version; filling in a PDF form covers that. Rotate any sideways pages, remove blank ones, and if the PDF is a large scan, remember that printing does not need a small file: compression is for sending, not printing; how to compress a PDF explains when it helps.

PDF All in One Tool No Limit, one of our video and utility apps, handles the preparation: rotating, removing and extracting pages, filling forms and signing before you print or share. Its guide maps the tools.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

How do you print a PDF from an Android phone?
Make sure a print service is turned on in Settings, open the PDF in an app that supports printing, choose Print from its menu or share sheet, select your printer, set the pages and copies, and print.
How do you add a printer on Android?
Google's Android help says to open Settings, tap Connected devices, then Connection preferences, then Printing, and add or turn on a print service for a printer that can get data over Wi-Fi or a mobile network. Exact menus vary by phone and Android version.
What replaced Google Cloud Print?
Google says Cloud Print was deprecated in December 2020 and has not been supported since 1 January 2021. Android phones now print through print services in Settings; Google's example of one is HP's.
What can I do if an app cannot print?
Google's help notes that not all apps support printing and suggests taking a screenshot and printing the image. For a PDF, you can also try opening the file in another app that supports printing.

Sources

  1. Print from your device (opens in a new tab)Google Pixel Phone Help — accessed
  2. Migrate from Cloud Print (opens in a new tab)Google Android Help — accessed
  3. Paper size (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed

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