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Android 8.0 Oreo’s Default Print Service eliminates the need for printer plugins

The longer that Android 8.0 Oreo is out in the wild, the more features we’re quickly finding that exist within Google’s latest update to its mobile OS. We’ve already spotted quite a few new additions, with the latest feature finally resolving one of Android’s biggest pain points.

Up until now, printing through an Android device has been somewhat of a chore. Each brand of printer used its own plugin that needed to be downloaded through the Google Play Store before you could start printing. Then, once you had the plugin downloaded, actually getting it set up could often prove to be quite clunky.

Thankfully with Android 8.0 Oreo, the need for third-party printer plugins is no more.

Google has partnered with Mopria to introduce Default Print Service to the Android OS, and it brings a native printing platform to Android for the very first time.

The Default Print Service will work with any printer that’s certified by Mopria, and considering that Mopria-certified printers account for more than 100 million of the printers currently on the market (97% to be exact), chances are your printer is compatible with this new service.

Per Mopria’s Chairman of the Board, Greg Kuziej:

Mobile printing should be intuitive and ubiqutious, whether you’re at home, in the office, or on the go. Thanks to Mopria technology, Google and the Android Open Source Project, we’re delivering easy mobile printing to Android users.

In order to use the Default Print Service on Android 8.0 Oreo, go to Settings → Connected devices → Printing → Default Print Service. Upon opening Default Print Service, you’ll be able to automatically find your printer via Wi-Fi or manually enter its IP address.

Android has been lacking a cohesive way for printing files ever since its inception, and although we would have liked to see a feature along these lines added sooner than now, we’re still thrilled to finally get this added with 8.0 Oreo.


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Avatar for Joe Maring Joe Maring

Joe has been a writer and occasional video producer for 9to5Google since July 2017. Follow him on Twitter @JoeMaring1 and send all emails to joe@9to5mac.com.


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