Free App Makes It Simple for You to Setup and Connect Android Mobile Devices to Your Zebra Printers

Here's everything you need to know about how to download and use the app to print labels, PDFs, images, and more while on the move.

If you use Zebra desktop, industrial, or mobile printers, you're going to want to download the free Zebra Print App from the Google Play Store on all your Android mobile devices today.

Why?

Because this is the app that's going to help you instantly get your Zebra printers connected and secured on your network. It's also the app that's going to make it super simple for your frontline workers to print labels, PDFs, pictures, and other media from their Android mobile devices.

Watch this:

If the Zebra Print App feels familiar, it's because the user experience is a lot like the one you might have when printing to your home printer from your smartphone. All you do is download the app, follow the steps to locate and connect to the Zebra printer, confirm your preferred settings, then you're all set. You can initiate printing of variable and fixed-size media from that Android mobile device to the selected Zebra printer.

If there are multiple Zebra printers in your workspace - perhaps it's a store, factory or warehouse - then you can set up each of the printers via the same app and simply select your preferred printer each time you need to print something. Perhaps you want the one closest to you or you need to print a specific size label and there's only one printer that would work. No problem, just use the drop-down to change your printer preference, then hit "print" on your device and you're good to go.

Now, I've received a few questions from early testers of the app that I thought you might have as well:

Does each device user have to manually set up/connect to each printer in my facility? Or is there a way to wirelessly recognize/connect to all then just select the nearest?

I would suggest Zebra Print for manual 1:1 connections. If you want to manage printers on a wider scale, I would use our printer management software called PPME.

Is there a way to download the app to all the Android mobile devices in my fleet at once? Or do I have to download the app one-by-one on each mobile device then manually select and setup each printer on the devices?

You could use a tool like StageNow (from our Mobility DNA/Zebra DNA portfolio) to automatically add apps onto fleets of Zebra mobile computer devices. There are probably ways to do this do this via third-party devices too.

Can my frontline workers/mobile device users download and make the connection to the printers? Or does IT need to handle this?

Anyone can use this; you just need the PDF file on your device.

What happens if printers are swapped out? Could the device auto-recognize the new printer and prompt a connection? Or would the mobile device/app user need to go in and locate the printer and initiate a connection?

You would need to re-configure the app with the new printer.

Is there a proximity recommendation once the printer(s) are setup in the app? Will it tell me which printer is closest to me? Or will I need to know the name of each printer I want to use?

We suggest within 10m of the printer when using Bluetooth Classic. Printers will be ordered in terms of strongest connection (which is usually closest). You will either need to know the serial number of the device you want to connect to or rename the printer to a 'friendly' recognizable name.

If I've already developed a similar mobile app to support printing from Android devices, should I instruct my workers to use this one instead?

For all opportunities, we recommend using Zebra Print when an 'Android Print Service' is required. There are other third-party options, but this is the only application officially supported by Zebra.

How is the Zebra Print App secured?

The printer itself will be protected via PrintSecure (part of the Zebra DNA ecosystem). If the app is being used on a Zebra device, it will be protected by the security offered by the Android operating system.

If you have additional questions, you can always reach out to your Zebra account manager or the Zebra support team here. However, I can tell you this app makes it very easy to get your Zebra printers online and connected to your Android mobile devices for on-the-go printing:

1. Connect your Zebra Printer to your Android mobile device via Bluetooth or NFC.
2. Select and customize the printer settings for your label.
3. Locate the PDF document on your Android Device
4. Press the 'Print' button to send a PDF file to your Zebra printer.

I hope you agree, and I'd love to hear your feedback on the app once you download and use it to initiate print jobs from your Android mobile devices. You can reach me here.

Alex Holdsworth is currently an EMEA Regional Product Manager where he is responsible for Enterprise Mobile Computers (EMC) and Industrial Printers. In the EMC portfolio, he has a particular focus on vehicle computers and Zebra's legacy mobile computer portfolio.

Alex has almost two years of experience in product management. He was previously a product management intern at Zebra before returning to Newcastle University to finish his Computer Science degree. Alex re-joined Zebra in 2019 as a part of the graduate scheme.