This guide covers remote printing options for home users, remote workers, and small business teams — including cloud print services, VPN-based printing, printer web interfaces, and mobile print apps that let you print from any device regardless of where you are physically located.
HP ePrint, Canon PRINT, Epson Email Print, and Brother iPrint all let you send print jobs from any device over the internet to your home or office printer. The printer must be connected to Wi-Fi and registered with the manufacturer cloud service. Jobs are sent to the printer's unique email address or through the app.
Best for: occasional remote printing from any deviceIf your office has a VPN, connecting to the VPN from a remote device allows you to print to the office network printer just as if you were in the office. The printer must be on the office network and your VPN must route local network traffic to on-premise devices. This is the most reliable method for business environments.
Best for: businesses with existing VPN infrastructureHP Smart, Canon PRINT, Epson Smart Panel, and Brother iPrint provide both local and cloud printing from iOS and Android. When on the local Wi-Fi network, they print directly. When remote, they use the manufacturer cloud service. These apps also support scanning to phone and document management.
Best for: smartphone-first users who print occasionallyNetwork printers have a built-in web interface (Embedded Web Server) accessible by entering the printer IP address in a browser. This allows you to check status, manage print jobs, and configure settings from any device on the local network. For remote access, a VPN connection to the office is required to reach the printer's local IP address.
Best for: IT administrators managing office printers remotelyMost HP, Canon, Epson, and Brother wireless printers made after 2015 support cloud print services. Check the printer specifications or the manufacturer app to confirm cloud printing is available for your model. The printer must be connected to Wi-Fi and have access to the internet.
HP requires an HP account for HP ePrint. Canon uses Canon Account. Epson uses an Epson Connect account. Brother uses a Brother account. Create a free account on the manufacturer website. Register your printer to the account using the serial number or by following the in-app registration process.
On the printer panel, go to Setup or Network settings and look for Web Services, Cloud Print, or ePrint options. Enable the service. The printer will connect to the manufacturer cloud service and display a confirmation. The printer is now accessible remotely through the manufacturer app or email-to-print service.
Install the manufacturer app on your phone or computer. Log into your account. The registered printer should appear in the app as available. Send a print job from the app, email the document to the printer's ePrint address, or share the document directly from any app using the printer as the output destination. The printer will receive and print the job when the document arrives.
For teams where some staff work remotely and others in the office, a cloud-connected office printer allows remote employees to send documents to the office printer from home. The document prints in the office where a colleague can collect it, file it, or include it in an outgoing package.
Use secure print release (PIN required at the printer) to protect sensitive documents from being collected by the wrong person.Remote workers who need to print regularly at home should have a dedicated home printer connected to their home Wi-Fi. For access to the company's shared printer remotely, the company VPN is the most reliable path. Cloud printing via the manufacturer app works for occasional remote print jobs without VPN.
Home office printers connected to company networks via VPN should use the company-approved driver for compatibility with company print servers.HP ePrint assigns each ePrint-enabled printer a unique email address. Any email sent to that address with an attached PDF or image will be printed automatically when the printer is online. This method works from any device that can send email, including phones, tablets, laptops, and shared devices.
Control who can print to the ePrint address by configuring an allowed senders list in the HP Smart app or HP account settings.When connected to a corporate or home VPN, the remote device joins the same network as the printer. Add the printer by IP address in Windows Settings or Mac System Settings. The printer behaves as if the device is physically on the local network. This is the most reliable method for high-quality, secure remote printing with full driver feature support.
Confirm with your IT team that the VPN configuration routes local subnet traffic to allow printer communication.Include your printer brand and model, how your network is set up (home Wi-Fi, office network, VPN), and what device you want to print from. We will identify the right remote printing method for your situation.
Get printer guides, setup tips, and saved support preferences.
Already have an account?
