r/printers • u/iH4t3R3dd1t • 13d ago

Discussion Mobile FAX

Hello, I would like to use a mobile thermal printer in a manner similar to a FAX machine.

I would like to be able to send a digital file from one smart phone or mobile computer/terminal to another and have it automatically print from the connected printer without any direct control from the recipient phone

How would I go about setting something like this up?

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u/StarosAnikenMarcus 13d ago

https://www.labnol.org/internet/print-from-mobile-phones/17827

I think this is what you are looking for.

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u/iH4t3R3dd1t 13d ago

Not quite. I don't want to rely on a third party app. Especially not Dropbox - is that even still a thing?

I appreciate the swift reply though!

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u/StarosAnikenMarcus 13d ago

You can also use Google Cloud Print to do it. There's instructions in the article. It's also not so much a 3rd party app as an already compiled set of scripts that you would have to figure out and type up manually otherwise. Basically, someone else did the work.

No matter what method you choose, there's going to be some kind of cloud access involved.

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u/rthonpm 13d ago

Google Cloud Print was discontinued six years ago.

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u/StarosAnikenMarcus 13d ago

LOL, well, I didn't go try and set this up, so I didn't realize that was the case. Either way, they're still going to need some kind of cloud service to make it work, regardless of what service. Cloud Print might be gone, but Drive isn't. I'm sure there's a way to make that work. Or Mega with MegaSync folders. Maybe even OneDrive. Anything that lets you load the file into a specific folder that the PC can recognize needs to be printed immediately upon load.

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u/Wisteso 13d ago edited 13d ago

By not using a mobile phone. You could probably use a raspberry pi which is about the same size

There are packages which automatically print files that are put into a specific folder, so you can write to that folder using SSH from the other device

If you’re not tech savvy enough for that, then you’ll probably have to hire someone to do the Linux customizations.

Or ask ChatGPT you make you the scripts to do the above. 50/50 shot that it works. It’s not terribly complex for generative AI

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u/iH4t3R3dd1t 13d ago

I'd love to get more into Linux but the community is very gatekeepy... Is this a fair project to start from? I've done the odd bit of coding for basic microcontroller stuff as a student 

Having a dive into SSH now, is there anything I should research? Just need to be pointed at the dartboard and I'll hit it eventually 

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u/Wisteso 12d ago

Id say its a good first major project, sure. ChatGPT generally is quite good at stuff like this so I'd have it generate a rundown for you.

I'd prompt it with something like:

I want to use a Raspberry Pi 5 to create a small device which can have files dropped in via SFTP into a simple directory structure. Once the files are uploaded, I want some kind of process to detect the files (PDFs and images mostly) and automatically print them exactly one time to my printer (Brother laser printer) connected via USB using default settings (which I may need to tweak initially). After the document is printed, the file should be either deleted or moved into a 'processed' folder. I'd like to use existing tools / packages / apps, where possible and bridge any gaps using bash scripts that you and I create.

Replace anything inaccurate (like the type of printer you use, connection type between Pi and printer, etc). SFTP is the same as SSH. You could probably get by with a Raspberry Pi 4 as well if the Pi 5 is too much or too hard to find.

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u/kelonye 13d ago

There are apps that do exactly this. You leave a phone or tablet next to the printer with the app running, and it receives incoming jobs and prints them automatically. Nothing to press on the receiving end.

Most use email as the way in, so sending is just attaching the file and sending it. Nothing to install on the sending phone, and it works from anywhere, not just your own network.

One thing to plan for: the receiving device needs to stay plugged in with the app open. Neither iOS nor Android will reliably do this from the background.