Configuring printing with Android device on HP Laser 107W
So you bought a new cheap printer from HP and wonder how you can have your mobile print via WI-FI? It took me about three hours to sort things out, which in fact should take 5-10 minutes. That's why I'm putting down my experiences in this post. But first, did you realize that when you buy something cheap you get what you pay for? So what's the hook this time? First of all already on the first look you see how fragile this device is. When you remember the printers from early 1990s, practically all up till HP Laserjet 4 they were practically impossible to break. They just worked for ages. What made people throw them away was usually their low resolution not the fact that they ceased to operate. This printer looks incredibly fragile. All plastic parts are so thin it's hard to think, they can survive any accidental impact. So it seems one has to be very careful using this printer. I would be surprised if it lasts more than three years. So no, you're not getting the HP durability one could remember from the old days.
The second thing you are not getting is decent documentation. When I saw first the attached documents I could not believe how low the standards for preparing technical documentation are now, at least at this price range. According to the producer it is possible to connect your mobile with the printer in two ways: by using WI-FI Direct or by attaching the printer to the local network. I did not manage to make it work using WI-FI Direct so I tried the other solution. The router used is TP-LINK WR1043ND. I attached the printer using WPS button. In this router it a little black button on the back labeled WPS/RESET, and indeed if you keep it pressed for 5 seconds it will reset your router's factory settings. To use it as a WPS button just press it once. After that you have to press WIFI symbol on the printer panel for three seconds. That was all that I needed to attach the printer to my network.
Once your phone is attached to your network you can configure the connection with the printer. You will need two pieces of software (docs mention only one) which are quite big, so make sure you got enough free memory on your mobile:
- HP Smart (HP AiO Remote) (29 MB)
- HP Print Service Plugin (33 MB)
In the process you will be asked for the password for your printer. You will not find it in the docs. It is printed in the Configuration Report/Network Summary that your printer prints when you press and hold Resume/Cancel button for 10 seconds (it is the button with green page and red "X" in the middle of the control panel). When you print the report you will find there is no field called "password" in it. In the report the password is called "Network Key" (to make simple things more complicated).
It is possible to print directly from HP Smart but its file manager really sucks. It finds only some of the files on your phone which can be printed. That's why you need the Plugin. It allows Android apps to print directly. And it just works.