A web-enabled printer is a type of printer that connects directly to the Internet. This direct connection avoids the need for a physical connection to the computer. These printers differ from standard network printers in the way they handle Internet-based activities. Originally, a web-enabled printer simply connected directly to the Internet, making it easier to print from web and mobile sources. Newer types include touch screens and downloadable applications that allow users to connect to common websites and print news and articles directly from the printer.
Tablets can interact with web-enabled printers.
At first, a standard printer connected to a computer and allowed to print only from that machine. This one machine, one printer mentality began to lose ground in the business world with the advent of network printers. These printers would originally be connected to a print server, a special machine that handles printing for a certain part of the office. Later, the print server was integrated into the printer, allowing anyone on the network to communicate with that printer.
If a home or office system is configured to allow this, users can access their printer remotely, typically through a web browser or third-party application.
This same idea also influenced home printing. While most home networks do not have a dedicated network printer, printer sharing has become a very common practice. A printer connected to a computer, and as long as the computer was on, anyone on the network could print through it. Later print server systems became simple enough that many home routers had one installed, allowing a printer to connect to the router instead of a computer. With this advance, any network user will always be able to print as if they were in an office.
The web-enabled printer is the next step in disconnecting the printer from a computer system. These printers connect to the Internet as if they were another computer. These machines have built-in print servers, allowing any connected user to print. The real difference between a standard network printer and a web-enabled printer is how they interact with devices that aren’t on the network.
While it is possible to print remotely to a network printer, the process is difficult for many users. If a home or office system is configured to allow this, users can access their printer remotely, typically through a web browser or third-party app. With web-enabled printers, allowing easy external access is a cornerstone of their design.
A web-enabled printer allows for two basic methods of remote access. The first is similar to a properly configured network printer. The main difference is ease; access will be integrated with the internal print server, allowing connectivity with much less user involvement. The other is through email attachments; a user can attach a file to an email and send it to the printer. The printer will open the email and print the document automatically. This allows any web-enabled device, such as phones and tablets, to print like a standard computer.
