How to Print an Email With an iPad

By Melly Parker

Apple's iPad comes in two different sizes.
i Sean Gallup/Getty Images News/Getty Images

When you're out of the office, you can access your documents with an iPad. It's one way to keep up with work when you're on the road. If you need a hard copy of a document that's stored on your iPad's Mail app, you can print it out without connecting to a computer. Apple's AirPlay and other apps add a print option to Mail.

Mail

To print directly from Mail, choose the arrow icon and select the print option. If you have multiple printers installed, the printer options will display so you can choose the one you want to send the document to. By default, Mail messages print out with the headers displayed. If you want to remove the headers from the document you've printed, go to Preferences and open the Viewing tab. From there, you can choose to display no headers on messages and return to your document to print the Mail message without headers.

Attachments

Attachments to your email messages are displayed within Mail itself. You can print the attachments from Mail with the same menu you use to print from Mail with AirPrint or other apps. If you've already saved an attachment to your iPad, it will open in the app designed to open files of that type. Photos, for example, will open saved photo attachments and PDF files open in iBooks. You can print directly from most native apps that display attachments.

AirPrint

AirPrint is enabled by default if you have a compatible printer on the same network (see Resources). When you select the "Print" option from an app that connects to the printer with AirPrint, you must choose a printer from a list of the compatible Wi-Fi printers available. If the printer you own requires setup to work with AirPrint, you may need to go into your printer settings from your computer and set up the feature before printing.

Other Printers

If you need to print an email but don't have a printer that works with AirPrint, you can install an app to help your iPad print to a different wireless or wired printer. In most cases, apps that let you print from your iPad to a wired printer require you to install a piece of software on your computer and use it as the intermediary between the iPad and the printer. Most third-party printing apps will add an option to print directly in Mail so you can print quickly once you've configured the app.

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