Xerox PrintBack is Easy Mobile Printing Software for Apple iOS and Android Smartphones and Tablets

Xerox PrintBack

You already use a printer with your desktop or laptop computer. Now you've added a smartphone and/or tablet into your work life – accessing email, viewing documents, and integrating your device with other business processes formerly confined to your computer. With Xerox PrintBack, you can extend the printing capabilities of your computer to your iOS and Android™-based smartphones and tablets.

Ideal for environments where software and solutions are installed by individuals, Xerox PrintBack enables printing to the default printer you already use with your computer. Plus, it supports the most common office file types (Microsoft® Office documents, PDF, etc.) and delivers uncompromised print quality.
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Free Download
Xerox PrintBack is a free download.
Download the free PrintBack agent and PrintBack app

Key Features

With PrintBack, Xerox is offering a personal-class solution that enables mobile printing from your mobile device. If you need to print during the course of your job, you most likely have a printer installed for use with your computer. By taking advantage of this existing capability, PrintBack delivers:
  • Support for the documents you already print from your computer, including Microsoft Office* (Word, PowerPoint®, Excel®), Adobe® PDF, and more
  • High-quality output, because the print driver (and its default settings) installed on your computer are used to print the job
  • Job submission simplicity, because the use of the online service avoids issues with printer discovery and selection
  • Support for any printer, regardless of connection type, print technology, or manufacturer
  • Photo Shoot mode submits photos for mobile printing and/or saving as you take them within the application, a handy feature for realtors and others who take photos on the go
Additionally, PrintBack takes advantage of the connection it establishes between your device and your computer by allowing you to easily save documents or photos from your device to the Downloads folder on your computer, or to your Dropbox account – either during a print job, or instead of a print job.





* Supporting software must be present on your host computer
Smartphones and tablets are being rapidly adopted, and are becoming more integral in business environments and processes. Email is now readily available on the go, and more information is consumed away from your desk than ever before. While mobile apps have bolstered the capabilities of such devices in new and unexpected ways, printing remains a difficult capability to harness.

Key Challenges

  • Customers do not have access to a printer that supports mobile printing from their mobile devices
  • Customers' smartphone and tablet devices do not have printing capabilities
  • It is confusing and time consuming to print from smartphone and tablet devices
  • Often when printing from smartphone and tablet devices, pages are reformatted, and/or print quality is degraded, making prints unusable
PrintBack consists of an agent that is installed on your computer, a mobile app that is installed on your mobile device, and an online service that carries print jobs from your mobile device to your computer. Both the agent and the mobile app are available as free downloads, the agent from Xerox.com and the app either the Apple AppStore or Android® Market.

How to set up PrintBack:
  1. Download the PrintBack agent and install it on your Mac or Windows-based computer.
  2. Select the online service you will use:
    • Cloud-based storage - If you already have a Dropbox account with the client installed on your computer, PrintBack installation will automatically complete after selecting Dropbox. If you already have a Box account, simply input your log-in information during PrintBack agent setup. If you are not already a user, visit www.dropbox.com or www.box.com to sign up and then resume the PrintBack agent installation (if using Dropbox, be sure to install the Dropbox client on your computer before continuing).
    • Web-based email – Xerox recommends using a dedicated email account with PrintBack. First, set up a new email account at Gmail, Hotmail®, MSN®, MSN Live, AOL or Yahoo!® Plus, and then enter your log-in details in the PrintBack agent.
  3. Install the Xerox PrintBack app on your iOS or Android-based smartphones or tablets.
  4. Enter the log-in details for Dropbox, or enter the email address you used when you installed the agent.
Things to do with PrintBack:
  • In the PrintBack app:
    • Photos – choose photos to print from your device's photo library
    • Photo Shoot – automatically print photos as you take them (camera-enabled devices only)
    • Clipboard – print the content most recently copied to the clipboard
    • Documents – choose documents stored on the memory card installed in your device (Android-only)
  • When viewing documents in other mobile apps on your device:
    • Choose "Open In…" and select "Xerox PrintBack," confirm print job settings and press "Print"
    • If "Open In…" is not available (as in Mail or Safari®), simply copy the content you want to print, open the PrintBack application, and choose the Clipboard tab to print the selected content
  • Print Settings available with PrintBack include:
    • Number of copies
    • Photo Size (photos only)
    • Hold Print – holds the job at your computer until you return to release it, keeping sensitive documents from sitting in your printer's output tray
    • Save a Copy – Downloads – saves the printed file to your computer's downloads folder
    • Save a Copy – Dropbox – saves the printed file to your Dropbox account (Dropbox users only)
    • Save a Copy – Save Only – does not print the job, only saves to the selected location
    • Note – the default print settings for your computer (duplex, n-up, etc.) will apply to jobs submitted via PrintBack
Xerox PrintBack supports the following file types:
  • Microsoft® Word, PowerPoint® and Excel®*
  • Apple Pages®, Keynote® and Numbers®*
  • Adobe® PDF
  • Photos (JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PNG)
  • Email and web content via copy/paste to PrintBack clipboard

Why Choose Xerox?

Because one size doesn't fit all, Xerox offers multiple solutions to meet your needs. PrintBack is an ideal solution for extending mobile printing access to your default printer through your computer. However, if you need a campus-wide solution, the Xerox Mobile Print Solution is a better fit.





* Supporting software must be present on your host computer
Xerox award-winning copiers, printers, and multifunction printers include flexible platforms that accommodate a wide variety of software solutions. Software functionality may vary by product model. Contact your local sales representative for detailed compatibility information.

Multifunction / All-in-One Printers

Office Printers

Digital Presses

Windows-based Computers (PrintBack agent):

Operating System
  • Windows XP SP2 / Server 2003 (32-bit)
  • Windows XP / Server 2003 (64-bit)
  • Windows Vista (32-bit, 64-bit)
  • Windows Server 2008 (32-bit, 64-bit)
  • Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit)
Windows Applications
  • Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, 2010 required to print Word, PowerPoint and Excel files

Intel-based Macs (PrintBack agent):

Operating System
  • Mac OS X 10.6
  • Mac OS X 10.7
Mac Applications
  • Microsoft Office 2008 or 2011 required to print Word, PowerPoint and Excel files
  • Apple iWork '09 required to print Pages, Keynote and Numbers files

Android-based devices (PrintBack App):

Operating System
  • Android OS 2.1 to 4.1

iPhone, iPod touch and iPad; (PrintBack App):

Operating System
  • iOS 4.2, 4.3, 5