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Printing from Android to an NFC Printer

N

n_s_simpson

Newbie
Hi Everyone, nice to be here.

I have a question regarding NFC, which I'm struggling to find answers to even from the manufacturer's "technical support" department.

Basically, Brother and Samsung have started to fit an NFC chip within their models. I've been testing the Brother (MFC-J6920DW) and will also be testing the Samsung next week when I get it.

FYI - HP hasn't got NFC working on Android yet. I've tried it but the phone just shows the NFC tag info. The phone doesn't know what to do with the tag it's received so instead I had to manually initiate a Wi-Fi Direct connection before running their ePrint app. This works fine but it's a shame that the connection can't be made automatically by NFC.
According to HP, they are still investigating Android but have so far managed to get it working on Windows 7/8 tablets with NFC. I've not tried it yet but have seen a HP rep showing off this feature on a YouTube video. I'll be trying it for myself on a windows tablet next week.

Anyway, back to how the Brother works:
  • Hoovering without an app open - phone vibrates, nothing else happens on phone or device
  • Hoovering while looking at a pic in gallery - Android Beam activates on the phone but since the Brother has no Bluetooth it just fails and the phone displays a message saying the device doesn't support large file transfers. Nothing happens on the device.
  • Using Brother's iPrint&Scan app works perfectly. You choose your file to print, tell it how to print (colour/mono, etc). You then touch the phone and it automtically creates a temporary Wi-Fi Direct connection and finally transfers the print or scan. Once complete the Wi-Fi Direct connection is terminated.
Now according to Samsung if you hoover your Android phone (4.1 upwards) over their NFC printers or MFP's, the phone will either open their app up or direct you to the app via Play Store for downloading.
(Not sure if it will also try to use Android Beam if I'm looking at a pic in the gallery at the time but I'll test this and report back.)

My question's:
  • Surely the phone should negotiate with the device and know not to attempt Android Beam. So is the Brother device failing to handshake correctly, is it a fault with my phone (HTC One X running 4.2.2) or is this a limitation of NFC?
  • Brother's 2nd level technical support team can't understand how the Samsung manages to open up the app or direct to the store. Do you think this feature is unique to Samsung phones (doesn't say so in the manual) or should this be easy enough for Brother to implement?
Cheers

Nick
 
With my question being more to do with NFC technology than Android, can I just check that I've posted this on the right forum?

If anyone knows of somewhere better to post a query about NFC, please let me know.

:D
 
welcome to the community mate :):beer:

Tbh ive NEVER used NFC lol so i cant answer that question but i think(?) The best forum would be Android Lounge.
You can report your post to a moderator and ask them to put it in a place where youll get the most views/replies if you want :thumbup:

P.s, im the worst speller ever so please trust me that this ISNT sarcasm lol but is "hoover" a technical term or do you mean "hovver" (to float over)?
 
Welcome to Android Forums n_s_simpson.:)

Wow, that question is a mouthful. I think funky is right that you are asking both application, technical, and platform information and you will hopefully find folks that are definitely smarter than me as smart enough to answer in the Android Lounge.

You don't need to do anything, I've moved it over. Feel free to send me a note or use the report button (/!\) on the bottom left of each post if you have any questions.
 
Thanks for moving my post. I'm guessing this question has stumped everyone but I know it's a little beyond the realms of Androidland.
 
Yeah mate sorry. Im certainly stumped.
Maybe edit the title to be more specific to catch the eye of someone who knows? :beer:
 
I dont know either tbh lol but i know what NFC stands for, anyone who can answer your question does too so id use that extra space to say what the question relates to.
Is it printers or something?
Oh yeah, to change it, edit your first post and it lets you edit the title. I use the android app so im not sure how to edit a post on a browser :beer:
 
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