Brother app enables free printing and scanning from iPhones

Printing from an iOS device can be a bit of a challenge for the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad owner who wants to get a document off their touchscreen and onto a printed page. It's not that the process is particularly difficult, it's just that Apple hasn't built in an easy way to do it. Instead, you'll have to turn to an app from a third-party developer. Fortunately, there are a lot of apps that can help you print from an iOS device; unfortunately, most of them will require you to part with a hard-earned dollar or several.

Of course, if you own an all-in-one printer from Brother, you may be able to print from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad without having to spend a time. The hardware maker recently introduced iPrint&Scan to the App Store. The free download lets you print photos and documents from your mobile device to a Brother inkjet all-in-one printer over a local wireless network. You can also scan documents and photos directly to your iOS device.

Brother iPrint&Scan is a hybrid app that runs on either the iPhone or iPad. It requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later. Brother includes a list of compatible printers on its website.

Brother isn't the only printer maker to offer a free iPhone app to assist with mobile printing. Epson and HP both have offerings of their own, though those two apps are specifically geared toward printing photos.