Setting up a Canon PIXMA on iOS using AirPrint and the Canon PRINT app.

Canon (a registered trademark of Canon Inc.) PIXMA printers support two distinct ways of printing from an iPhone or iPad. Most people only ever need one, but they’re worth understanding because they’re better at different things, and the wrong choice causes a surprising amount of frustration.

AirPrint: the easy default

AirPrint is Apple’s built-in printing protocol, baked into iOS and iPadOS. Every modern Canon PIXMA supports it, and there’s nothing to install on either side.

For AirPrint to work, three things need to be true:

• The PIXMA is powered on and connected to your Wi-Fi network.
• Your iPhone or iPad is on the same Wi-Fi network as the printer.
• The Wi-Fi network allows local device discovery (some guest networks or enterprise networks block this).

If those are in place, you don’t do anything to "set up" AirPrint. To print:

1. Open the document, photo, web page, or email you want to print.
2. Tap the Share button (the square with an upward arrow) or the menu with the Print option.
3. Tap "Print."
4. Tap "Printer" and select your PIXMA from the list of detected printers.
5. Choose the number of copies, page range, and any other options.
6. Tap "Print" in the top right.

AirPrint handles most everyday printing needs — documents, photos, web pages, emails — without fuss. It’s the right choice for casual printing.

What AirPrint can’t do

AirPrint is intentionally simple, which means it leaves out features that the printer hardware supports but the standard doesn’t expose:

• Borderless photo printing isn’t consistently available through AirPrint on all PIXMA models. Standard AirPrint photo printing leaves a thin white border.
• Print quality control is limited. AirPrint lets you choose draft or photo mode in most cases, but it doesn’t expose finer settings like specific paper-type profiles, print density, or color modes.
• Scanning isn’t part of AirPrint. If your PIXMA has a scanner and you want to scan to your phone, you need the Canon PRINT app.
• Ink-level monitoring isn’t shown.
• Specific paper sizes beyond the common ones (Letter, A4, 4x6) are sometimes missing.

If any of these matter to you, the Canon PRINT app is the next step.

Canon PRINT app: when you need more control

Canon PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY (the official Canon mobile app for PIXMA and SELPHY printers) gives you everything AirPrint doesn’t. It’s a free download from the App Store.

Install it only from the official App Store, not from third-party app sources. Search for "Canon PRINT" published by Canon Inc.

Setting up the app:

1. Make sure your PIXMA is on your Wi-Fi network and powered on. (If it’s not yet connected to Wi-Fi, the app can help with that too — see the next section.)
2. Make sure your iPhone or iPad is on the same Wi-Fi network as the printer.
3. Open Canon PRINT. The first time you launch it, it walks you through accepting terms and adding a printer.
4. The app scans the network and lists detected Canon printers. Select yours.
5. The app may install a small connection profile; iOS will prompt you to confirm.

From here, the app gives you photo printing with borderless options, document printing with quality controls, scanning directly to your phone, ink-level monitoring, and access to model-specific maintenance functions like nozzle checks and print-head alignment.

Using the Canon PRINT app for first-time Wi-Fi setup

If your PIXMA isn’t yet on Wi-Fi at all — a brand-new printer, or one you’ve reset — the Canon PRINT app can handle the initial setup directly. The app uses a temporary Wi-Fi direct connection between your iPhone and the printer to hand the Wi-Fi credentials over.

1. Open Canon PRINT.
2. Tap "Set up a new printer" or the equivalent option.
3. The app prompts you to put the printer into setup mode (usually by holding a Wi-Fi button until a light starts blinking).
4. The app finds the printer over a direct connection.
5. The app asks for your Wi-Fi network and password and passes them to the printer.
6. The printer joins your Wi-Fi and the app reconnects to it through the normal network.

This is often easier than entering the password on the printer’s small screen, especially on PIXMA models without a touchscreen.

Common iOS printing problems

"No AirPrint printers found." Your iPhone and the printer aren’t on the same Wi-Fi network. Check both, and watch for accidentally being on a guest network or a different SSID on a mesh router.

The printer appears but printing fails. Usually a queued job that errored out, or the printer is offline at its end. Power the printer off, wait 10 seconds, power it back on, and wait for it to fully boot before retrying.

Canon PRINT can’t find the printer during setup. The printer isn’t in setup mode, or the iPhone has switched off Wi-Fi during the process. Look at the printer’s Wi-Fi indicator: if it’s not blinking, retry the reset procedure.

iOS shows the printer but prints come out cropped. The paper-size setting in iOS doesn’t match the paper actually loaded in the printer. Check the paper-size option in the iOS print dialog.

AirPrint works but Canon PRINT doesn’t see the printer. Open the app’s settings, remove the existing printer entry, and re-add it. The app sometimes caches a stale connection that AirPrint isn’t affected by.

When to use which

A simple rule: use AirPrint for ad-hoc printing of everyday content, and use Canon PRINT when you’re printing photos, scanning, or want to check ink levels and run maintenance. Most people end up using both depending on what they’re doing.

For model-specific guidance, the official Canon support site is the authoritative source: usa.canon.com/support. Search for your specific PIXMA model to find tailored documentation. If problems persist after working through this guide, contact Canon directly through their official support channels or consult a qualified local repair technician.