The ability to print from a portable device brings huge implications for both domestic and professional life.

Whether you’re working in graphic design and have a constant need to print from various places or simply want to make life easy at home, the wide range of printing apps now available for the iPhone and other smartphones and tablet computers is extensive.

Here, we take a look at six of the most impressive printing apps on the market right now:

Epsom iPrint

This app is great for working from home. It allows you to send documents to your Epsom printer across a local Wi-Fi network, as well as giving you the ability to receive scanned files from your all in one printer and save them to your iPhone. The app also allows access to popular services such as Dropbox, enabling you to send and receive files remotely. You are also given the option to configure your printer using your iPhone.

Air Photo

What is truly great about this app is its simplicity. While the on-board tools are fairly limited â?? not extending far beyond scaling and rotating â?? the app is so easy to use it is a great one for kids or those who are not tech savvy but still wish to have the ability to send files to print remotely.

Print Bureau

This app is where things get a little more advanced. Here, you are able to communicate with a vast amount of printer models. The real beauty of this app is that it allows you to do so via 3G, which means that you can print documents at work or home from elsewhere. The interface is simple to use and pleasing to the eye.

Print It Up

Here we have an app which is designed specifically for use with photographs, rather than text documents. Rather than giving you the option to communicate with your own printers at work or home, this app allows you to send your photographs to professional printing services for an affordable fee.

Doc Printer

Where Print It Up offers user the chance to get great results for their photograph collection, Doc Printer focuses on text documents. The app allows you to browse through file collections easily, using both cloud and local network services. The connectivity is great, working well with most printing devices.

ePrint

What’s fantastic about the ePrint application is that it allows users to print their photographs as cards or calendars. The app also offers advanced communication options which are tailored to the printer you are connecting to, such as quality, paper size and tray options. The interface is relatively plain but the functionality is superior to many other printing apps.

This is a guest post by Phoenix Direct who sell ink cartridges and printer supplies. Printing apps are worthless without a working printer!

This is a guest post by James from Phoenix Direct who sell ink cartridges and printer suppliers.  He enjoys blogging about the latest printing technologies and reviewing printers