How to Transfer and Print Photos from Your Phone

You’ve taken tons of photos with your camera phone. Now what? Here’s how to store and print them.

 Transfer photos to your computer

Transferring your smartphone photos to your computer doesn’t have to be a tricky task. For some devices, you can use a USB data cable to do so. However, not all devices are made the same, and it’s often easier to explore other options:

• Email. Use your smartphone or tablet and email your favorite photos to yourself. Open the email on your desktop and download the photos to your computer or external storage device (or both, which is smart in case something happens to your computer. Then, you’ll have the photos on your storage device, or vice versa).
• Use a photo-sharing account. Many photo-sharing services have apps that allow you to upload your photos and access them via your web browser.
• Upload photos to the cloud. Upload your photos to a cloud service, such as the Verizon Cloud, so that you can access them on your desktop. With a free 5 GB of storage and the ability to automatically sync across all devices, it’s a great option.
• Take the microSD™ card, remove it from your device (if your device supports microSD, such as the Brigadier™ by Kyocera), and then pop it into your computer’s microSD slot. You will then be able to copy the photos and save them onto your computer.
• Turn to Facebook. Using the Facebook app, you have the ability to upload photos to your account straight from your mobile device. You can then access and download these photos on your computer.

Printing your photos

Unless you have your own deluxe printer at home, you should rely on a store or printing service to get quality prints — and you can do it all straight from your phone! Numerous photo-storage websites have made uploading or storing digital photos easy. And now, many of these sites have complementary apps so you can easily transfer photos from your phone to your computer, or bypass the desktop altogether and order prints right from your mobile device.
Sign up for a free Shutterfly account and enjoy unlimited storage space. The site also allows you to edit photos, order prints and share albums with friends and family. The Shutterfly app makes things even more convenient by allowing you to do all this from your phone or tablet. Then, you can easily access and save your smartphone photos on your computer.
Snapfish is another great app that’s free to download and offers free storage options and the ability to order prints from your phone. You choose whether you want to pick up your ordered prints from local retailers or receive them by mail. For even more mobile photo printing options, you can check out the York Photo and HP ePrint apps.
The Print Studio app offers tiny photo sticker books, greeting cards, business cards, magnets and photostrip-style prints. Or, you can go big with poster-sized prints, prints sturdy enough for wall framing or a collage of up to 200 photos on a single wall poster.
The app is a beautiful experience, too. Simply choose a photo from your gallery or a photo app, dictate what you want the end product to be and go through a variety of customization options (including cropping). It’s simple enough for any novice to use and provides a ton of fun variety for the pros.
Paris-based Printic® might be the easiest, most adorable way to print and mail photos from your phone. The app takes a vintage spin on photo prints with its Polaroid-style frame and thin, high-gloss photo paper. And the pictures arrive in the mailbox in Printic’s signature orange envelope or box. Trés chic!
The app installs in a snap and walks you through printing choices such as a linen, hardcover photobook with 20 to 40 pages or individual prints. Before you order, you can choose to add text, crop photos, make copies and change print sizes. Once you’ve selected the style of print you want, the app automatically pulls photos from your phone’s gallery as well as any of the other photo apps installed on your device.
Whichever app you choose, printing photos from your phone is just a few simple taps