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How to set up scan to email on HP printers

If you’re wondering “How do I scan a document from my HP printer to my email?”, then you’ve come to the right place.

We’ll cover any FAQs you have about the HP scan-to-email feature, and have you sending attachments in no time.

Before we get started: This guide works for just about any type of multifunction HP printer (MFP) with a “scan documents” option.

So, whether you’ve got an HP OfficeJet Pro, a DeskJet, or another model, you’re still good to follow these instructions.

How to scan and email a document with an HP printer

Essentially, you want to open your HP EWS and configure the Scan to Email function’s settings from there.

Then, make sure you’ve got the right information in your address book so you can start sending out those scanned documents. 

Sounds simple?

Let’s look a little more closely at the specifics involved in all three of those steps.

Before you start

We’ll start with a quick look at the things you need to make Scan to Email work. Those include:

  • Admin permissions on your HP printer
  • An SMTP server (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol server)
  • A working wi-fi connection
  • At least one recipient to send your scanned files to
  • Your printer IP address.

Of course, you’re also going to need a desktop or laptop device to connect to your printer.

The rest of this guide is split according to the kinds of devices you can use.

Using the scan to email wizard on Windows

It’s easy to use Scan to Email from an HP printer with a Windows device. Here’s a step-by-step guide for how that works:

  1. Open the HP printer assistant. You’ll generally find this under All Programs from your home screen
  2. Choose Scan from the printer assistant, then choose Scan to email wizard
  3. Click New under Outgoing email profiles
  4. Type in the sender’s address on the home page. Then, enter the sender’s name under Display name. The printer control panel will show you the name you entered here.
  5. Move on to the second page, which asks for authentication details. There, enter the SMTP Server name and SMTP Port number.
    1. To complete this step using a hosted service like Gmail, double-check that you’ve got the right SMTP address and SSL/TLS settings (which means ticking the Always use secure SSL/TLS connection check box) via the service provider’s website.
    2. If you’re struggling to get this step right and you’re not using Gmail, it’s still worth it to check your server settings.
  6. Choose the Maximum Size of Email option from the menu and adjust the settings to your needs
  7. Click on the Configure page and select Include sender in all email messages sent out successfully from the printer. This stops you from needing to redo the email setup for every new email.
  8. Click on Finish. Then, you can double-check everything looks right and hit the Finish button to close the dialog box and exit the wizard.

Using the scan-to-email feature on MacOs

If you’ve got a Mac device, you’ll be able to use the EWS method set out below: 

  1. Click the Go menu and select Utilities, then the Hewlett-Packard folder
  2. Double-click HP Utility
  3. Access the EWS using one of these two methods:
    1. Choose additional settings under printer settings. You can then choose Open Embedded Web Server.
    2. Choose Scan to Email under scan settings. Then, choose Begin Scan to Email Setup.

The EWS will open once you’ve completed these steps. Now you’re ready to follow the guidelines in the next section.

Scan to email using HP Embedded Web Server (EWS)

Here’s a step-by-step guide to using the EWS to set up your scan-to-email function:

  1. Get the printer’s IP address from the printer control panel
  2. Enter that address into your web browser’s address bar
  3. Press Enter
  4. Click Scan to Email on the EWS home page
  5. Set up your chosen email profiles to match your email account(s)
  6. Choose Scan, then Scan to Email
  7. Click Default Settings, then Apply

Increase efficiency by using the scan-to-email feature

You could choose to go the long route and manually recreate a physical document on your device.

That means wasting time getting things just right, double-checking everything, and making sure everything looks the way it should.

Or, alternatively, you can save time with the scan-to-email feature.

Follow the guide we’ve set out above, and you’ll be sending professional-grade email messages, complete with scanned documents, in no time.

It’s more efficient, it’s free, and it’s easy to master. Once it’s set up the first time, you’re good to keep using it as a quick shortcut.

Best of all, it works regardless of whether your device uses Microsoft Windows, MacOS, or neither of those.

If you encounter any problems while trying to use scan to email, you can always try troubleshooting or contact HP support.

They’ll help you get back on track right away.

Try for free