How to Scan to Email on an HP DeskJet Printer
Scanning a document and emailing it sounds simple — until you open the HP Smart app and wonder where the "scan to email" button actually is. The honest answer is that HP DeskJets handle scan-to-email in a few different ways depending on your model, and some older DeskJets don't have a built-in scan-to-email feature at all. This guide covers all three working methods — the HP Smart app route (works on virtually every DeskJet), the printer's own scan-to-email feature (newer models), and the classic scan-to-computer-then-attach path — plus the settings that keep your scanned attachments small, sharp, and readable.
boltQuick Answer
The easiest way to scan to email on an HP DeskJet is the HP Smart app: open the app, tap Printer Scan or Camera Scan, scan your pages, then tap Share and choose your email app. Newer DeskJets (2700e/4100e/4200e series) also offer scan-to-email from the printer itself after enabling Web Services. Older models without that feature can scan to your computer and attach the file to an email manually — same result.
Your Three Options: Pick the One That Fits Your DeskJet
Not every DeskJet scans to email the same way
Before diving in, it helps to know which method suits your setup. There is no wrong choice — all three get a scan into an email — but one of them will be noticeably easier depending on your model and your phone or computer:
- Method 1 — HP Smart app (recommended for everyone): Scan from your phone or computer with the HP Smart app, then share the scan to email. Works on practically every DeskJet, including older ones.
- Method 2 — Scan-to-email from the printer itself: On newer DeskJets with Web Services (2700e, 4100e, 4200e series and similar), you can set up scan-to-email in the printer's web settings and send scans without touching your phone or computer.
- Method 3 — Scan to computer, then attach: Use Windows or macOS scanning tools to scan a file, then attach it to an email like any other file. The old reliable — works with every scanner ever made.
What you'll need for each method
- Method 1 needs the free HP Smart app (phone or computer) and your printer connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the device.
- Method 2 needs a DeskJet that supports HP Web Services and an HP account, plus the printer connected to the internet.
- Method 3 just needs a working scanner connection and any email program.
Method 1: Scan to Email with the HP Smart App (Recommended)
Why this is the best route for most people
The HP Smart app is free, it works on iPhone, Android, Windows, and Mac, and it talks to every DeskJet made in roughly the last decade. It also gives you two scan sources: Printer Scan, which uses your DeskJet's scanner glass, and Camera Scan, which uses your phone's camera — handy when the document is already in your hand and the printer is in another room.
Install and set up HP Smart
Download HP Smart from the App Store, Google Play, or the Microsoft Store. Open it and sign in with (or create) an HP account, then tap the + button to add your printer. The app usually finds your DeskJet automatically if it's on the same Wi-Fi network — if not, see our guide on setting up Wi-Fi on an HP DeskJet first.
Start a scan from the printer
Tap your printer in the HP Smart home screen, then choose Printer Scan. Place the document face-down on the scanner glass (align it to the corner mark), pick your settings — PDF for multi-page documents, color or black & white as appropriate — and tap Scan. Preview the result; you can add more pages with the + Add pages button before continuing.
Or scan with your phone's camera
From the HP Smart home screen, tap Camera Scan instead. Hold the phone over the page — the app detects the edges and captures automatically. This is the fastest option for a quick one-pager, like a receipt or signed form, and you don't need to walk to the printer at all.
Send it to email
Once the scan looks right, tap Share (or the share icon), then choose Email or your mail app from the share sheet. The app attaches the scan and opens a new message — add the recipient, write a subject, and send. On the desktop version of HP Smart, click Share, save or send the file, then attach it to a new email message.
Method 2: Scan to Email from the Printer Itself
Which DeskJets support this?
Built-in scan-to-email lives in the printer's Embedded Web Server (EWS) — the printer's settings page you open in a browser. It's available on newer DeskJets that support HP Web Services, such as the DeskJet 2700e, 4100e, and 4200e series. Older DeskJets (2600/3700 non-"e" models and earlier) typically don't have this feature — if so, stick with Method 1 or 3, which work just as well.
Enable Web Services and claim your printer
On the printer's control panel (or in HP Smart under printer settings), turn on Web Services and print the info page that shows a printer claim code. Then sign in at HP's website, go to your devices, and enter the claim code to link the printer to your HP account. This connects the printer to HP's cloud, which is what actually sends the emails.
Open the printer's Embedded Web Server
Find your printer's IP address — in HP Smart, tap your printer, then Printer Information or Network Information; or print a Network Configuration Page from the printer itself. Type that IP address into your browser's address bar (for example, 192.168.1.25 — yours will differ). This opens the EWS settings page.
Set up Scan to Email in EWS
In EWS, open the Scan tab and select Scan to Email (it may be under Settings or Webscan, depending on firmware). Enable it, add the email address profiles you want to send to — your own address, a colleague's, and so on — and save. HP handles the sending through its own mail servers, so you don't need to configure SMTP or app passwords yourself.
Scan and send from the printer
Place the document on the glass, and from the printer control panel or the EWS page, choose Scan to Email, pick the destination profile, set color and resolution, and start the scan. The printer sends the file straight to the chosen email address — no phone or computer involved.
Method 3: Scan to Your Computer, Then Attach to Email
The universal fallback that never breaks
If the app route isn't cooperating and your model lacks built-in scan-to-email, this method always works: scan a file to your computer using the operating system's own tools, then attach it to an email like any photo or document. Nothing to install, nothing to configure.
Windows: HP Scan or Windows Fax and Scan
Open the HP Scan software (installed with your printer's full driver) or search for Windows Fax and Scan in the Start menu. Click New Scan, choose PDF as the file type for documents, set a sensible resolution (300 dpi is plenty for email), and scan. Save the file somewhere you'll find it, like the Desktop.
Mac: Image Capture or Preview
Open Image Capture from Applications (or Preview → File → Import from Scanner). Select your DeskJet, choose PDF as the format, scan, and save the file. macOS even lets you combine multiple scans into one PDF from the scan dialog.
Attach it to your email
Compose a new email, click the attach button (paperclip icon), and select the scanned file. Keep an eye on file size — most email services cap attachments around 25 MB, and a multi-page color scan at high resolution can get surprisingly large. The settings tips below help you stay well under that.
Best Scan Settings for Email Attachments
Pick the right file format
- PDF — the right choice for documents. Multi-page PDFs keep every page in one file, open on any device, and look professional. Always pick PDF for contracts, forms, letters, and anything text-based.
- JPEG — better for photos of documents or single images. Smaller files than color PDFs, but one file per page — don't send a 6-page contract as six separate JPEGs.
Resolution: 300 dpi is the sweet spot
For documents sent by email, 300 dpi gives crisp, readable text while keeping file sizes reasonable. Scanning at 600 dpi or higher roughly quadruples the file size with no visible benefit on screen or in typical prints. If the recipient only needs to read it (not print a poster), even 200 dpi works fine.
Color vs. black & white
Choose black & white (or grayscale) for text documents — the files are much smaller and the text is just as readable. Use color only when the document's color actually matters: signatures in blue ink, stamps, photos, or highlighted text.
Watch the total size
A 5-page black-and-white PDF at 300 dpi is usually well under 2 MB — trivial for email. Color scans and high resolutions add up fast, though. If an attachment bounces for being too large, re-scan at lower resolution or in grayscale rather than splitting it across multiple emails.
Scan to Email Not Working? Fixes That Actually Work
The app can't find your printer
Scan features need the printer on the same network as your phone or computer. If HP Smart can't see your DeskJet, run through the Wi-Fi troubleshooting in our HP DeskJet Wi-Fi fix guide — nine times out of ten the printer has simply dropped off the network. Restarting both the printer and your router fixes most discovery problems.
There's no Scan to Email option anywhere
This is normal on older DeskJets — built-in scan-to-email is a newer-model feature. It doesn't mean your printer is broken. Use Method 1 (HP Smart app) or Method 3 (scan to computer, then attach) instead; the end result is identical. Don't waste an afternoon hunting for a menu that doesn't exist on your model.
Scans arrive blurry or cut off
Blurry scans usually mean the document shifted on the glass or the resolution was too low — re-scan at 300 dpi with the page flat against the corner guide. Cut-off edges mean the page wasn't aligned to the reference corner, or Camera Scan mis-detected the edges — retake it with the page on a contrasting background.
The email never arrives
First check the spam or junk folder — scanned attachments from printer services get filtered surprisingly often. For printer-initiated scan-to-email (Method 2), verify Web Services is still enabled and the printer is online; HP's cloud can't send from an offline printer. For the app method, make sure your phone actually has an internet connection when you hit share.
Attachment too large to send
Re-scan rather than fight with the file: drop resolution to 200–300 dpi, switch text documents to black & white, and make sure you're saving as PDF, not an uncompressed format. If the scan is already made and you can't redo it, free PDF compressors (or your operating system's "reduce file size" option when saving from Preview) can shrink it without re-scanning.
A Quick Note on Security
Scans sent by email aren't encrypted
Scan-to-email sends your document the same way as any email attachment — readable by mail servers along the way. For everyday documents that's fine, but think twice before emailing scans containing ID numbers, bank details, or medical records from an unsecured printer setup. For sensitive documents, scan to your computer and share via an encrypted channel instead. Also, if you set up email profiles in the printer's EWS, anyone with physical access to the printer could send scans to those addresses — keep the profiles list short and don't add addresses you wouldn't want used.