Keep the App Open So Printing Never Stops
A print station is an appliance: plug it in, leave the app open, forget it exists. Here's exactly what "open" means on each platform, and how to fix things when printing pauses.
Table of Contents
- The one rule
- What stops printing
- If printing paused
- Android: allow background printing
- Dedicate the device
The one rule
Keep ItJustPrints as the open app on the device, plugged in. Think of it as an order display that also prints.
- Android: the screen can go to sleep - printing keeps running as long as the app is the one on screen behind it.
- iPad and iPhone: the screen must stay on. Apple pauses hidden and locked apps, no exceptions. Turn off auto-lock while docked (Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock → Never) or use Guided Access to pin the app.
What stops printing
- Swiping the app out of recent apps.
- Switching to another app and leaving it there (Android shows the "ItJustPrints is running" notification - tap it any time to resume instantly).
- On iPad: locking the screen or letting it auto-lock.
- An empty paper tray. The queue waits; printing resumes when you refill.
If printing paused
Open the app (or tap its notification). Everything queued prints immediately - jobs are never lost, they wait on our side until your station picks them up.
Android: allow background printing
The first time you finish setup, Android asks to let ItJustPrints ignore battery optimisation - tap Allow. If you missed it, the Station screen shows a "Battery saver can stop prints" card; tap it. On Samsung you can also set it manually: Settings → Battery → App battery usage → ItJustPrints → Unrestricted.
Dedicate the device
The happiest stations are retired phones and tablets doing exactly one job. If the device is also someone's daily driver, expect pauses whenever the app is left in the background - the notification tap always catches the queue up.