Does my Canon printer need AirPrint to show up on my iPhone?

To appear automatically, yes. If your Canon model isn't AirPrint-capable, use the Canon PRINT app instead, or add the printer by its IP address.

Canon printer not showing up on your iPhone?

If your Canon printer is missing from the printer list, your iPhone can't see it on the network yet. These are the usual causes.

Put the Canon printer and iPhone on the exact same Wi-Fi network — not a guest network or a different band.
Wake the Canon printer; many drop off Wi-Fi in sleep until you press a button.
Restart the printer and the router, then open the printer list again.
Check the printer's screen shows it's connected to Wi-Fi; reconnect it with the Canon PRINT app if not.
If your network isolates devices from each other (AP isolation), turn that off in the router settings.

Does my Canon printer need AirPrint to show up on my iPhone?: To appear automatically, yes. If your Canon model isn't AirPrint-capable, use the Canon PRINT app instead, or add the printer by its IP address.

Print, scan & sign from your iPhone

Printer App is a free, ad-free way to print over AirPrint, scan to PDF, sign documents, and run OCR — all on your device.