Auto-Print FastMail Emails: 5-Minute Setup

FastMail is one of the cleanest IMAP setups around. No marketing tracking, no AI scraping your inbox, fast servers, proper standards support. If you've migrated off Gmail for privacy reasons, you probably landed on FastMail.

Here's how to wire FastMail to a desktop auto-print app so invoices, contracts, and order confirmations print automatically.

Table of Contents

• Generate a FastMail App Password
• Install AutoPrintEmail
• Connect FastMail via IMAP
• Filter Rule + Printer
• Why FastMail Works Well for Auto-Print
• Common Workflows on FastMail
• Multiple FastMail Accounts
• App Password Rotation
• What Doesn't Work
• Pricing
• TL;DR

Generate a FastMail App Password

FastMail enforces app passwords for third-party IMAP clients (good security hygiene). It's a 30-second setup.

1. Sign into fastmail.com.
2. Settings → Privacy & Security → App passwords.
3. Click New app password.
4. Name it AutoPrintEmail.
5. Set the access level to IMAP (read access is enough; full IMAP works too).
6. Click Generate password and copy the password FastMail shows.

Keep that password — you won't see it again.

Install AutoPrintEmail

Download for your OS. Free 3-day trial. Sign in.

Connect FastMail via IMAP

In AutoPrintEmail: Add Account → IMAP / POP3.

FastMail's IMAP settings:

• Host: imap.fastmail.com
• Port: 993
• Encryption: SSL/TLS
• Username: your full FastMail address (or your custom domain address if you use one). E.g., you@fastmail.com or you@yourbusiness.com.
• Password: the app password from above (NOT your FastMail login password).

Click Connect. AutoPrintEmail logs in, lists your folders. Pick INBOX to monitor everything, or a FastMail folder if you've set up server-side rules to pre-sort mail.

Filter Rule + Printer

Same patterns as any provider:

• From contains: [your accounting tool / shipping provider / ...]
• Has attachment: yes
• Action: Print attachment to [your printer]

For FastMail-hosted custom domains, a clean pattern is to set up a FastMail server-side rule that moves all invoice@yourbusiness.com mail to a Invoices folder, then have AutoPrintEmail watch only that folder. Cleaner than relying on filter precision.

Pick the printer. Test.

Why FastMail Works Well for Auto-Print

A few practical reasons FastMail is one of the better providers for this use case:

• Reliable IMAP. No throttling games, no random app-password revocations, no rate limits that matter.
• Server-side rules. FastMail's rule engine lets you pre-sort mail into folders before AutoPrintEmail even sees it. Combine with a "monitor only the Invoices folder" config for very clean automation.
• Aliases. FastMail's alias support is excellent — generate printables@yourdomain.com, give it to your bookkeeping tool / shipping provider, and have AutoPrintEmail watch that alias's inbox specifically. Cuts noise.
• No interference. FastMail doesn't introduce custom headers, doesn't strip attachments, doesn't try to rewrite anything. What gets sent is what AutoPrintEmail sees.

Common Workflows on FastMail

• Indie professionals on you@yourbusiness.com auto-printing client contracts and invoices.
• Privacy-conscious accounting practices running FastMail across the team — paired with the team plan for centralized billing.
• Small businesses migrating off Gmail/Outlook for privacy keeping the same auto-print workflow with the new provider.

Multiple FastMail Accounts

Add each as a separate AutoPrintEmail account. Per-account rules, per-account printers. The bookkeeper's FastMail and the warehouse FastMail can route to different physical printers without crosstalk.

App Password Rotation

If you ever need to revoke the app password (e.g., you suspect a compromise):

1. FastMail → Settings → App passwords → revoke the existing one.
2. Generate a new one.
3. Update AutoPrintEmail's account settings with the new password.

Takes 30 seconds. AutoPrintEmail will start failing connections immediately when the old password is revoked, so you'll know to rotate.

What Doesn't Work

• Free trial accounts (no app passwords on trial). Pay first; trial accounts can't generate app passwords reliably.
• Push notifications. FastMail supports IMAP IDLE, but AutoPrintEmail uses 60-second polling instead. New email may take up to a minute to print. Acceptable for most business workflows.

Pricing

• Free 3-day trial. Full features. No credit card.
• Monthly: $14.99/seat.
• Lifetime: $199/seat.
• Team plan: centralized billing + admin dashboard with print analytics.

TL;DR

1. FastMail → Settings → Privacy & Security → App passwords → New (IMAP scope).
2. Install AutoPrintEmail.
3. Add Account → IMAP, host imap.fastmail.com, port 993, your FastMail email + app password.
4. Filter + printer.
5. Test.

Same 5-minute setup as Yahoo or iCloud, with arguably the most reliable IMAP server of any consumer provider.