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With Google Cloud Print swept into the sunset in just a few weeks on December 31, 2020, many of you have seen the notice at the top of your Chromebook’s print dialog and have asked us what your options for the future. in the new year. Google Cloud Print, or GCP, was created at a time when Google needed to act as a middleman for print jobs for Chromebook users because many printer manufacturers did not create drivers for Chrome OS due to for its lack of widespread use. Since this has changed dramatically over the past few years, GCP is no longer needed (although it will be forgotten), and most printers will work with out-of-the-box Chromebooks with minimal configuration.
Some important housework
I’ll start by saying up front that if you’re looking for a tutorial on how to migrate your business or school out of GCP, you should read our other tutorial. As well, if you are interested in an alternative solution that allows you to print over long distances without being within range of your home Wi-Fi, which requires other third-party services which we will discuss in the near future.
Also, if you have an HP printer, you can just buy a USB Type A to B cable from your local Best Buy (just ask for a printer cable) and plug it in to print! Other brands may work as well, but in my experience only HP does. This is by far the easiest method to print to your Chromebook, although the downside is that your laptop will have to stay attached to the printer during the process.
Today, I’m going to walk you through the second easiest method – connect your Chromebook to a wireless printer using your home network and the ‘CUPS’ method. For most Chromebook users, standard wireless printing with CUPS should be a viable replacement for Google Cloud Print (GCP). “CUPS” or Common Unix Print Service allows you to print single-sided or double-sided pages in black and white or color, configure advanced print attributes such as stapling, paper trays and even management of PIN code printing. Basically, this is what you’ve probably always used before GCP without even realizing it.
I’ll be very specific with today’s tutorial to reduce confusion, so if you just want the lecture notes, I’ll recommend Google’s excellent step-by-step visual simulator by Partnerdash below. This was one of the many tools I had in my belt for my clients in the retail space as a Chromebook expert and it is very well done. If you are still having issues after following their steps, you can refer to this article for some important notes on things that I have encountered over the past 3 years.
Start the interactive tutorial
Removing your GCP printer
“Okay, Michael, I don’t care if I use CUPS or bowls to print, just tell me how!” I hear you – let’s get started. To be able to print to your Chromebook, you need to visit the Printers section of the Settings app. To get there, all you have to do is hit the “All” button and search for it. Next – and this is very important – let’s remove your GCP printer from the list of printers available on your device. You may need to remove it from the Google Cloud Print web interface, but removing it locally should be sufficient for now. Since you don’t need it anymore (and can’t use it soon), it reduces confusion later if we just delete it now. Once you’re in your Chromebook’s Settings app, click in the search bar at the top and type in “Print” to get there. If your existing printer appears in the list, tap the three dots next to it, and then tap “delete.”
Settings> Printing> Three dot> Delete (GCP printer if applicable)
Let’s start
Okay, let’s connect your printer via Wi-Fi instead! Since you are already in the printer settings, press the small icon to the right of “Add a printer”. A dialog box will appear called “Add a nearby printer”. As long as your printer and Chromebook are on the same network, they should appear in this list. If it doesn’t show, make sure both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi and try again. If it worked, congratulations! Your printer has been successfully connected to your Chromebook. I recommend that you skip to the “Changing Your Print Destination” section of this article for an important tip. Otherwise, if you continue to have problems, we’ll connect it using your IP address instead.
Connect printer and Chromebook to the same wireless network
Settings> Printing> Printer icon> Select printer from list
Your printer’s IP address is a unique identifier that allows your Chromebook to communicate with it. Think of it this way – As long as you don’t know someone’s name, you will probably have a hard time speaking directly to them. If you say “Hey, you!” a lot of people can watch, but if you say “Hey, Michael Perrigo! only then will I turn my head. It’s a silly but precise analogy.
Finding Your Printer’s IP Address
To get your printer’s IP address, simply go to the small screen on the front of it, tap the gear icon, scroll to “network” or “wireless”. Then search for “view wireless details” or something similar. I am generalizing because each company buries the address under a different verbiage. You can consult HP, Epson, Brother, Canon or any other manufacturer for step by step instructions through Google search. Once you’ve located the IP address, it can be printed out, or you can jot it down on a piece of paper (or just memorize it) and return to your Chromebook.
Okay, let’s get back on track. So you have pressed the printer icon and a dialog titled “Add Printer Manually” will now appear. Fill in all required fields – give your printer a name, enter the IP address you just found (this is usually 192.168.xx where the x’s are numbers unique to your printer), then click the button blue “ Add ” at the bottom right. You can leave the Protocol area and the queue as is.
On the next screen, choose the make and model of your printer. If your model isn’t on the list, just find something as close as possible. It just determines whether or not you get settings specific to your printer in the print preview window. Now click again on the blue “ Add ” button at the bottom right and you have successfully added your printer!
Settings> Printing> Printer icon> Enter name> Enter IP address> “ Add ” button
Choose printer manufacturer> choose printer model> Add button
Changing Your Print Destination
Okay listen up – If this is your first time printing wireless on your Chromebook, you’ll probably find that clicking CTRL + P on a document and choosing the blue “ Save ” button at the bottom right of the preview before printing does not send to your printer! This is very important and I have found that many people who continue to have problems do so because they forgot to change their print destination. To resolve this issue, simply choose the first drop-down menu labeled “Destination” and change it from “Save as PDF” to your printer name. You may need to click “Learn more …” and then choose your printer from the additional dialog box that appears.
If you have followed all of the steps above, you should have a printed document coming out of your printer as you read this – Congratulations! I know it was long, but I think it was necessary to cover everything in detail. Hopefully, this can serve as a guide for printing on a Chromebook, especially after Google Cloud Print died out at the end of this year. If it’s been helpful to you, leave a comment and share it with someone you know who might need it. If anything needs to be changed for clarity, let us know! Good impression!
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