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by Someone1234 3510 days ago
Chromebooks cannot print.

Everyone loves to recommend Chromebooks to older/less digitally literate people, and they're right to do so in most situations. However Chromebooks have one huge downside that makes them non-starters for some of that demographic: Printing is a no-go.

And don't tell me about "Google Cloud Print." Cloud Printing requires a PC or Mac connected to the printer and a copy of the Chrome browser running. In this scenario we're trying to replace a PC or Mac, not add to them, so Google Cloud Print is a non-starter.

Ultimately people who quickly jump on the Chromebook recommendation need to find out first if printing, even rarely, is a requirement. For a lot of people I've tried to move over to a Chromebook, it has been the single thing that killed the entire project.

Printing in general is a huge hole in Chromebook's offering.

7 comments

>And don't tell me about "Google Cloud Print." Cloud Printing requires a PC or Mac connected to the printer and a copy of the Chrome browser running. In this scenario we're trying to replace a PC or Mac, not add to them, so Google Cloud Print is a non-starter.

There are a huge number of affordable wifi-enabled printers that support Google Cloud Print. Replacing your existing printer isn't ideal, but it's not a total dealbreaker.

My mom has one of those, a Brother model that loudly proclaims it supports Google Cloud Print. Doesn't work with her Chromebook at all.

(Unfortunately we bought it well before she owned a Chromebook so returning is not an option.)

There is API for printers on ChromeOS - printerProvider. There are some apps that use it, maybe something will work for you:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ipp-cups-printing-...

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/wifi-printer-drive...

I used the IPP / CUPS extension for a while, but now use the HP Print for Chrome application. Obviously this is an HP-only printer solution, but seems to work a little better for me. I had to route IPP / CUPS through my Linux home server running cupsd. The HP Print application prints directly to the printer, one less thing to go wrong.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hp-print-for-chrom...

Thank you for those suggestions, I will try them.
I have a brother printer with cloudprint. It's my favorite printing experience bar none (there is however that creepy part where you send all your documents to google...) but it definitely works with my Samsung chromebook.
> And don't tell me about "Google Cloud Print." Cloud Printing requires a PC or Mac connected to the printer and a copy of the Chrome browser running.

You are mistaken. While that's an option, the primary option is to use a printer that directly supports Google cloud print.

https://www.google.com/cloudprint/learn/printers.html

Chromebook ($200)+ wifi printer ($50) is still cheaper and smoother than a workable Windows laptop.
$200 Windows laptops exist and work perfectly fine, having the same specs as the Chromebooks.
A 200 dollar windows laptop with the same specs as a chromebook will be pathetically slow.
Since the kernel is Linux, can you access USB devices in /dev/? In theory you could design a userspace generic driver which just sends Postscript to printers. Advanced features wouldn't be supported, but basic PDF printing would work. So it might be technically feasible to print from ChromeOS---someone would just have to build a friendly wrapper around it.
Well, a cloud-ready printer would solve that issue... One hurdle I've faced is lack of things like Skype. OP mentioned lightroom. Sometimes, the alternatives are not good enough, or not user-friendly enough for parents who insist on say Skype instead of hangouts
Some Chromebooks now support Android apps, with more to come over the next year.

https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/chrome-os-systems-suppo...

I just switched my mom from Skype to talky.io and I'm never going back. Try it out (or any of the million other free webrtc sites)!
You don't have to run Chrome OS. You can install Elementary or another Linux distro.
Well, that defeats the point of making an easy sandboxed OS for elders.
> Chromebooks cannot print.

+1. I can vouch for that.

Source: We bought 5 chromebooks to trial at our company.