T103.12 -- Google Cloud Printers
On the surface this may/will seem confusing. Once you become familiar with it, you should see some serious benefits. It will require some cognitive reprogramming so as not to hurt too much when you think about it.
Pre-Cloud Printing Config Options
Cloud Printing -- in General
What if instead of asking your PC/Mac to communicate directly with your printer, a middle man was inserted into the dialogue? What if that middle man was someplace on the cloud? From a technology perspective, it might seem kind of like going in reverse.
Advantages of Cloud Printing?
One huge advantage of cloud printing is the fact that printer manufacturers no longer have to deal with printer driver distribution. They can capture print commands from incoming requests, modify those commands to work with the target hardware in whatever way they need to, and then issue the print command to their own printer. It's a big savings for them from a driver support perspective.
Problems with Cloud Printing?
Google Cloud Printing
With Google Cloud printing, you will go through a registration process that registers your printer to your gmail/Gsuite account (as opposed to the hardware like traditional registration). There can only be one owner of each printer, BUT, then you can "share that printer" with anyone else who has a gmail/Gsuite account just like you share documents via gmail/Gsuite (you select the printer and enter their gmail/Gsuite related email address). (NOTE: The printer must support cloud printing. It is a new feature that most printers since 2014 support. There is no way to cloud print from a printer that does not inherently have that feature).
Advantages of Google Cloud Printing
This system has some huge advantages...
Disadvantages of Google Cloud Printing
Security / Operations Side Note...
Long term, this seems like an awesome system, but it will take some mental adjusting to get used to the process.
Pre-Cloud Printing Config Options
- A PC or a Mac is connected to a printer via a cable. Printer Software drivers have to be loaded on the pc/mac to print. It can be a real pain in the butt if things don't go well with those drivers. There is great expense to the hardware vendor for upkeep. If a friend or coworker brings a laptop into the mix, they don't have printing access.
- A PC or a Mac is connected to a wired/wireless network. Printer Software drivers have to be loaded on each pc/mac to print, and the networking component can add to the confusion of the occasionally challenging printer registration process.. If a friend or coworker brings a laptop into the mix, even if they get on the network, they don't have printing access without loading drivers.
Cloud Printing -- in General
What if instead of asking your PC/Mac to communicate directly with your printer, a middle man was inserted into the dialogue? What if that middle man was someplace on the cloud? From a technology perspective, it might seem kind of like going in reverse.
- It's like dialing up an operator in another country and saying "Hi, I'd like to print to the printer that is sitting right next to my computer. I'm going to send you the information I want to send, and then I'm going to ask you to send it back to the printer for me..."
Advantages of Cloud Printing?
One huge advantage of cloud printing is the fact that printer manufacturers no longer have to deal with printer driver distribution. They can capture print commands from incoming requests, modify those commands to work with the target hardware in whatever way they need to, and then issue the print command to their own printer. It's a big savings for them from a driver support perspective.
Problems with Cloud Printing?
- It's confusing as heck to the consumer until you get the hang of what they are doing.
- You have to go through one very strange registration process to get that printer next to you registered as a cloud printer... and even with the smoother processes, it'd cognitively a pretzel that can hurt if you think about it too hard.
- Your printer vendor (or another service provider like Google) has to maintain the connectors that connect you to your printer.
Google Cloud Printing
With Google Cloud printing, you will go through a registration process that registers your printer to your gmail/Gsuite account (as opposed to the hardware like traditional registration). There can only be one owner of each printer, BUT, then you can "share that printer" with anyone else who has a gmail/Gsuite account just like you share documents via gmail/Gsuite (you select the printer and enter their gmail/Gsuite related email address). (NOTE: The printer must support cloud printing. It is a new feature that most printers since 2014 support. There is no way to cloud print from a printer that does not inherently have that feature).
Advantages of Google Cloud Printing
This system has some huge advantages...
- You do not have to register each new computer you get with your printer.
- You can print from mobile devices and phones
- You can print to printers shared with you. (So if you are working at someone else's home or office, you can print to their printers. If you are working in a different country from someone else, you can print a document straight to their printer -- which could be a fascinating twist to attaching a doc to an email, sending to someone else, and asking them to print...)
Disadvantages of Google Cloud Printing
- It's confusing to setup
- Each printer vendor may have a slightly different setup process (as you will see examples of below... where HP add's an extra piece which really adds to the confusion)
- If you have to trouble shoot a connection, good luck with that... (I haven't had to yet, and not sure where I'd start if I did).
- Pay close attention to ownership rights of the registered printer. You would always want to maintain control of those.
Security / Operations Side Note...
- Getting a google cloud printer setup is one thing..I am curious to know what it takes to keep it up. As a person somewhat familiar with networking, I'm a little confused as to how this works. If a router change is made, and or an IP address change is made, and if the google cloud print can still find the printer, then I can only assume they are sending a ping out with a registration key every so often ...but how often is odd... Technically, a server on the internet should not be able to find a device on a private network without that device initiating the digital dialogue... (which is what ping tracking would be about)....
Long term, this seems like an awesome system, but it will take some mental adjusting to get used to the process.
T105x -- Google Cloud Printer Registration
General Info
Brother MFC-J4410DW
HP
Go to hpconnected.com and setup hp Eprint Account (One time for all hp printers)
- Printer Owner -- Be sure to register the printer while logged into chrome browser from owners account. I registered a printer in a clients office while in my own account and I became the owner. We had to unregister the printer and re-register.
- Sharing -- The printer only gets registered to one Google Account. That person then shares the printer by registering an email address. It is awesome. This means others given permission can print to your printers while onsite without the need to install any printer drivers.
- Test Page Print -- Does not seem to work.. find a file to print
- Brother vs HP -- The Brother process was simpler.
- The Printer List -- The printer list in Chrome is deceptive. if you have more than a few printers, it does NOT show them all until you click on the "show more button".
Brother MFC-J4410DW
- Printer must be registered on local network
- Get Printer's IP address (use the console on the printer to get it)
- Type IP address into browser
- Go to Network Tab
- Go to Protocal
- Check Google Cloud Print (if not checked) and then click advanced settings
- Click Register
- Click go to Google
- Click Finish registering this printer
- Go to manage printers -- Refresh List
- Video -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwH_kDJZRs
- NOTES: In general the wireless networking on this printer is not great. It turns itself off and doesn't wake well. I registered it and it worked. Some time later I realized it had lost registration. I un-registered and re-registered a few times it showed two printers with each new registration. I changed the name of the printer to something new on the registration and that worked. Test print worked. Printing from PC, Mac and Chromebook for now....
HP
Go to hpconnected.com and setup hp Eprint Account (One time for all hp printers)
- Printer must be registered on local network
- Hit ePrint icon (strange icon(s), google it.
One looks like a piece of paper with concentric circles coming off of upper left corner
One looks like a rectangle with a piece of paper coming out of the right side with concentric circles coming off the upper right corner
On HP 8600 multi-function it is on the home screen in upper left corner. It may not be highlighted, but you can click it anyway
On HP 8625 multi-fucntion it is on the home screen in the lower left corner.
If printer is already registered, and you need to re-register,
1) remove printer from hpconnected account (don't know how to do that if you don't know the account it is registered too.)
2) Disable webservices and then enable them again (it is an option at the same ePrint icon
I assume this would unregister the account if you couldn't do step 1 of this - Enable Web Services
- The printer will show cryptic email address and it will have a print option. Print the paper. The paper will have the cryptic email address and a Claim Code good for 24 hours for printer registration. You will need the Claim Code for registration.
(if the printer has already been registered, it will present it's email address that was assigned from a prior assignment...) - Go to hpconnected and register the printer
- You will be asked to create a unique email address you can use to identify the printer (the email address will never be used for email) -- Suggestion -- [email protected] (and the email can only be used for one registration, so a re-register might be _1a)
- Google "Connect your HP ptinter with google cloud print" and look for the google URL
- Enter the ePrint email address (not the claim code). Be sure you are logged into a chrome browser with the user you want to own the printer!! There is no place to enter an email address for the Google Account you want the printer to associate with...
- To test, go to a gDrive document and print it... select the option to change the printer... at the bottom of the page look for your google cloud print options. if there is a "more" button there click to show all your cloud printers -- there is a "manage printers" link there too. That manage link will take you to google.com/cloudprint where you can see your printers, share them and see print history, etc.
- NOTE: The printer names in Google Printers list are intrinsic ot the printers, not the names or email addresses given to them... For example the 8600 has additional info on it.. and the 8625 is reading as 8620 in google printers. If you had two of the same printer, I'm not sure if they would add something to denote a difference.
- NOTE: You (and others) can send print jobs to your HP printer via the email address, [email protected] . The body of the email will show up on the cover sheet and the attachment will print separate. No idea of there is max length on the cover page. Most fax servers do have a max length.