What To Do When Google Cloud Print Goes Away Next Year

Listen in! Pick up some expert advice to a reader's question that we selected from CyberSchmooz.

Last November, it was announced by Google that its cloud-based printing solution, Google Cloud Print, would no longer be available to users. Starting December 31, 2020, Cloud Print goes away and other alternate solutions appear. Google decided to notify users of this change to give them plenty of time to build a migration strategy and find a replacement that’s right for their company. If you relied heavily on Google Cloud Print and are unsure of what to do next to prepare for this upcoming change, follow this guide to get all the information needed for a smooth migration process.

Start Researching Your Options

Since the change won’t be implemented until the end of this year, you still have plenty of time to search for potential print management alternatives. If you haven’t already, start looking for a new printing solution that works best for your business. This helps avoid any disruptions to your organizational structure or daily operations when Cloud Print disappears. Your main available options are to either stick with Chrome’s native solution, or to consider an alternate print management service without support.

Sticking with Google

If your work environment is filled mainly with Chromebooks, it may be easier to consider using Google’s native printing features. They’ve been upgrading their native printing solution ever since they announced the removal of Cloud Print. Google’s printing solution typically provides basic printing features, but doesn’t offer any advanced capabilities.

For instance, it doesn’t offer any visibility into various user printing behaviors like other alternative solutions do. If this is a feature that isn’t important to your business or organizational needs, then the native printing option should work for you. It also doesn’t offer secure print release, so it’s best to look into other options if this feature is important to you.

Keep in mind that the deprecation of Google Cloud Print means that the software and its features will no longer be available, even if you stick with Google’s native printing solution. The native printing option will offer entirely different services and features. You’ll no longer have access to Google Cloud Print’s support team and won’t receive any bug fixes for the platform as well.

Using Alternate Print Solutions

If the native printing features don’t seem to fulfill your organization’s printing needs, don’t panic. Google partners with several other print solutions that offer additional features that aren’t available when you stick with the native printing option. You have the choice to either stay away from Google’s solution altogether and choose one of the alternatives, or you can use both. You can continue using the features that Google provides, while trying out the additional features that the alternate print solutions offer as well.

If you’re still unsure whether an alternate solution is the best choice, consider the devices your business uses and the features your company needs to successfully print and distribute its documents. Some businesses operate using a wide variety of different devices to print and send their documents to printing. Most alternate solutions offer printing from computers like Windows or Mac. Some of them even allow you to print from additional devices like an iPad, iPhone, or Android in addition to Chrome devices.

It’s also better to go the alternate route if you have printers that operate on guest networks, as native printing typically doesn’t allow this. Not all printers support Chromebook printing, so if you have similar printers that don’t support it and your organization also contains a wide variety of printers of different brands, look into possible alternate solutions.

Possible Printing Solution to Consider

As you research potential printing solutions to add to your company’s processes, look for one that contains features that align well with your organizational goals and meet your team’s preferences. A possible option to try is PrinterLogic, which offers serverless Chromebook printing. It allows you to easily migrate from Cloud Print with little to no hassle for you, your employees, and any third parties you collaborate with.

This print management platform has a Chrome OS extension that guarantees an easy and seamless migration from Cloud Print. It offers advanced reporting so you can effectively track your print activity across your entire organization. You can also release your confidential documents with ease, knowing their secure release feature is keeping your information protected using leading cloud-based identity providers.

You can easily navigate through this system using the PrinterLogic self-service portal that allows you to find and install the printers you need in a quick and effortless manner. Since everything is streamlined and available all in one place, you will save on any unnecessary management costs and essentially reduce your IT infrastructure.

Setting Up Your New Printing System

If setting up a new printing process seems nerve-wracking to complete, there’s no need to worry. As an administrator, you can easily follow simple steps to get these services set up through your account. These steps should guide you through the process:

Disable your Cloud Print services by signing into your Google Admin console
Go to “apps,” then “additional Google services”
Select “cloud print”
Click “edit service” featured at the top right of the gray box
Hit the “off” option
Go back to the Admin Console home page, head to “devices” and select “Chrome”
Scroll further down the page to select the “printers” option
At the bottom right-hand corner, hover over “add” and select “add a printer”
Input your printer’s details and information
Click “add printer”

When setting up your printer, be sure to create an Internet Printing Protocol-based print queue. This allows you to easily send different print jobs through the network. Another option is to add your printer using a specific extension.

Transitioning to a New Printing Service

Switching to a different service after using the same one for several years can seem challenging and intimidating. Luckily, you have plenty of time to prepare both yourself and your team for this change. Collaborate closely with your employees to determine your organization’s printing needs and work together to find a solution that meets these needs and enhances your processes.

Communicate your upcoming printing service switch with all employees across your organization. This way, everyone can prepare for the upcoming change and plan accordingly. If you prepare everyone for this shift ahead of time, you’ll notice a smooth and painless printing migration for both yourself and your team.

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