Post by Sam Dickerson on Mar 10, 2014 11:51:11 GMT
Google has made printing from Android devices very accessible in terms of printers you can use. With the use of Google Cloud Print you are able to print to almost any printer available, whether it is a Cloud Print-Enabled printer or not. This Cloud Print function has been built into the Google Chrome Web Browser. It simply works by detecting printers configured on a machine with Chrome installed and enabling them to be accessed via Google Cloud Print online.
The Setup
The easiest way we have found of setting this up is via the server. You simply need to install Google Chrome on your server to begin. After this you need to open the menu at the top right and sign into Chrome. If you have LearnPad devices then you will have a Google Account for the school; you can use this account and sign in.
Once you have signed into Chrome you will need to navigate to Settings > Show Advanced Settings... (At the bottom). Scroll down further and you should see a Google Cloud Print section. Here you will be able to enable Google Cloud Print.
Now Google will search your machine (The Server) for all printers and begin adding them to your Google Account. This usually takes a few minutes, and if you are remoting onto the server you will need to remove any printers that say "Redirected" later on (This happens when you remote to a server and it copies your printers across). Once complete Google Cloud Print should present you with a list of Printers.
The Usage
In terms of using Google Cloud Print, you can only really print from apps that have printing support built in. For example Kingsoft Office is a free Office Suite that comes with the LearnPad software. This allows you to create Word, Excel and Powerpoint format files. I have found this to be a good way of getting around the fact that LearnPad does not let you print photos (you can simply insert the pictures into a Word Document).
To print from Kingsoft Office you need to have an open file and click the small icon at the top right with 4 squares. This will expand a menu below the icon which will also reveal a print icon. Clicking this icon will take you to a print screen that gives you 2 different options. You will need to select the "Cloud Print" option. The next step is to sign into the Google Account you used to setup cloud printing. Once complete you should receive a list of all printers added to the account and you should be able to print from them.
It also enables printing from Google Drive (formerly known as Google Docs) meaning you can create Word, Excel and Powerpoint files online in Google Drive and have the option to print to the school printers from your web browser. This means that you should be able to print via Google Drive from any device, whether it be a laptop, tablet, phone or ipad for example.
Another benefit of this method is that unlike iPads (using AirPrint or AirServer) you do not need to be on the same physical network as the printers; you do not need to be in school with the tablets to be able to print to the school printers (which can have its uses if you have a class printer and want to print some work to it from home for the next day!).
The Setup
The easiest way we have found of setting this up is via the server. You simply need to install Google Chrome on your server to begin. After this you need to open the menu at the top right and sign into Chrome. If you have LearnPad devices then you will have a Google Account for the school; you can use this account and sign in.
Once you have signed into Chrome you will need to navigate to Settings > Show Advanced Settings... (At the bottom). Scroll down further and you should see a Google Cloud Print section. Here you will be able to enable Google Cloud Print.
Now Google will search your machine (The Server) for all printers and begin adding them to your Google Account. This usually takes a few minutes, and if you are remoting onto the server you will need to remove any printers that say "Redirected" later on (This happens when you remote to a server and it copies your printers across). Once complete Google Cloud Print should present you with a list of Printers.
The Usage
In terms of using Google Cloud Print, you can only really print from apps that have printing support built in. For example Kingsoft Office is a free Office Suite that comes with the LearnPad software. This allows you to create Word, Excel and Powerpoint format files. I have found this to be a good way of getting around the fact that LearnPad does not let you print photos (you can simply insert the pictures into a Word Document).
To print from Kingsoft Office you need to have an open file and click the small icon at the top right with 4 squares. This will expand a menu below the icon which will also reveal a print icon. Clicking this icon will take you to a print screen that gives you 2 different options. You will need to select the "Cloud Print" option. The next step is to sign into the Google Account you used to setup cloud printing. Once complete you should receive a list of all printers added to the account and you should be able to print from them.
It also enables printing from Google Drive (formerly known as Google Docs) meaning you can create Word, Excel and Powerpoint files online in Google Drive and have the option to print to the school printers from your web browser. This means that you should be able to print via Google Drive from any device, whether it be a laptop, tablet, phone or ipad for example.
Another benefit of this method is that unlike iPads (using AirPrint or AirServer) you do not need to be on the same physical network as the printers; you do not need to be in school with the tablets to be able to print to the school printers (which can have its uses if you have a class printer and want to print some work to it from home for the next day!).