4 Options to Consider With Google Cloud Printing End of Life

Google Cloud Print has been a popular option cloud printing solution since its release in 2010. It provides users with a stable and easy printing, regardless of technology or the device used. Google Cloud Print resolved the frustrating problem of printer connectivity in a reliable way and allowed us to leverage cloud effectively.

Unfortunately, Google Cloud Print is closing from January 2021. Because of this, many old users are looking for Google Cloud Print alternatives. As Google Cloud Print offered a myriad of features unmatched by other industry solutions, it’s hard to find another option supported by cloud and suited for professional use.

In this article, we will offer some alternatives you can use. Here are 4 options to consider with Google Cloud Printing end of life.

4 Google Cloud Printing Alternatives

Add a Printer in the G Suite Admin Console

G Suite offers administrators the option to add and share printers through the Admin console. For this, you must sign in to https://admin.google.com with a G Suite administrator account.

You can also visit https://admin.google.com/ac/chrome/printers/ directly if you sign in with a G Suite administrator account. After adding a printer, you start printing through printers from Chrome and Chrome devices on your local network. This also gives us options to add and share printers, helping employees use local printers.

Add a Printer from a Chromebook

People using Chromebox or Chromebook can add printers to their network through their devices. Doing so can help you print from Chrome and relevant Chrome devices and leverage local network printers. At the same time, there are also options for adding printers through OS device system settings.

Switch to Paperless Systems

As companies shift towards automation, paperless systems are especially becoming attractive. Not printing at all is a decent option for companies who want to replace Google Cloud Print. You can always leverage G Suite, utilize shared access to files through Google Drive, and make most of the online forms (Google Forms).

At the same time, automated document management solutions help you create a paperless workflow. In today’s market, relying solely on paper documents is no longer sustainable. Businesses have to adopt initiatives that minimize waste creation and energy consumption.

However, if the majority of your content comes in the form of paper, it can be extremely difficult to shift to a paper-free environment. This is why many companies prefer solutions that provide them with the best of both worlds.

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Evaluate Alternative Cloud-Print Services

Several vendors offer alternative printing solutions intended for organizations, such as support for secured print jobs, remote printing, and print management features to help control costs. You must explore comprehensive google cloud printing solution alternatives.

Switching to a Third-Party Cloud Printing Solution

Google Cloud Print was a specialized cloud printing service that helped us connect applications to cloud-enabled home printers. This saved us from the nuisance of fighting compatibility issues, downloading various printer drivers, and facilitating sharing printers with family and friends.

Although Google Cloud Print did a stellar job of providing a comprehensive print management service, its features were not advanced enough to meet enterprise needs. The discontinuation of Google Print provided an excellent opportunity for many enterprise businesses who looked for more versatile options.

Google Cloud Print alternatives, which you might want to consider, are third-party cloud print management solutions. They are enterprise-grade platforms that manage printing in the cloud, tackling the most needless IT pains and inefficiencies in printing.

With ISV cloud print solutions, print-infrastructure management is effectively outsourced, consolidating many disparate, on-site print management tools into one program.

Top 10 Benefits of Using a Cloud Printing Alternative Solution

With one-time setup and configuration, users, printers, and policies can be managed remotely, eliminating the need for internal IT maintenance and individual driver installation, while providing seamless desktop and mobile printing for users.

All essential features for professionals, like reporting, printer assignment, support, and security are comprehensibly covered, making it a great Google Cloud Print alternative for both small and large organizations.

1. Cloud SaaS Ready: Flexible licensing and consumption models are available to adapt to your specific environment’s needs and demands.
2. Print Vendor Agnostic: Seamlessly deploy & manage printers regardless of vendor or environment, while supporting both office A3 devices, as well as home printers.
3. Serverless Printing: Enable direct IP printing from workstations to network printers and remove dedicated print servers for printing purposes.
4. Analytics & Tracking: Track, archive, and report on all printing operations, enabling real-time insight into staff usage, costs, and security breaches.
5. Universal Printing: Whether working in the office or staying at home, users’ printing experiences will be the same regardless of location.
6. Contactless Printing: Using the mobile app, users can now experience a touchless MFP print release directly through their mobile phones.
7. Cost Controls: Identify where you might be losing money, any underused or overused printers and check if printing for each printer is being optimized.
8. Printing as a Service: Easily offer students and users the ability to print, handle billing easily and manage the service remotely.
9. Automatic Printer Assignment: Assignment based on existing AD privileges. Easily deliver a strong level of control over which groups have access to which printers, all based on existing user rights.
10. Printer Restrictions and Controls: Restrict expensive printers with costly maintenance to the teams which need them. Even specific features can be restricted with an enterprise-grade cloud printing service.

Ultimately, third-party cloud printing solutions allow organizations to adapt and improve their efficiency, productivity, and information security, typically by monitoring usage, replacing consumables, and meeting the business’s printing needs. The features of cloud printing solutions vary by vendor, but they can offer many of the following benefits to businesses large and small.

Why did Google discontinue Cloud Print?

Well, there is no exact known answer, but for the reason that Google enhanced its operating system, which is more effective in handling printing tasks.