5thwheeleroldman wrote:
My understanding is that a chromebook needs internet communication to print; either because the printer can access the internet, or by plugging any printer into a computer that does access the internet.
When I search the internet for cloud ready printers, most of them are kind of shy about how they say they are "cloud ready". My suspicion is many of them don't really have internet access capability built into the printer itself. Do you know of a cheap, basic laser printer that really does have that capability builtin?
OK, so I don't own a "Chromebook" and I thought it really sounded stupid to say the least that a modern day "computer" of sorts has no real direct or easy way to print something..
Per link below.. It can be done without the need for "cloud" printing services, just is a bit tricky and a spare PC will need to be setup ON YOUR OWN WIFI NETWORK to act as a local "cloud server"..
Chromebook printing without cloud services"Yes, you can. You can easily print to a "cloud printer". If you do not have a cloud printer (I did not have one, I have a wireless printer connected to my home network), the setup is a bit trickier, but it is still possible. In the case of not having a cloud printer, you need to configure another computer in your network to make your wireless (or wired) printer and non-chromebook computer combination look like a "cloud printer" to your home network. Then you can print from your chromebook to your printer as long as your non-chromebook computer that you configured is powered on and not hibernating. It sounds complicated and is a bit of a learning experience, however I got mine setup in less than a half hour. You can Google search for "google cloud print" for more details."Seems to me since you are going to be using your own "hot spot" and hence all printing data will count against your data allotment it would be in your best interest to setup your own local cloud printing services..
Something that should be dead on dirt simple to do is yet again trashed in favor of depending on some remote far away "service"..
Stupid things like this are one of many reasons I am willing to spend a few bucks more and by a PC (laptop or desktop)..
If I was in your shoes, I would scrap the Chromebook and buy a laptop or netbook.. You would get more functionality without having to rely on quirky cloud based services..