7 Google Cloud Print alternatives for modern print management

Google Cloud Print was officially deprecated in January 2021, which means the service is no longer patched, maintained, or even available.

To be fair to Google, they provided a year’s warning. The December 2020 end-of-life for the service was announced in 2019. They gave all users worldwide 12 months notice to migrate to an appropriate alternative.

Google knew how popular their print enablement solution was, which is kind of why they ended the service. Google Cloud Print was a crowd-pleaser, but it was never officially launched – in fact, it never left the beta tag. 

In a nutshell, Google released their own internal printing solution publicly, and with the brand trust and recognition, it became too big for them to continue to manage and optimize. In this guide, we’ll explore the top seven alternatives that can help you manage printing across Chromebooks, Windows, and Mac devices.

1. PaperCut Mobility Print

PaperCut Mobility Print is a top-rated local and remote cloud printing solution that’s officially recommended by Google. It supports native UI printing for Chrome OS, Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android devices. Best of all, it’s entirely free for print enablement.

Mobility Print allows your users to print from anywhere, even when they’re off the local network. It’s a perfect fit for K-12 schools that need to support massive 1:1 Chromebook programs without complex driver installations. You can get up and running in minutes with no cost involved.

PaperCut Pocket

While Mobility Print gets the jobs moving, PaperCut Pocket provides the cloud-based management you need to stay in control. It’s a cloud-native solution that you can install yourself in minutes. It gives you the power to track usage and generate detailed reports on who’s printing what.

Check out this article from Beebom and this article from TechPout on Google Cloud Print alternatives for a full analysis of various solutions.

2. PrinterLogic

PrinterLogic is a serverless SaaS solution with print management features and is a highly recommended Google Cloud Print alternative. It has a Chrome extension for simple migration from Google Cloud Print and is recommended by Google. You can test it out with a 30-day free trial.

3. YSoft Everyone Print

YSoft’s EveryonePrint is a cloud-based Google Cloud Print alternative that comes with print management features included. It’s a highly-reputed BYOD solution recommended by Google. You can request a demo or start with a free trial.

4. uniFLOW

UniFLOW is a free cloud-native Google Cloud Print alternative with print management features. It’s a free wireless cloud printing solution, no software installation required, that integrates with Google platforms and is Google Chrome Enterprise recommended.

5. Ezeep

Ezeep’s a web-interface based print enablement solution that’s actually been around longer than Google Cloud Print. In fact, it was a Google Cloud Print alternative for Windows and Mac while Google Cloud Print was up and running.
You can get started with a 30-day free trial.

6. Printix

Printix is a subscription service for wireless cloud printing. As well as offering print management functionality and Google Workspace integrations, it also has an inbuilt driver updater and is recommended by Google.
You can get started with a demo or a free trial.

7. Directprint

Directprint is another alternative recommended by Google. Its driver app provides a native printing experience for all major platforms.
It’s aimed at enterprise customers and offers a free 30-day trial.

What happened to Google Cloud Print?

Google Cloud Print was first announced in 2010, and approximately coincided with the release of Chromebooks and Chrome OS. Since Chrome OS is browser-based, it made sense for Google to develop a solution that enabled printing over the internet. 

Launched in 2011 as a beta product, Google Cloud Print started as a Chromebook-exclusive solution, but in order for it to work, the service had to integrate with printer manufacturers. 

This was fine when the solution was just being used on Chromebooks, but it eventually reached mixed fleet environments as Google Chrome became one of the most popular web browsers.

Since the browser could be accessed with any device and OS, Google Cloud Print found itself in a situation where it was wanted on Windows and Mac devices. That’s fine if accessing documents via the Web, but the tricky part was users wanting to print from native applications.

So, native Google Cloud Print connectors were born. That worked for Google Cloud Print integrated printers, but not for legacy printers – so more connectors were born. But Google Cloud Print was becoming more and more complicated.

How to print without Google Cloud Print

Part of the reason Google said bye-bye to Google Cloud Print was to encourage printing from Chrome OS. 100% Managed Chromebook environments can simply use CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System) for Chrome OS to deploy printers through G Suite. 

To do so, ensure that your printer is on the same network but first just double check it’s compatible. This option is suitable if you primarily need to enable printing, and management tools like visibility, secure print release,  and print policies aren’t a business concern.

That’s for Chromebook only environments. If you’re in a multi-device and/or multi-OS environment, Google’s official advice is you should use an alternative print solution.

What Google Cloud Print alternative did Google choose?

The Google Cloud Print deprecation impacted Google as much as all its users. 

Google had one option of taking over the Google Cloud Print infrastructure and making it internal only. Their other option was to build a new solution or find a print management solution from a third-party provider.

They went with the latter, and they chose PaperCut software.

Google had specific requirements which included integrating with their BeyondCorp infrastructure, security, Native OS, and mobile device printing. 

How to choose a Google Cloud Print alternative

Every print environment has different needs, so there isn’t a “one size fits all” answer. You should start by writing down your primary printing problems and testing which solution ticks the most boxes.

Whether you need simple enablement or full reporting andsecurity, there’s an alternative ready to help.

If you want to begin with PaperCut Mobility Print, we won’t stop you – and if you want to jump straight to any of PaperCut’s range of solutions, we’ll help you along the way!