14 DAY TRIAL // Google has been working on cloud printing for years now. The idea is to make it possible to print from Chrome, no matter where it's running, on any printer in the world.
While it may seem strange that Google is focusing on such a non-digital and non-web problem, there are still plenty of occasions when you need something printed out.
Cloud Print has been available in Chrome for a long time now (it's unclear if that many people used it), but you can print anything from the browser to a cloud-connected printer. It is also possible to manage cloud printers from Chrome, or to make a local printer available to the cloud.
Now though, Google is expanding the service beyond Chrome and making the same functionality available to more apps and devices.
For one, there's now a dedicated Cloud Print app for Android which should make it possible to print any document from your phone, with or without Chrome installed.
But Google is introducing two new tools for Windows as well. The Google Cloud Printer app makes it possible to print to any cloud printer from any Windows app. The Cloud Printer will show up like a regular, local device.
There is also a new Cloud Print Service which makes it possible for admins to connect local devices to the Google cloud.
With these new tools there's no need to have Chrome installed and the Google service becomes a lot more accessible. In fact, it's only now that the service may start seeing some serious usage, especially since more and more printers can be connected to the Internet directly.
Finally, the Chrome feature has gotten some improvements as well. It is now possible to share any of your cloud printers with your local network via a simple link and you can even limit usage to a fixed number of pages per day.
