Native Printing

[jbeachy]

I promise I searched for an answer before posting bit didn't find a thread that helps.

KitKat is touted to have native print services and my KitKat-updated Maxx indeed shows HP print services installed. I have a networked (wired) HP Laserjet 2600N connected to Google Cloud Print. It works fine that way from a PC.

I also have Cloud Print installed; for that process, a doc from my Maxx is saved to Drive using the app's Print function, and then CloudPrint can print it from there.

But I watched a video by Robert Nazarian (How to print photos, web pages, or documents in Android 4.4 KitKat | TalkAndroid.com) and his device had both HP Print and Cloud Print displayed in Settings > Printing. I have only HP Print.

My printer is recognized by the phone but when I try to print, the popup dialog box is not active. How do I escape the multi-step printing process so it acts like Nazarian's video?

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[Chex313]

I promise I searched for an answer before posting bit didn't find a thread that helps.

KitKat is touted to have native print services and my KitKat-updated Maxx indeed shows HP print services installed. I have a networked (wired) HP Laserjet 2600N connected to Google Cloud Print. It works fine that way from a PC.

I also have Cloud Print installed; for that process, a doc from my Maxx is saved to Drive using the app's Print function, and then CloudPrint can print it from there.

But I watched a video by Robert Nazarian (How to print photos, web pages, or documents in Android 4.4 KitKat | TalkAndroid.com) and his device had both HP Print and Cloud Print displayed in Settings > Printing. I have only HP Print.

My printer is recognized by the phone but when I try to print, the popup dialog box is not active. How do I escape the multi-step printing process so it acts like Nazarian's video?

Posted via Android Central App with my Droid MAXX

Try this from the PC attached to the printer... How to Use Google Cloud Print from Your Android: 7 Steps

If your Printer was Wifi you wouldn't have needed this step. If the printer is running through the PC then I think you may.

 

[jbeachy]

Try this from the PC attached to the printer... How to Use Google Cloud Print from Your Android: 7 Steps

If your Printer was Wifi you wouldn't have needed this step. If the printer is running through the PC then I think you may.

Thanks. Yes, as I tried to describe in my original post, I've done all that and it works fine. But I wouldn't call it "native printing" because I fitst have to "print" (actually converts to PDF) from the phone to Drive then open Cloud Print to print it to my networked Laserjet printer configured as a cloud printer. That's the step I'm trying to eliminate.

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[patruns]

As far as adding Cloud Print as an option, go here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.cloudprint

You should not need to go through a conversion to a .pdf. I just open Drive on my phone, long press the file in the list of files that I want to choose "print". Of course your printer has to be on and available on your network and listed/set up in Google's Cloud Print services.


I don't think your printer supports the built in HP Printer Services app. Take a look here:

HP Printers and Supported Mobile Printing Solutions | HP? Support

 

[jbeachy]

I guess I'm not doing a good job at explaining. Yes, long-pressing a file on Drive prints perfectly to my Cloud printer. But if want to print from my phone and tap Print in an app's menu, my Cloud printer shows up but can't be activated. I can print to Drive, which automatically converts the file to PDF on Drive. Then I open Cloud Print or Drive to print from there. The video I referenced prints to a Cloud printer from the device without going through this extra step. With KitKat, there is native printing without going through that step but I can't get it to work.

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[patruns]

I can open a spreadsheet gmail attachment in QuickOffice and choose my cloud printer right there. I can also print a webpage in Chrome and a photo in the Gallery app the same way. What app are you using? The app may need to support the function.

Do you have the cloud print app I linked previously installed?

 

[jbeachy]

I can open a spreadsheet gmail attachment in QuickOffice and choose my cloud printer right there. I can also print a webpage in Chrome and a photo in the Gallery app the same way. What app are you using? The app may need to support the function.

Do you have the cloud print app I linked previously installed?

Yes, all that works fine. I have the Cloud Print app. But KitKat supports native printing where you can print directly from the device. Did you watch the video link I posted? That's what i want to do.

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[patruns]

I guess I really do not understand the issue. Printing from my Nexus 5 is no different now than printing from my PC. On a webpage I choose "print" get the window to choose layout, # of pages, etc and print. My default is the cloud printer and my Canon printer is already displayed. I really can't see how it could be any shorter.

 

[jbeachy]

That's my point ☺ - mine isn't like that. My printer setting box displays but is inactive and the only choice is to choose a different printer - which is tobsave a PDF to Drive and print from there using CloudPrint.

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[patruns]

Did you at some point try and set up the HP print option? If so, that might be interfering with it.

 

[jbeachy]

Did you at some point try and set up the HP print option? If so, that might be interfering with it.

I did not. It automatically found my networked printer and reported it correctly but I when I try to print, the choices are all inactive except the printer choice, which allows me to save to the cloud and print using CloudPrint. That works.

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[patruns]

Have you tried turning off the HP print option and only leaving the cloud print option turned on?

 

[jbeachy]

Have you tried turning off the HP print option and only leaving the cloud print option turned on?

I don't have the CloudPrint option like the video - CloudPrint is installed but doesn't appear as a print service in Settings > Printers. I expect that's the issue, something I don't understand how to do or have configured incorrectly. Thanks for your suggestions!

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[jbeachy]

I've again read all the instructions I could find and again watched the video link in my original post. Although the instructions seem ambiguous as to the need for WiFi printers, I suspect those instructions assume a WiFi printer. Mine is not WiFi but is networked. I can CloudPrint just fine using desktop or Android device (as long as there's an active login on the PC), but not in the one-step process all the articles and video describe. I expect that's as good as it gets with my setup.

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[patruns]

I can CloudPrint just fine using desktop or Android device (as long as there's an active login on the PC),

Yes, that is how mine is set up. My printer is connected to my PC and shaerable on the network, but I must be logged on it to print.

 

[jbeachy]

Yes, that is how mine is set up. My printer is connected to my PC and shaerable on the network, but I must be logged on it to print.

View attachment 105103

I can't post screen shots from this app - but I don't have the CloudPrint service displayed, only the HP plug-in, and i think that's the problem. The update didn't install it so I installed the CloudPrint app. But no CloudPrint service. How do you get that to install and display?

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[patruns]

All I did was install the app and it appeared. https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...google.android.apps.cloudprint&token=3eyeOgQk

Maybe try uninstalling the app and then reinstalling it.

 

[jbeachy]

All I did was install the app and it appeared. https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...google.android.apps.cloudprint&token=bMJT6wEl

Maybe try uninstalling the app and then reinstalling it.

Thanks for the link! I had installed another app of the same name, but a closer look shows it is not signed by Google! I uninstalled it and then installed the correct one - and now Cloud Print appears in Settings > Print.

Still at the office, eager to go home and test!

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[jbeachy]

Mystery solved! The Cloud Print app I'd installed was not Google-signed. It worked fine for cloud printing but not for direct-from-KitKat printing. After installing the correct app, Cloud Print now appears in Settings > Print and I can print directly from my Droid. Also still works to long-press a Drive document and print. And for apps that do not yet incorporate the Print command I can send the doc to Drive and print from there. Yay.

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