Update 1 (09/04/2020 @ 10:46 AM ET): . Scroll to the bottom for more information. The article as published on March 11, 2020, is preserved below.
Late last year, Google announced that Cloud Print will be killed off in 2021. Cloud Print was a service that allowed users to connect a local printer to the cloud to print to it from any device. This tool was especially useful for Chrome OS devices, which left us wondering if some sort of replacement would be introduced. Google appears to be working on a solution.
There are several methods to print from a Chrome OS device, but the functionality is greatly lacking when compared to Windows or macOS. There’s no way to see current and queued jobs, which can be annoying if you want to cancel something. There’s also no real way to manage the printers you’ve used or to see errors when something inexplicably doesn’t print correctly.
The good news is Google appears to be working on a printing solution for Chrome OS. Last month, work began on a “Print Management app” for Chrome OS. This was discovered through a Chrome OS flag with that same title. The flag description reads: “Enables the print management app that allows Chrome OS users to view and manage their native print jobs.” This should be a web-based System Web App that will be launched from the Settings app. You’ll be able to see a list of recent printing jobs along with information about them.
What’s even more difficult than printing with Chrome OS? Scanning. Thankfully, Google appears to be working on something for this as well. Another new flag titled “Scanning UI” has a description that reads: “An experimental UI that allows users to interact with a connected scanner.” This UI will be included in the Print Management app, so it should be a nice one-stop for all your printing and scanning needs.
As Chrome OS has evolved over the years, it has continued to gain more abilities. Some of the things seem pretty basic, such as this printing and scanning app. There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done for the operating system to be on par with Windows and macOS.
Source: 9to5Google
Update: Print Job available in Chrome OS 85
Chrome OS 85 has added a new app to the launched “Print Jobs”, which is the same “print management app” as mentioned above. This new app will give you a hub for viewing active and historical print jobs.
Source: ChromeUnboxed