How to Print With Your Chromebox (or Chrome OS Device)

Introduction

Printing from a Chromebox, or other Chrome OS device can at times be fairly frustrating. I find printing out documents to be less of an issue with my Chromebook, but I absolutely need to be able to print at home. Hence this (short) guide for the Chromebox!

Option 1: The Chrome OS way.

Chrome OS devices don't print to printers in the old-fashioned way that we are used to. Since you can't exactly install printer drivers in Chrome OS, you have to use the Google Cloud Print (GCP) method. Essentially, you take your printer and either (a) connect it directly to Google Cloud Print or (b) connect it to a computer that runs the GCP extension in Chrome (browser).

(a) There area  number of printers on the market that will connect via the internet/cloud directly to Google, including a variety of Epson and HP models. These "cloud-ready" models allow a device using GCP (like ChromeOS) to print directly to the printer via the web. This is the best way to connect a printer to your Chromebox, especially if your printer is GCP compatible.

http://www.google.com/cloudprint/learn/

(b) So your printer isn't fancy and cloud ready...  No need to worry. If you're running a separate Win/Mac/Linux computer, you can install Google Chrome and set up GCP from that device. It will locate your locally connected printer and add it your GCP list. As long as the computer that is connected to the printer is on, you can print to the attached printer.

While this works pretty well, it requires another computer to be on whenever you wan't to print. If you want to try and save power... (and computer startup time!), this method is inconvenient.

Option 2: The Tinkerer's Way

If you like to modify your devices, you've probably already upgraded the RAM or HD in your chromebox, or even installed Crouton or ChrUbuntu. For those not in the know, these are the two methods by which one can run Ubuntu Linux on a Chrome OS device. I personally am more partial to the Crouton method, primarily because it allows one to run Chrome OS and Ubuntu simultaneously.

The method described below uses this "dual nature" of Crouton.

For this method to work, you will need to have Crouton installed and have your device in developer mode.
http://www.howtogeek.com/162120/how-to-install-ubuntu-linux-on-your-chromebook-with-crouton/


The idea here will be to:
1. Have Ubuntu Linux (raring ringtail/13.04) or greater running via crouton
2. Set up a local printer in Ubuntu (USB or network printer) using CUPS (linux printing manager)
3. Install Google Chrome and set up Google Cloud Print
4. Connect your printer to GCP
5. Switch back to Chrome OS and print! Note that you will have to have Linux up and running in the background to be able to print from Chrome OS.

Once you've set up crouton and have linux up and running, set up CUPS and your printer.
The following guide is helpful: https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton/wiki/Printing
This commentary also adds more clarity: https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton/issues/143

Note that you may have to do some leg-work to find the right Linux drivers for your printer. Additionally, not all printers will play nice with Ubuntu. Google search is your friend here!

To set up GCP, install google chrome in linux (go to the chrome website and download and install the .deb package for your distro-- don't use the repositories!), then set up GCP as you would on any windows or mac computer and associate your connected printer with GCP.

Once back in Chrome OS, if you have crouton running, you should be able to print!


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A yet third approach is this option, but I haven't tried it, so i personally can't comment on how it works (i'm sure it works well too!) http://brimborium.net/chromebook-crouton-ubuntu-and-printing-with-the-epson-wf-3540/

Chromebox Setback!

The process of configuring the ASUS chromebox continues!

In my previous post, I outlined my ultimate goal to convert one of my 2 ASUS chromeboxes into a dedicated linux server. Unfortunately, the article today in Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/03/review-asus-brings-chrome-os-to-mini-pcs-in-a-low-power-inexpensive-package/) puts a bit of a damper on that.

SeaBIOS seems to be the issue here, where one can get to the boot menu but is unable to initiate booting from a USB to install a new OS. Ars notes that the issue is likely related to SeaBIOS not properly supporting xHCl (see reference above). Regardless, this is a setback to my original plans.

Time to see how much I can do with just Crouton alone...

ASUS Chromebox Review, Initial Impressions

Hmm, it's actually been close to a year since I've posted anything. But that doesn't mean my fondness for Chrome OS has ended! The past few months have seen an upgrade to the HP Chromebook 11, and now most recently, an ASUS Chromebox.

The Facts

The ASUS Chromebox is a fantastic little device. Specs are sharp and priced competitively when compared to other small-form PCs such as the Intel NUC, etc. You are looking at an Intel Celeron 2955U processor (Haswell), along with 2GB ram and a 16GB SSD. It has the usual bevy of ports- HDMI, DisplayPort, 4 USB 3.0 ports and an SD slot. WiFi and BT are also built in. It seems to be fairly easy to upgrade the internals too. (see: http://liliputing.com/2014/03/upgrade-asus-chromebox-memory-storage.html). And it is really small. Saves a ton of space on the desk.

First Impressions

I've been using the Chromebox for about a week now. I'm running a dual display setup (HDMI to one monitor and DP to DVI to the other). Sound is hardwired to a pair of Jembe Speakers, and I've attached an HD Logitech webcam and some usb port extenders. My wireless Logitech keyboard/mouse work great with it. Setup was a breeze, as is usual with Chrome devices. I enabled developer mode immediately (there is a hard switch, as compared to the keypress encoded ones on your typical chromebook), and set it up running on the beta channel (more on that later).

Chrome OS runs smoothly. Start-up time is speedy, it takes me longer to type my password in. As I write, this, I have 8 tabs open across the two screens and have Google Play music running in the background. I have noticed the occasional stutter, but this seems to occur with a lot of tabs and some of the heavier websites (the Verge,  occasionally Google +). I think that this may be  reflection of only 2GB of RAM...the Haswell processor on here should have enough juice to pull all of it off. Extended desktop works nicely and is auto-detected (no fiddling around as in earlier versions of the OS).  Standard functions such as the file manager, Google Drive, and Chrome remote desktop work smoothly as well. I've seen no issues with Pushbullet, MightyText and other extensions.

Crouton

In my mind, Chrome OS still needs a bit of backup, especially if you're a power-user like myself. There are just some things that the OS can't do yet, and so this is where Crouton comes into play. In short, Crouton is a script/tool that installs Ubuntu Linux in a 'chroot' (think of it like a virtual OS, but not), which allows you to run it alongside Chrome OS. With this, apps such as OpenOffice, GIMP, and Citrix become part of the Chrome OS experience.

Normally I run Chrome on dev channel, but I kept running into issues installing Crouton on the dev . Turns out there is a known bug, so for now, crouton only works on stable or beta. (https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton/issues/711#issuecomment-38237951). Crouton defaults to the 'Precise' flavor of Ubuntu, but I selectively installed Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring). Note that Precise does not recognize dual monitor extended displays! I don't know why this is (something to do with the X-server), but Raring works exceptionally well with dual monitor displays.

Additionally, there seems to be no noticeable change in how Chrome OS runs with Crouton running in the background, and Ubuntu flies on this device.

Summary

I highly recommend this Chromebox (if you can find it-- sold out at most places!). If you are a Chrome junkie like myself or just want a lightweight desktop experience that is web focused, this is the device for you. At $179-$200, it is a steal.

Future plans

I definitely am going to upgrade the RAM. (Have 2-2GB PC312800S DIMMs coming from amazon in a few days, so once i pop them in, I'll provide an update.) Also, I've got another one of these guys coming from Newegg-- the plan is to turn it into a linux box that will run in the background and act as a print/dropbox/gdrive server and back up files. Hopefully i'll figure out how to get a full Ubuntu install on it--- may be able to set up a chrome remote desktop into a Virtual Box install of windows-- useful for those few moments where you might need it!