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Ask Slashdot: Best Options For a Standalone Offline Printing Station?
An anonymous reader writes My father is considering a Chromebook, but there is a problem: He occasionally wants to print. Chrome OS only talks to physical printers by Google Cloud Print, so the printer has to be online one way or another. But my father wants to surf over 3G, so he has no network infrastructure. Now what are the best options for a standalone printing station that works offline? I have a Raspberry Pi and a small touch display that I could spare, how about I prepared some scripts and called that the dedicated printing computer? Then what printers have ARM drivers available? Does anybody know a consumer-grade or small-office-grade printer that can print ordinary PDF docs directly from flash drives or memory cards? I have looked, but could not find one yet. The devices I found that print PDF docs directly only do so if the docs were made by the (proprietary) printer-related software or the printer itself. There are ways to turn PDF docs into series of JPG files. A lot of ordinary printers can print JPG files directly from flash media, should my father stick with this option? Also, what are secondary options in case the offline printing station does not work out? Should he consider buying a 3G-capable WiFi router (there are enough available) and set up a home network, then use Google Cloud Print? Should I just send my father to a copy shop? Or should he simply forget about the Chromebook and get an ordinary laptop with a common OS that can talk to printers by USB?
Get a fax machine, have him email his documents to an email-to-fax gateway, and print them out via that. You'll need a telephone line.
Alternatively, just buy a low-end laser printer with a USB input. Most have one, and you can stick in any PDF and print it. My Brother printer does it just fine.
You could keep the Chromebook and install some form of GNU/Linux on it. I hear Xubuntu works pretty well.
Why, in 2015, would anyone want to print on paper at home?
[finishes moccochoccolatte with aloe vera, hops on fixie and rides off before ridiculous low-crotch trousers get wrapped around chain, causing fatal accident]
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Print PDF from USB drives. Not sure what the latest model is, that model is a few years old.
1-I wouldn't have bought a Chromebook to begin with, instead, a Notebook running either Winbugs or Linux will be sufficent.
2-If you have a Raspberry PI and a wifi dongle and a powered USB hub to spare, you may can a 3G-WiFi AP
How about just getting him a fucking computer that doesn't rely on internet access and the services of a company with a penchant for maliciously storing data about people, to send a document to a printer next to him?
Even an iOS device can print without an internet connection, if your printer supports AirPrint, so why would you accept such a crippled device?
What is...?
The easiest way is probably to simply get a Cloud Print-ready printer, and a wifi router. Printer and Chromebook connect via wifi. No messing with card/sticks...
https://www.google.com/cloudpr...
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
Plug the pi into the printer and then put it on a wireless network. You can print offline that way.
That said, I don't get the point of chromebooks. They're not any cheaper then the cheap laptops you can find these days. Go to newegg. Same price basically and you get a proper operating system.
Chrome is a stupid OS. I don't know why they don't just install android on them. There are lots of printer apps for android.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
How often does he print, and how often does he need to print? I make the distinction because many people who grew up with paper use "print" as "save". They print it so they'll have it in case they need it later. Some of these people can take to saving documents rather than printing everything and it might be good and useful as a training aid if printing were slightly less convenient. Other people actually need to print quite often, and some people print maybe twice per year. If dad prints twice per year, the Kinko's service that prints to the FedEx Kinko's around the corner might be good.
Some uber-nerds, or wannabe uber nerds, shout "get a real computer!". Well my wife has had several "real" computers, running various operating systems. Her favorite device, the one she uses all day every day, is her Chrome book. I see why. She can leave it laying around and whenever she picks it up it's instantly ready to do what she needs to do. She charges it maybe a couple of times per week. It has been completely reliable and simple - she never needs to ask her computer geek husband for help. It is IDEAL for certain people.
I say this as a guy who has personally owned a $10,000 network switch and whose name is in the kernel changelog - I know real computers. I have systems with sixteen hard drives each. Those monsters are well suited to their task, and the Chromebook is well suited to its task.
Get a USB pocket router (the size of a pack of Wrigley's gum), which will let him turn his 3G connection into a hotspot whenever he plugs it in.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...
My dad also likes having a printer. I don't. They're high maintenance, and if that isn't bad enough, we all know the crap that ink jet manufacturers pull to drive our costs up even more.
I tried to persuade him that he didn't need a printer, but got nowhere. He still writes checks and orders more checkbooks when he runs low, sometimes prints out emails, and other absurdities from not connecting with what technology can do. He keeps his contact list on a handwritten sheet of paper beside the monitor, rather than using some program to manage that info. It's one of the cases where he didn't even use the printer, he wrote that all down himself, with pen and pencil. I've tried to get him to use a spreadsheet or at least a text editor for that, but he's just more comfortable with pen and paper.
Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
a standard gnu/linux distro like debian, when installed on that ARM11 device, can have CUPS installed on it with no difficulty: CUPS has absolutely nothing to do with ARM itself, especially if you get a proper printer that doesn't try anything stupid like ship proprietary drivers (.deb files) directly off their own web site. basically if you get an HP printer you'll be fine. i did get the absolute latest 3-in-1 printer from Curry's last month, and i did have to install hplip from source but that's because the printer required hplip 3.1.16 and the version of debian i had for a client only had 3.1.12 - however amazingly HP's ready-to-go compilation script walked through the process of installing the prerequisites and got it all done. kinda impressive.
anyway so printing is not a problem. you are then going to *not* get him a chromebook, you're going to replace the OS (as someone else suggested) or you are going to sell the chromebook on ebay and get him a 200 quid Lenovo B30-50 from Tesco's or ebuyer.com or something similar (a big 15in 1366x768 LCD - awesome) - then you're going to install Debian GNU/Linux on that, too. setting up 3G dongles is really easy: remember to install the usbmodeswitch package. there is plenty of advice out there on setting up 3G dongles - remember to look up and set the correct APN settings in wvdial.conf (or whatever you end up using)
then, to make sure that he can print remotely, you're going to install a VPN on both devices (i recommend openvpn however tinc would do just as well and is slightly easier to set up) - both the ARM11 print server and the laptop, and you're going to either use the server that you're already maintaining, or you're going to ask a friend if you can put a VPN on their server, *or* you're going to get *another* of those ARM11 devices and send it to these guys:
http://raspberrycolocation.com...
basically for $EUR 36 per year they will host you an ARM11 device on a 100mbit/sec link. the power requirements and size are so small that it's perfectly feasible.
so that's what you're going to do... or not. it's a lot of work to set up, but if those are the requirements (remote printing access) then that's what needs to be done. it's going to be costly, however, as both the ARM11 device and the portable device will *both* need 3G connectivity.
honestly i can thoroughly recommend going a different route, as follows:
* go to a local three networks store and buy a Huawei MIFI (3G+WIFI gateway) device
* go to Maplin's and get a "mobile" 2-port WIFI router. i looked one up that could be re-flashed with OpenWRT.
* once the firmware is re-flashed on the "mobile" 2-port WIFI router, change it to be a *CLIENT* of the Huawei MIFI device.
* also set up the WIFI router to "bridge" mode (between the WIFI and the 2 ports: make them all on the same LAN space)
* plug the ARM11 device into one of the 2 LAN ports.
* associate the laptop with the MIFI's WIFI network as well
now you have the ARM11 device set up as a printer on the same (bridged) LAN as the WIFI devices, including the MIFI and the laptop. if you have installed OpenWRT as i suggest then you can also install the OpenWRT openvpn package on it (or tinc), and you then have 24x7 access to the systems on the network, and can manage them remotely *including* logging in to the ARM11 device and clearing out any stuck print jobs without needing to drive N+ miles.
this is what i have set up for a client (in one form or another). with this above 2nd scenario you are _still_ not going to get a chromebook, you're going to get a laptop with debian installed that you can actually manage (including remotely). the difference is that it'll be easier for your father because it will be internal WIFI, not a dangling external USB 3G modem. wicd-client is much easier to comprehend, i find, than the 3G management programs for GNU/Linux. err, there's WIFI networks and errr, there's a place where you press "connect" and errr that
If you really must go the route of keeping the Chromebook, I would suggest the Canon MX 3/4 in one printers. I myself have an MX870 model (printer/fax/copier/scanner), it's WIFI, and it has a USB port, an SD port, a compact flash port and an MS Duo port. From a USB stick I've printed PDFs, DOCs, text files, jpegs without a problem. I've also printed jpegs right off an SD card. It also works in the other direction; I've scanned some docs/images and saved them directly onto a USB stick.
It's better to burn out than to fade away
Geesh.. give the guy a break. He does't have wifi at home, so there is no infrastructure for this and my guess is they'd rather not have to by the most expensive printer for someone who doesn't print very often.
BTW, I read "penchant for maliciously storing data about people" and initially thought Apple. My father-in-law has a AirPrint capable printer and has all sorts of problems. So obviously this isn't an easy solution.
Don't be a dick.
Get a printer that runs over WIFI. For example, the Canon MX922. Then it doesn't matter where the computer OR the printer is in the house... it can just be any of the computers in the house. There might be better compatibility with linux drivers with an HP printer though (if running linux). MACs need the appropriate driver. Windows just has it typically.
I've had nothing but trouble connecting USB printers to any open-source OS. It just isn't reliable. I wound up using my windows game box as the print server but the nice thing about a WIFI printer is that any computer in the house can talk to it directly as long as it understands what kind of printer it is and has the appropriate driver.
-Matt
This insistence that everything is in the 'cloud' is getting really old, particularly with Android. There are occasions dear Google when someone is offline. I don't want to have to store my Earth KML files on Drive to view on mobile Earth app. I don't want to have to connect my android phone via USB to copy or move things around on my SD card. I don't want to have to print over the internet. Whatever networked fantasy land you live in at GoogleHQ, is not reality. If I wanted to be restricted to what I could do with my devices "for my own good", I'd go back to the iPhone. You are rapidly chipping away at my reasons for switching to Android.
It's the submitter's problem when, in the analogy, you have to pay "postage" both ways to your cell carrier.
I thought the only time one would consider a ChromeBook is when you expect to have easy internet access at all time and not some crappy 3G connection.
My dad is thinking of getting a car but he lives in the ocean. Is there some way for him to get to the grocery store? I have an Arduino and and a Raspberry pi.
Poseidon
Here's an article about a USB-to-Ethernet adapter. Then maybe all you need is a printer with an Ethernet port.
>> I've had nothing but trouble connecting USB printers to any open-source OS
Pretty much all the printers I've owned (more by chance than direct choice) have been HP.
My current printer, a 10 year old HP PSC-950 (printer/scanner/fax) works better under linux than it ever did under windows and was easier to set up under Linux than windows. I have no experience with other brands but it seems the HP linux drivers make HP printers simply plug and play.
IMO Google needs to fix the print problem. Being able to print a document is an expectation of computers, and the "solution" they have is a crappy one.
I agree that Chromebooks need to be able to print to a USB-connected printer, but I disagree that Cloud Print is crappy. It's non-functional where you don't have net connectivity, but everywhere else, it's awesome. In my experience it's so much more reliable than ordinary Wifi printer connections, and even some USB printer connections that I always use Cloud Print first, if it's available. haven't even bothered to configure my laptop with drivers for my home printer. That approach is fiddly, while the cloud solution works every time with no setup. And it works from my phone, my tablet, etc.
In addition, it is occasionally *very* convenient to be able to print to a printer somewhere else. There have been several times when I've been traveling that I've printed something for my wife, on our home printer. Yes, I could send her the doc and she could print it, but only if she has the relevant application... it's so much easier just to text her to say "The document you need to sign and run up to the county office is printing in the kitchen right now".
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
>My father is considering a Chromebook,
You have found out why a Chromebook doesn't work for him.
Buy him a real computer you cheapskate.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
1) get a cloud print capable printer
2) set up a standard windows/Linux machine to run the cloud print service and publish a standard printer to that service....then you just share the printer to him (this is what I did)
*yawn* another "I worked on Linux boxes so I know stuffas" claim
The end user in this case won't have a wifi network (there is just one computer with 3G modem), so in this case you need to buy and set up a wifi router or access point, as long with a wifi printer instead of just one printer and a cable, and remember to connect the computer to the wifi network when needing to print.
I find it just a silly bit complex.
A printer is likely to work under linux, at least Canon and HP (seen a Canon laser color just work, though not the built-in scanner : need to scan to a USB stick plugged into the scanner/printer multi-function box, or need to use VueScan as root - unless you can manage to fix the permissions - and then pay $30 to have it not add huge "watermarks" to the scanned page). Epson and Lexmark are evil : never buy anything from them. Maybe a Samsung printer works (I think I printed to one from linux once). Anyway : a printer that only prints would be nice.
Remove the Goo from this Linux computer and then run it like a REAL Linux computer. It CAN do the printing without informing The Goo about the documents contents. Just look up how this is done. Or use the RPI and a USB multiplexer to connect the printer. The Goo has castrated this nice Linux machine. Return the balls !
Once upon a time we could do nice text processing and spreadsheets using a 486 computer. Then the monopolists BLOATED it all up so that their friends of the CPU monopoly could sell more chips. NOW, the RPI lets us do the same job as with the 486 again. Both the soft and the hard monopolist hate this. We like it.
How much do they pay in FtMeade for your work ? When printing perfectly works locally I need to route it to the Goo and back so that the gobbermint can inspect it ???
Wintel: Windows on Intel
You think Linux "panders to wintel".
More proof that aside from being 100% completely devoid of social skills, you also have zero technical knowledge. You're not a nerd, you're just a dweeb.
You can get a used i3 Win7 box that would chew up the chromebook for breakfast for about $200. I bought a used i7 laptop for $560. Computers are cheap, and Chromebooks make no sense. You get a slow computer with a defective by design OS for $200+. You might as well get a real computer with a defective by design OS for $200+...
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
Had to do something similar a long time ago. It was a lot of work to set up, but it did work. It went like this: (1) Set up a server attached to a printer. You probably want to set up a firewall to limit who can connect. (2) Configure the web server to accept an HTTP POST or PUT. (FTP might also be an option.) You might want to create a simple web page to facilitate the upload. (3) When you drop a file into the spool directory, it gets scanned for file type. If it's postscript, it gets printed. If it's PDF it gets converted to postscript. If it's text it gets converted to postscript. If it's HTML it gets converted to postscript. There are utilities to perform the conversions on Linux. You just have to write the scripts to scan the spool directory for new files, detect file type, drive the converters, and of course print. (4) Teach your dad how to perform the PUT or POST to get the document to be printed into the spool directory. It took a bit of effort to get this working, but eventually it did work and it worked well. One gotcha we had to deal with was the short attention span of users. They simply wouldn't wait long enough for the process to run, and would frequently drop multiple copies of the same document into the spool directory. To cope with this we captured checksums of each file, and when it's a copy of the file in progress, we deleted it. If it's a file processed within the last minute, we deleted it. This allowed the user to process the same file more than once, but limited the rate to once per minute.
Mel, I thought you were dead - or at least still using drum memory instead of that new fangled core stuff
here's my suggestion: For extra convenience, I recommend the TP-Link WDR 3600 router : this router has 2 USB ports - one to take your 3G dongle and another to connect a USB drive or SD card reader to make these files available. I highly doing this before buying a printer. Note that the USB ports will also be able to drive a printer in case you dont want to spend on a wireless printer.
My printer recommendation is the Epson WF-2540 printer. This is now connected to the router using a regular ethernet cable or the wifi.
Your father can now print his stuff from the laptop or from his mobile phones (both android and iphone) on top of the wifi network.
Better yet, skip the Chromebook altogether and get something like the Acer Aspire E11 and then install your favorite flavor of GNU/Linux. I bought one for $199 at MicroCenter, installed a 128 GB Crucial SSD ($79), 4 GB of Crucial DDR3L memory ($39), and an Intel Wireless-AC card ($19), and then installed Ubuntu 14.04. It cost under $350, everything worked right away in Ubuntu, and now I can do whatever I'd like with it.
Bluetooth is not supported for printing on ChromeBook.
There is an Android app that allows printing via "Wi-Fi or Bluetooth", but it appears not to have been ported to ChromeOS.
Why on earth would you want to be connected to a USB printer. Why on earth would anyone buy a USB printer? A laser (either colour or mono) with ethernet plugged into the router is almost always the correct solution to printing. Anyone claiming that lasers are rubbish for photos, that's true, but inkjet printing is rubbish full stop, and it works out cheaper and better just to send them to a photo printing service and have them printed on real photographic paper, while using a laser for everything else.
Remember the two rules of printing. Rule one you brought an inkjet printer and you do so much printing that a laser would have been cheaper in the long run. Rule two, you brought an inkjet printer and you hardly print anything, but now spend a fortune in ink cleaning the heads every time you want to print something that it would have been cheaper to buy a laser in the long run.
What a chromebook should be able to do is print to a Postscript or PCL printer on the local network. You can get a brand new network capable mono laser which supports PCL or PostScript for under 100GBP and a colour one for under 200GBP.