Posted by Jordan Pusey
Cloud printing solutions were supposed to introduce a new level of convenience to home and enterprise printing, but sometimes it feels like cloud printing has only put a fresh face on longstanding printing issues. In other words, for all their promise of a convenient, cable-less future, cloud printing problems continue to look an awful lot like conventional printing problems.
Here are some common cloud printing problems that you might have encountered in your organization, even when using turnkey solutions like Google Cloud Print or AirPrint:
Inability to print: As cloud printing problems go, this generic issue is the one that most closely resembles conventional issues—although that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. There are several possible root causes with as many troubleshooting paths. First, make sure that the initiating device is indeed cloud-print capable. Then, if using Google Cloud Print, check to see that the printer is registered correctly. Finally, using standard admin tools, determine whether or not the printer is having basic network connection problems. You might have to double check that the appropriate ports (usually 80, 8080, 5222 and 5353) are open and that your router is not blocking certain traffic.
The printer cannot be registered: This happens every so often with Google Cloud Print. The only solution is to complete the printer registration process again.
Removed/deleted/duplicate printers appearing: Here’s another cloud printing problem that isn’t all that different to conventional issues. Because cloud printing solutions require a chain of devices to authenticate and relay print jobs, it’s not unusual for “ghost” printers to be left behind if they haven’t been cleared from every link along the way. Make sure you’ve deleted unwanted printers from all affected devices and management consoles. With duplicate printers, it’s often best to delete both instances and then re-add them as if they were a fresh device.
Cloud print job hung in queue: Purge the print job from the queue and try again. Next, ensure that your firewall and other security measures are not blocking the connection to the printer. Also search for and execute any available printer firmware updates, as these can correct new or sudden incompatibilities.
Legacy devices not working: Unfortunately, although some cloud printing solutions do use various methods to deliver legacy support, they’re obviously designed to work best with printers that already have cloud printing functionality. The number of potential driver and hardware issues that could affect cloud printing with legacy devices is too vast to detail here. Suffice it to say, getting legacy devices to work seamlessly with cloud printing solutions usually comes down to luck.
As you can see, each of these common cloud printing problems has one or more possible solutions, which only adds to the time required for routine troubleshooting. For a single print management solution that provides cloud printing functionality without the customary shortcomings and roadblocks, there’s PrinterLogic.
PrinterLogic’s Mobile Printing module enables all your end users—including contractors, freelancers, BYOD and mobile users, and guests—to easily print to any enabled printer no matter where they happen to be. Just as importantly, Mobile Printing supports any device and any printer, even legacy models, without the need to install any client software.
To print using Mobile Printing, all your mobile users have to do is tap the “Share” button on their mobile device or Chromebook, tap “Print,” and then select a PrinterLogic printer. Their job then enters the print queue like any other. For BYOD users and guests, they simply email the file to be printed to the dedicated printer email address you’ve provided. With either of these methods, admins can limit access to authorized users and lockdown file types and printer settings, providing complete control, oversight and security while avoiding the problems that bedevil other cloud printing solutions. On top of it all, you enjoy PrinterLogic’s renowned ease of management, resiliency, reduced footprint and flexibility!