How to Print from a Chromebook

The print dialog opens but the printer is not in the list, or nothing is in the list at all. ChromeOS does not install printer software the way Windows does: a printer has to be saved to the device once, after which it shows up in every app's print dialog.

Add the printer once

Open Settings, Print and scan, Printers. Printers on the same Wi-Fi network are detected automatically and appear under the nearby or available list. Click Save next to the one you want. If the printer is not detected, click Add printer and enter its name, IP address, protocol (usually IPP or IPPS), and queue name, which the printer's own display or its network configuration page will show.

Open the print dialog

In the document, web page, or PDF, press Ctrl + P. The dialog opens on the right side of the screen with a live preview.

Choose the printer under Destination

Click the Destination list and pick the saved printer. If it is missing, click See more to show every saved and nearby printer. A printer that is off or on a different network shows as unavailable.

Set copies, layout, and color

Set the number of copies, choose portrait or landscape under Layout, and set Color or black and white. Click More settings for paper size, pages per sheet, margins, scale, two-sided printing, and whether to include headers, footers, and background graphics.

Click Print

Click Print. The job goes straight to the printer, and a notification shows its progress. Click the notification to cancel a job that was sent by mistake.

To make a PDF instead of paper. In the same Destination list, choose Save as PDF, then click Save and pick a folder. This is the standard way to keep a copy of a web page or receipt on a Chromebook.

About drivers and school printers. Most current network printers need no driver because ChromeOS prints over IPP, and a USB printer works as soon as it is plugged in if the model is supported. On a managed Chromebook, an administrator can push one approved printer and block adding others, so the Add printer button may be greyed out. Check chrome://policy to confirm, and ask the administrator for access to a different printer.