Google Cloud Printing Enters Testing at Google HQ

Google provided an update on the status of Google Cloud Print on the Chromium blog this week. Google Cloud Print, which was announced back in April, will enable any web, mobile, or desktop application, any device, any operating system, or any browser to print to any printer. Google Cloud Print allows users to print documents, web pages, and emails without the need for compatible local operating systems and drivers. The idea is to make wireless printing as ubiquitous as possible. Development of this service has quickly gone from a concept to actual testing among Google employees.

Google claims that Google Cloud Print will work, even on printers that are not web-connected themselves. However, Google says that new web-connected printers, like the HP ePrint printers, will create a richer user experience. These printers range from consumer-oriented to business-oriented printers, starting at $99.

Google Cloud Print is based on the concept of “Cloud Computing”, which has risen in popularity recently with the announcement of services such as Microsoft’s Office Web Apps. Cloud Computing allows users to store information online in some form and be able to pick it up anywhere, eliminating the need for local storage on a computer’s hard drive or solid state drive.

Google Cloud Printing could prove especially useful with the emergence of newer, more advanced smartphones that can handle the creation of various documents. The Google employees currently testing the new service have expressed their excitement in the ability to print documents and other items directly from their phones, on any printer, wirelessly.

The service is expected to launch in the next few months.