Raspberry Pi Zero W Cloud Printer

I have always wished I could print things from anywhere. Last week my wish came true. I received an email from buyapi.ca that Raspberry Pi Zero W’s were back in stock. This little $14 computer was going to be the heart of my remote printing solution.

Here are the steps I followed to set up a Google Cloud Printer using a Raspberry Pi Zero W.

My Setup:

  • Raspberry Pi Zero W
  • 32GB Class 10 SD card
  • Raspbian Jessie with PIXEL (full install)
  • SSH and VNC turned on in Pi Settings
    • raspberry icon top left > preferences > raspberry pi configuration
  • Assigned IP address to Pi in router
  • Connected to home network via WiFi
  • Change default pi password in Pi settings (it will be online so it is a good idea to change this)
    • raspberry icon top left > preferences > raspberry pi configuration

Steps:

  • Update the Pi
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
  • Install printer software
sudo apt-get install cups cups-client "foomatic-db"
  • Add user ‘pi’ to printer users
sudo usermod -a -G lpadmin pi
  • Configure to print remotely
sudo nano /etc/cups/cupsd.conf
  • Change config to the following
# Only listen for connections from the local machine
# Listen localhost:631
Port 631
< Location / >
# Restrict access to the server...
Order allow,deny
Allow @local
< /Location >
< Location /admin >
# Restrict access to the admin pages...
Order allow,deny
Allow @local
< /Location >
< Location /admin/conf >
AuthType Default
Require user @SYSTEM
# Restrict access to the configuration files...
Order allow,deny
Allow @local
< /Location >

Reboot the Pi.

  • Add printer to the system.
    • Use the Chromium browser to set up the printer
    • Go to 192.168.x.x:631
      • click Administration
      • click Add Printer (ignore warning)
      • log in using your pi username and password
      • Look for your printer under ‘Local Printers’
      • Select the printer driver and test to see if it prints
        • Remember that printing is one of the most challenging parts of Linux. I had the best luck with the Foomatic drivers.
      • Add a location and add check box to sharing.
  • Go to Chromium setting and scroll to the bottom and check ‘show advanced settings’
    • click ‘Manage’ under Google Cloud Print
    • login to your Google Account
    • click ‘add classic printer’
    • select your printer
    • once added, click the share button and share to other Google Accounts
    • everyone you shared with will now have this cloud printer to print from.

It took me a little while to tweak things to get my printer to work. After a bit of Googleing it now works like a charm and I can print to my home printer from anywhere.

Good luck and a special thanks to Jason Fitzpatrick who’s blog post helped me fix my printer woes.

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