Mobile Printing redefined; thanks to HP's CloudPrint

Hewlett-Packard Labs has come up with a solution that aims to address the problem of printing your files when you are on road and away from home--and its free, brilliantly useful CloudPrint service does so in an elegant way.

The reasons you need to print while you're traveling can seem endless: you have to update a marketing presentation; need to print an e-mail with directions to an event; or you're on vacation and want to print a brochure you stored digitally your laptop. The trouble is, when you're traveling and using a shared computer--be it at hotel, a kiosk, or an Internet café--you generally can't print your own documents due to various problems.

Enter HP's CloudPrint, named as such because you're uploading your files to live online, in the so-called "cloud," as industry jargon often refers to the Internet. The free service was quietly made public a few weeks ago; currently in beta, HP plans to continue to update and refine its service based on user feedback.

I found CloudPrint (beta version 0.71) made it easy to share, store, and print documents via the Internet. To use the service, I first downloaded and installed a new printer driver. When I wanted to print a document to the service, I selected the CloudPrint print driver, and up popped a screen to enter a document title, my telephone number (which serves as a means of ID for later retrieving documents), my name, and the telephone number(s) I want to have the DocID sent to via SMS (you can also opt not to have a text message sent).

The system then uploads the document and assigns the document a code. (Sadly, although the code does appear on screen when it's finished uploading, you can't just copy and paste from that dialog box to another document.) I used this code to retrieve and print my documents via a Web browser.

HP says that at this time, documents won't expire; they remain available on its servers for an unlimited amount of time. This means you could even upload files before you start your travels, so you can print them on demand as needed. The document title you enter as you first print a document turns out to be a handy way of tracking your documents, and finding them again should you set up a full PrintMe account (there's no charge to do so, but you do have to get a password).

The document you want to print appears as an Adobe Acrobat file within the CloudPrint page; simply press print, and the browser will generate the output. I found CloudPrint worked well, for the most; it printed the various Microsoft Word, Excel, and Acrobat documents I threw at it with ease.


The version I tested (0.71) wasn't perfect, either: The embedded Adobe Acrobat browser choked on a seven page long, graphics intensive .PDF file. I had another gripe as well--if I had last selected the CloudPrint driver to print my output, that was what the embedded Acrobat reader selected as the default print driver. While this won't be an issue in most circumstances, it can get annoying if you're trying vet that everything uploaded correctly and can print.

In addition to providing the remote printing service, the CloudPrint site also offers a Find a Printer service. Enter your address or ZIP code and get a directory of available printers (fee and free) in your vicinity. The CloudPrint service is open to users with phone numbers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Europe. Upcoming services include being able to SMS Web URLs to CloudPrint from your mobile device; and printing documents to your home or office printer, without physically being there.

Personally, I can think of several times a service like this would have come in handy. I'm looking forward to using the service more in the future, as well as seeing how the service evolves.