ChromeOS Native Printing (Integration with Windows Print Server)

One of my few gripes with Chrome OS for years has been how printing is handled.  Up until recently, the only option was to use the cloud print service on your print server.  It was clunky, time consuming to setup, and prone to issues.  Upon troubleshooting issues with my current setup, I discovered that they released a better option which allows ChromeOS to natively communicate with a printer without requiring the cloud connector as a middleman.

So, here's how to set it up on a print server running Server 2016:

1. Install the LPD service on your print server.  You may already have this if you have Macs in your environment since it would be used for printing from Unix-based operating systems.  We do not, so I had to install it.  It's quick, and there is no additional configuration necessary.  Just add it like you would any other role or feature:
   
   
2. In the Google Admin console, navigate to Device Management > Chrome > User Settings, then select an organization of users to deploy printers to.  Scroll down to "Native Chrome OS Printing":
   
   
3. Click Manage, then "Add a Printer".  I used the following options to add a printer shared on my print server.  The IP address in the last section is the IP of my print server.  "/CBRSDITLaser" is the share name of the printer on that server.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Save and you're done!  I have PaperCut's free print logger installed on my print server.  Originally, print logs from Chromebooks were useless because they would all show up as coming from the service account that I had setup for Chromebook printing.  Unfortunately, they're only slightly better.  They don't show a username, but they do show the device's IP address.  In my environment, I can narrow down the source of a job as long as too much time hasn't gone by since that IP will tie to the username in our web filter logs.