DIY Cloud Print: Turn Your Home Printer into a Cloud Printing Powerhouse

Frustrated that your trusty home printer doesn’t support AirPrint, and still missing Google Cloud Print? You’re not alone. Many households face the challenge of easily printing from phones, tablets, or remotely. Imagine needing to print a document from your phone while you’re out, so it’s ready when you get home, or enabling your child to print homework from their school device to your home printer. This is where the magic of cloud print comes in.

While dedicated cloud print services have come and gone, you can easily create your own robust and reliable cloud print solution using tools you likely already have, especially if you’re a Mac user. This guide will walk you through setting up a simple yet effective cloud print system using Dropbox and macOS Automator, allowing you to print from virtually anywhere with an internet connection.

What is Cloud Print and Why DIY?

Cloud print essentially means sending print jobs over the internet to a printer connected to another network. It eliminates the need to be on the same local network as the printer, offering unparalleled flexibility. While commercial cloud print services aim to simplify this, they can be subscription-based or become discontinued, as Google Cloud Print users experienced.

Creating your own DIY cloud print solution offers several advantages:

Cost-Effective: Leverage existing services like Dropbox, avoiding extra subscription fees.
Control and Privacy: You manage your print data and infrastructure.
Longevity: Less reliant on third-party services that might change or disappear.
Customization: Tailor the solution to your specific needs.

This guide focuses on macOS, but the underlying principle of using a cloud storage folder as a print queue can be adapted to other operating systems as well.

Setting Up Your DIY Cloud Print on macOS

This solution utilizes macOS Automator to automatically print files dropped into a designated Dropbox folder. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Part 1: Creating the Automator Script

Dropbox Folder Setup: Within your Dropbox, create two folders. Name one something descriptive like “Home Printer Cloud Print” (this will be your cloud print queue). Create another folder named “Printed” or “Completed” to store successfully printed documents. Organization within Dropbox is flexible, but keeping these folders logically grouped is recommended.
Open Automator: Launch the Automator application on your Mac (found in /Applications/Utilities/).
Choose “Folder Action”: When prompted to choose a type of document, select “Folder Action” and click “Choose”.
Configure Automator Actions: In the Automator workflow area, add the following actions in this sequence. You can find these actions in the left-hand sidebar by searching or browsing the “Actions” library.

a. Set Value of Variable: Drag and drop “Set Value of Variable” into the workflow.
- In the action’s options, create a new variable named doc and ensure “Input” is set to “as input”. This action stores the file that triggers the folder action into the doc variable.
b. Display Notification: Drag and drop “Display Notification” into the workflow below “Set Value of Variable”.
- Set the “Title” to “Cloud Print Starting” or similar.
- Set the “Subtitle” or “Message” to “Printing $doc”. Using $doc will display the filename in the notification. This provides visual feedback that the cloud print process has begun.
c. Get Value of Variable: Drag and drop “Get Value of Variable” below “Display Notification”.
- Ensure the “Variable” is set to doc. This retrieves the file path stored in the doc variable for the next step.
d. Print Finder Items: Drag and drop “Print Finder Items” below “Get Value of Variable”.
- In the action’s options, select your desired printer from the “Printer” dropdown menu. This is the physical printer that will handle your cloud print jobs.
e. Move Finder Items: Drag and drop “Move Finder Items” below “Print Finder Items”.
- In the “Move Finder Items” action, select the “To:” dropdown and choose “Other…”. Navigate to the “Printed” folder you created in Dropbox and select it. This action automatically moves the printed file to the “Printed” folder after successful cloud printing, keeping your queue folder clean. Alternatively, you could choose “Trash” to automatically delete files after printing.
f. Display Notification (Optional): Add another “Display Notification” action below “Move Finder Items”.
- Set the “Title” to “Cloud Print Finished”.
- Set the “Subtitle” or “Message” to “Document sent to printer and moved to ‘Printed’ folder.” This provides confirmation that the cloud print job is complete.
Save Automator Script: Save your Automator workflow. Give it a descriptive name like “Dropbox Cloud Print Automator” and save it.

Part 2: Configuring Folder Actions

Open Folder Actions Setup: Right-click on your “Home Printer Cloud Print” Dropbox folder and navigate to “Services > Folder Actions Setup…”.
Attach Automator Script: In the “Folder Actions Setup” window, you should see your “Home Printer Cloud Print” folder listed. In the right-hand pane, select the Automator script you just saved (“Dropbox Cloud Print Automator”) from the dropdown menu.
Click “Attach”: Click the “Attach” button to link the Automator script to your Dropbox folder.
Verify Activation: Ensure the “On” checkboxes are checked next to both your Dropbox folder name and the Automator script name in the “Folder Actions Setup” window. This confirms that the folder action is active.
Close Setup: Close the “Folder Actions Setup” window.

Part 3: Testing Your Cloud Print Setup

To test your new cloud print system:

Copy a Document: From your phone, tablet, or another computer, copy a document (PDF, Word doc, image, etc.) into your “Home Printer Cloud Print” Dropbox folder.
Dropbox Sync: Allow Dropbox to sync the file to the computer connected to your printer.
Observe Automation: On your Mac connected to the printer, you should see the “Cloud Print Starting” notification, followed by the printer printing the document, and then the “Cloud Print Finished” notification. The document should then disappear from the “Home Printer Cloud Print” folder and appear in your “Printed” folder.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully created your own DIY cloud print solution. You can now print to your home printer from anywhere you have Dropbox access, even when you’re not on the same network.

Extending Your Cloud Print Capabilities: Pro Tips

Share Your Cloud Printer: Share the “Home Printer Cloud Print” Dropbox folder with family members, colleagues, or anyone who needs to print to your printer. They simply drop files into the folder – no special setup required on their end.
File Requests for Temporary Access: Utilize Dropbox’s File Request feature to create a link that allows others to upload files directly to your “Home Printer Cloud Print” folder without needing Dropbox accounts themselves. This is ideal for temporary printing access for guests or clients.
Automate Report Printing: If you regularly generate reports or documents that need printing, configure your system to automatically save the output files directly to your “Home Printer Cloud Print” folder. This streamlines workflows and automates printing processes.
One-Click iOS Printing with Shortcuts: For iPhone and iPad users, create an iOS Shortcut that adds a “Print to Cloud” option to your share sheet. This shortcut can automatically convert files to PDF (if needed) and save them to your “Home Printer Cloud Print” folder with a single tap. Key Shortcut steps include:
1. Get File: Set initial path to your print folder (optional, but can be useful for specific workflows).
2. If (file extension is not “pdf”): Add a conditional to convert files to PDF if they aren’t already in PDF format using “Make PDF from File”.
3. Save File: Configure “Save File” to use “Service: Dropbox”, disable “Ask Where to Save”, and set the destination path to your “Home Printer Cloud Print” folder.
4. Enable Share Sheet: In the Shortcut’s options, enable “Show in Share Sheet” to make it accessible from the iOS share menu.

What About Windows?

While this guide focuses on macOS Automator, Windows users are not left out. Windows Task Scheduler and scripting can achieve similar folder action automation. A quick online search for “Windows folder actions” or “automate printing from folder Windows” will reveal various tutorials and tools for setting up a comparable cloud print solution on Windows. One resource mentioned in the original article is: https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/automate-windows-tasks-folder-actions/

Conclusion

By leveraging the power of Dropbox and macOS Automator, you can easily create a functional and free cloud print solution for your home printer. This DIY approach provides a reliable alternative to dedicated cloud print services and offers greater control and flexibility. Experiment with the pro tips to further enhance your cloud print setup and tailor it to your specific printing needs. Enjoy the convenience of printing from anywhere, anytime! We encourage you to share your feedback and experiences with this DIY cloud print method in the comments below.