chrome.printing

Description

Use the chrome.printing API to send print jobs to printers installed on Chromebook.

Permissions

printing

Availability

Chrome 81+ ChromeOS only

Manifest

All chrome.printing methods and events require you to declare the "printing" permission in the extension manifest. For example:

{
  "name": "My extension",
  ...
  "permissions": [
    "printing"
  ],
  ...
}

Examples

The examples below demonstrate using each of the methods in the printing namespace. This code is copied from or based on the api-samples/printing in the extensions-samples GitHub repo.

cancelJob()

This example uses the onJobStatusChanged handler to hide a 'cancel' button when the jobStatus is neither PENDING or IN_PROGRESS. Note that on some networks or when a Chromebook is connected directly to the printer, these states may pass too quickly for the cancel button to be visible long enough to be called. This is greatly simplified printing example.

chrome.printing.onJobStatusChanged.addListener((jobId, status) => {
  const cancelButton = document.getElementById("cancelButton");
  cancelButton.addEventListener('click', () => {
    chrome.printing.cancelJob(jobId).then((response) => {
      if (response !== undefined) {
        console.log(response.status);
      }
      if (chrome.runtime.lastError !== undefined) {
        console.log(chrome.runtime.lastError.message);
      }
    });
  });
  if (status !== "PENDING" && status !== "IN_PROGRESS") {
    cancelButton.style.visibility = 'hidden';
  } else {
    cancelButton.style.visibility = 'visible';
  }
}

getPrinters() and getPrinterInfo()

A single example is used for these functions because getting printer information requires a printer ID, which is retrieved by calling getPrinters(). This example logs the name and description of the default printer to the console. This is a simplified version of the printing example.

​​const printers = await chrome.printing.getPrinters();
const defaultPrinter = printers.find((printer) => {
  const printerInfo = await chrome.printing.getPrinterInfo(printer.id);
  return printerInfo.isDefault;
}
console.log(`Default printer: ${defaultPrinter.name}.\n\t${defaultPrinter.description}`);

submitJob()

The submitJob() method requires three things.

  • A ticket structure specifying which capabilities of the printer are to be used. If the user needs to select from available capabilities, you can retrieve them for a specific printer using getPrinterInfo().
  • A SubmitJobRequest structure, which specifies the printer to use, and the file or date to print. This structure contains a reference to the ticket structure.
  • A blob of the file or data to print.

Calling submitJob() triggers a dialog box asking the user to confirm printing. Use the PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist to bypass confirmation.

This is a simplified version of the printing example. Notice that the ticket is attached to the SubmitJobRequest structure (line 8) and that the data to print is converted to a blob (line 10). Getting the ID of the printer (line 1) is more complicated in the sample than is shown here.

const defaultPrinter = getDefaultPrinter();
const ticket = getPrinterTicket(defaultPrinter);
const arrayBuffer = getPrintData();
const submitJobRequest = {
  job: {
    printerId: defaultPrinter,
    title: 'test job',
    ticket: ticket,
    contentType: 'application/pdf',
    document: new Blob([new Uint8Array(arrayBuffer)], {
      type: 'application/pdf'
    });
  }
};

chrome.printing.submitJob(submitJobRequest, (response) => {
  if (response !== undefined) {
    console.log(response.status);
  }
  if (chrome.runtime.lastError !== undefined) {
    console.log(chrome.runtime.lastError.message);
  }
});

Roll printing

This example shows how to build a printer ticket for continuous (or roll) printing, which is often used with receipt printing. The submitJobRequest object for roll printing is the same as that shown for the submitJob() example.

If you need to change the default value for paper cutting, use the vendor_ticket_item key. (The default varies from printer to printer.) When included, this key needs to be an array with one member: an object whose id is 'finishings'. The value can either be 'trim' for printers that cut the roll at the end of printing or 'none' for printers that require the print job to be torn off.

const ticket = {
  version: '1.0',
  print: {
    vendor_ticket_item: [{id: 'finishings', value: 'trim'}],
    color: {type: 'STANDARD_MONOCHROME'},
    duplex: {type: 'NO_DUPLEX'},
    page_orientation: {type: 'PORTRAIT'},
    copies: {copies: 1},
    dpi: {horizontal_dpi: 300, vertical_dpi: 300},
    media_size: {
      width_microns: 72320,
      height_microns: 100000
    },
    collate: {collate: false}
  }
};

Some printers do not support the "finishings" option. To determine if your printer does, call getPrinterInfo() and look for a "display_name" of "finishings/11".

"vendor_capability": [
  {
    "display_name": "finishings/11",
    "id": "finishings/11",
    "type": "TYPED_VALUE",
    "typed_value_cap": {
      "value_type": "BOOLEAN"
    }
  },
  ...
]

The values in a ticket's media_size key are specific to each printer. To select an appropriate size call getPrinterInfo(). The returned GetPrinterResponse contains an array of supported media sizes at "media_size"."option". Choose an option whose "is_continuous_feed" value is true. Use its height and width values for the ticket.

"media_size": {
  "option": [
  {
    "custom_display_name": "",
    "is_continuous_feed": true,
    "max_height_microns": 2000000,
    "min_height_microns": 25400,
    "width_microns": 50800
  },
  ...
  ]
}

Types

GetPrinterInfoResponse

Properties

  • capabilities

    object optional

    Printer capabilities in CDD format. The property may be missing.

  • status

    PrinterStatus

    The status of the printer.

JobStatus

Status of the print job.

Enum

"PENDING"
Print job is received on Chrome side but was not processed yet.

"IN_PROGRESS"
Print job is sent for printing.

"FAILED"
Print job was interrupted due to some error.

"CANCELED"
Print job was canceled by the user or via API.

"PRINTED"
Print job was printed without any errors.

Printer

Properties

  • description

    string

    The human-readable description of the printer.

  • id

    string

    The printer's identifier; guaranteed to be unique among printers on the device.

  • isDefault

    boolean

    The flag which shows whether the printer fits DefaultPrinterSelection rules. Note that several printers could be flagged.

  • name

    string

    The name of the printer.

  • recentlyUsedRank

    number optional

    The value showing how recent the printer was used for printing from Chrome. The lower the value is the more recent the printer was used. The minimum value is 0. Missing value indicates that the printer wasn't used recently. This value is guaranteed to be unique amongst printers.

  • source

    PrinterSource

    The source of the printer (user or policy configured).

  • uri

    string

    The printer URI. This can be used by extensions to choose the printer for the user.

PrinterSource

The source of the printer.

Enum

"USER"
Printer was added by user.

"POLICY"
Printer was added via policy.

PrinterStatus

The status of the printer.

Enum

"DOOR_OPEN"
The door of the printer is open. Printer still accepts print jobs.

"TRAY_MISSING"
The tray of the printer is missing. Printer still accepts print jobs.

"OUT_OF_INK"
The printer is out of ink. Printer still accepts print jobs.

"OUT_OF_PAPER"
The printer is out of paper. Printer still accepts print jobs.

"OUTPUT_FULL"
The output area of the printer (e.g. tray) is full. Printer still accepts print jobs.

"PAPER_JAM"
The printer has a paper jam. Printer still accepts print jobs.

"GENERIC_ISSUE"
Some generic issue. Printer still accepts print jobs.

"STOPPED"
The printer is stopped and doesn't print but still accepts print jobs.

"UNREACHABLE"
The printer is unreachable and doesn't accept print jobs.

"EXPIRED_CERTIFICATE"
The SSL certificate is expired. Printer accepts jobs but they fail.

"AVAILABLE"
The printer is available.

SubmitJobRequest

Properties

  • job

    PrintJob

    The print job to be submitted. The only supported content type is "application/pdf", and the Cloud Job Ticket shouldn't include FitToPageTicketItem, PageRangeTicketItem, ReverseOrderTicketItem and VendorTicketItem fields since they are irrelevant for native printing. All other fields must be present.

SubmitJobResponse

Properties

  • jobId

    string optional

    The id of created print job. This is a unique identifier among all print jobs on the device. If status is not OK, jobId will be null.

  • The status of the request.

SubmitJobStatus

The status of submitJob request.

Enum

"OK"
Sent print job request is accepted.

"USER_REJECTED"
Sent print job request is rejected by the user.

Properties

MAX_GET_PRINTER_INFO_CALLS_PER_MINUTE

The maximum number of times that getPrinterInfo can be called per minute.

Value

20

MAX_SUBMIT_JOB_CALLS_PER_MINUTE

The maximum number of times that submitJob can be called per minute.

Value

40

Methods

cancelJob()

Promise 
chrome.printing.cancelJob(
  jobId: string,
  callback?: function,
)

Cancels previously submitted job.

Parameters

  • jobId

    string

    The id of the print job to cancel. This should be the same id received in a SubmitJobResponse.

  • callback

    function optional

    The callback parameter looks like: 

    () => void

Returns

  • Promise<void>

    Chrome 100+

    Promises are only supported for Manifest V3 and later, other platforms need to use callbacks.

getPrinterInfo()

Promise 
chrome.printing.getPrinterInfo(
  printerId: string,
  callback?: function,
)

Returns the status and capabilities of the printer in CDD format. This call will fail with a runtime error if no printers with given id are installed.

Parameters

Returns

  • Chrome 100+

    Promises are only supported for Manifest V3 and later, other platforms need to use callbacks.

getPrinters()

Promise 
chrome.printing.getPrinters(
  callback?: function,
)

Returns the list of available printers on the device. This includes manually added, enterprise and discovered printers.

Parameters

  • callback

    function optional

    The callback parameter looks like: 

    (printers: Printer[]) => void

Returns

  • Promise<Printer[]>

    Chrome 100+

    Promises are only supported for Manifest V3 and later, other platforms need to use callbacks.

submitJob()

Promise 
chrome.printing.submitJob(
  request: SubmitJobRequest,
  callback?: function,
)

Submits the job for printing. If the extension is not listed in the PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist policy, the user is prompted to accept the print job. Before Chrome 120, this function did not return a promise.

Parameters

Returns

  • Chrome 100+

    Promises are only supported for Manifest V3 and later, other platforms need to use callbacks.

Events

onJobStatusChanged

chrome.printing.onJobStatusChanged.addListener(
  callback: function,
)

Event fired when the status of the job is changed. This is only fired for the jobs created by this extension.

Parameters

  • callback

    function

    The callback parameter looks like: 

    (jobId: string, status: JobStatus) => void