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Configure printing settings in managed guest sessions on ChromeOS devices

This document will help IT administrators configure printing settings in managed guest sessions on ChromeOS devices.

Managed guest sessions are designed for shared-use environments such as schools, libraries, kiosks, and reception areas. These sessions allow users to access ChromeOS devices without signing in to a Google account. All session data is automatically cleared once the session ends, ensuring user privacy and device readiness for the next user.

Despite their temporary nature, printing is often required during guest sessions, for example, to print forms, visitor badges, or informational materials. To manage this effectively, IT administrators can use Hexnode’s Printing feature for managed guest sessions to configure print-related settings such as default printers, print mode restrictions, job limits, and PIN-based security for printers compatible with ChromeOS devices.

Printing settings

To configure printing settings in managed guest sessions on ChromeOS devices,

Login to the Hexnode UEM portal.
Go to the Policies tab. Click on New Policy to create a new policy or modify an existing one.
Provide the name and description (optional) for the policy.
Navigate to ChromeOS > Managed Guest Session > Printing. Click on Configure.

The following settings are available to configure,

Setting	Description	Supported OS Version
Printing	When this setting is disabled, users will no longer have access to the Print… option in the Chrome browser’s three-dot menu. As a result, printing through Google Chrome will be completely disabled.	ChromeOS 11+
Deprecated privet printing	Privet printing allows ChromeOS devices to automatically discover printers on the same local network using technologies like mDNS (multicast DNS) and HTTP-based communication. If this option is unchecked, available privet printers will not appear in the print preview dialog for users.	ChromeOS 89-93
Specify the default printer	Check this option to set the selected printer as the default. If left unchecked, the system will follow its default print behavior.	ChromeOS 48+
Default printer types (Available only when Specify the default printer option is checked)	Determine which input sources are eligible for default printer selection. The available options include, Cloud and local Cloud only Local only
Printer matching rules (Available only when Specify the default printer option is checked)	Matching rules are applied to automatically select the most appropriate printers based on predefined criteria.The available options are: Match by name Match by ID
Default Printer pattern (Available only when Specify the default printer option is checked)	Enter a regular expression that matches the default printer selection. The print preview will default to the first printer that matches the pattern. For a printer named “Initech Lobby”, use the pattern “Initech Lobby”. To match any of the following printers: “Initech-lobby-1”, “Initech-lobby-2”, and so on, use the regular expression: “Initech-lobby-.$”. To match printers like “Initech-lobby-guest” or “Initech-partner-guest”, use the pattern: “Initech-.*-guest”.
Add new printers	If this option is unchecked, users will be restricted from adding or managing printers on their device.	ChromeOS 86+
Default print mode	Specify the default color preference for print jobs on ChromeOS devices. This setting determines whether print jobs default to color or black and white. But users can still change the setting for individual jobs. The available options are: Colour Black and white	ChromeOS 72+
Restrict print mode	Restrict the default printing mode for devices. When a restriction is applied, users cannot change the color setting while printing. The available options include: No restriction Color printing only Black and white only	ChromeOS 72+
Default print sides	Define the default printing mode and set the page-flipping orientation for printing tasks. The available options include: Single-sided printing Long-edge two- sided printing Short-edge two-sided printing	ChromeOS 72+
Restrict print sides	Restrict how print jobs are processed in terms of print sides. The available options include: No restriction One-side only Two-side only	ChromeOS 71+
Default background graphics printing mode	When unchecked, background images and graphics will be excluded from printed documents. This determines whether background graphics are included or excluded by default. But users can still change this setting for each print job.	ChromeOS 79+
Restrict background graphics printing mode	This setting controls how background images and graphics are handled during printing. It specifies whether the user can adjust the printing of these elements, depending on the selected option. The available options include: User can choose Always require printing of background images Do not allow printing of background images	ChromeOS 79+
Delete print job history automatically	Specify the number of days the print job history will be stored locally on the device before it is automatically deleted. The minimum value allowed is one day.	ChromeOS 79+
Allow user to manually delete print job history	Checking this option enables users to manually delete the print job history from their device.	ChromeOS 85+
Default PIN printing mode	This setting determines whether users are required to enter a PIN when sending print jobs. The available options include: With PIN Without PIN	ChromeOS 75+
Restrict PIN printing mode	Specify restrictions for PIN printing mode. The available options include: No restriction Do not allow PIN printing Always require PIN printing	ChromeOS 75+
Printing sheets limit	Specify the maximum number of sheets allowed for a single print job. The minimum value allowed is one sheet.	ChromeOS 84+
Print headers and footers	Specify if headers and footers appear on printed pages. The available options include: User can choose False True	ChromeOS 70+
Blocked Printer types	Block specific printer types to control available printing options. The following printer types can be blocked: Extension-based Save as PDF Local printer	ChromeOS 80+
Allow printing PDF as image	Enable this option to allow printing PDFs as images on ChromeOS devices.	ChromeOS 95+
Print image resolution in DPI (Available only when Allow printing PDF as image option is checked)	Specify the print image resolution in DPI (Dots Per Inch). Higher DPI values result in sharper and more detailed printed images.	ChromeOS 94+
Print PDF as image by default (Available only when Allow printing PDF as image option is checked)	Check this option to enable printing PDFs as images by default on the device.	ChromeOS 94+

Associate the policy with target entities

If you haven’t saved the policy,

Navigate to Policy Targets.
Select Domains/OUs.
Click on +Add Domains/OUs.
The Browse Domain/OU window will appear.
- From here, select the Google Workspace account that is integrated with Hexnode, (eg: example.kmanaged.com(Google))
- Next, locate the Parent OU, which is represented by a briefcase icon. Select the Parent OU to associate the policy with it, or
- Click the dropdown icon beside the Parent OU to expand and select the required Child OU(s).
Once selected, click OK, then Save to apply the changes.

If you have already saved the policy,

Navigate to Policies > My Policies and select the required policy.
Click on Manage > Associate Targets.
Select Domains/OUs.
- From here, select the Google Workspace account that is integrated with Hexnode, (eg: example.kmanaged.com(Google)).
- Next, locate the Parent OU, which is represented by a briefcase icon. Select the Parent OU to associate the policy with it, or
- Click the dropdown icon beside the Parent OU to expand and select the required Child OU(s).
Click on Associate.

Note:

If a child OU is selected, the policy will be associated with all the devices assigned to that particular child OU.
If the parent OU is selected, the policy will be associated to devices assigned to all the child OUs.

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