The Kiosk Problem
Google Chrome is highly customizable, and many developers use it to create interactive “Kiosk” displays (like a digital sign in a retail store or a self-serve ticket machine). A common feature in these setups is a button that prints a receipt. However, by default, if a script tells Chrome to print a page, Chrome automatically pauses the entire browser and opens the massive, interactive Print Dialog box (the screen where you select the printer and paper size), waiting for human confirmation. In a self-serve kiosk environment, you want the receipt to print silently and instantly, without a confusing menu popping up on the screen.
Enabling Kiosk Printing
To ensure seamless automated operations and stop Google Chrome from automatically opening the interactive print dialog when a print command is issued, you must launch Chrome with a specific command-line flag.
This cannot be changed in the standard Chrome settings; it must be forced at startup. You need to modify the shortcut you use to open Chrome. Right-click your Google Chrome desktop shortcut and select Properties. Look for the text box labelled Target. This box contains the path to the Chrome application (e.g., "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"). Click inside the Target box, press the “End” key to go to the very end of the text line, press the spacebar once, and then carefully type exactly: –kiosk-printing. Click Apply and OK. The next time you launch Chrome using this specific shortcut, any print command (even pressing Ctrl+P) will instantly and silently send the job to your default printer without ever showing the dialog box.