A large number of people may be using ink cartridges to take advantage of Google Cloud Print (GCP), as the internet giant has claimed over six million devices have been connected to the service through its Chrome web browser.

In a post on the company's official blog, product manager Akshay Kannan observed there has been a huge wave of enthusiasm for the product since it was launched earlier this year.

"The goal of GCP is to enable simple, secure printing from any app on any device to any printer – and with the latest cloud-ready printers, you can also print without using drivers or cables," he explained.

Mr Kannan stated dozens of printers capable of connecting to the cloud have been released or announced, from major manufacturers such as HP, Kodak and Epson, while developers have released a wide range of apps allowing people to access the service from Android and iOS gadgets.

This software could be useful to many people, as it was recently stated by computing lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London Dr Mick Grierson that increased use of mobile devices such as tablets will lead to fewer individuals using desktop PCs.