This acquisition represents a major step forward in our mission to deliver flexible, secure, and vendor-neutral print management solutions. As part of Toshiba, we’ll be able to accelerate innovation and scale our platform while continuing to operate independently under a new brand – Coreza. This ensures that our solutions remain vendor agnostic and focused on your needs, not tied to any single manufacturer.

What this means for you:

• directprint.io will soon become Coreza Print – with no impact on your existing deployment or support. Rebranding will occur across all elements of the product.

• No changes to your service – your experience will remain uninterrupted.

  This is our utmost priority.

• Continued innovation: Our team remains focused on developing powerful, cloud-first, multi-vendor print management solutions

• Enhanced investment: You’ll benefit from new product capabilities, improved support, and a faster pace of innovation under the Coreza brand.

We remain deeply committed to the same principles that made directprint.io successful –  addressing the market need for a proven cloud print management solution with simplicity, security, and freedom from vendor lock-in.

Thank you for being part of our journey. We look forward to continuing to serve you and to building the future of cloud print management together as Coreza.

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our brand-new user experience (UX) for SHARP multifunction printers (MFPs), coupled with a new integrated Scan to Email feature. This release represents an important milestone in our journey to deliver the most intuitive, modern, and efficient cloud-based print management experience in the market while expanding our document management capabilities.

New User Experience and Scan to Email for SHARP MX / BP

Over the past few years, directprint.io RED has grown rapidly in adoption across schools, and enterprises across the USA and Europe. Our initial integrations with SHARP devices gave customers the essential tools they needed: fast, reliable, and secure printing with the flexibility of the cloud.

However, on our mission to continue user experience improvements we knew that there was more that we could do. Feedback is invaluable to us here at directprint.io  and I’m confident that the new UX addresses all inputs provided by our customers and partners.

The new directprint.io UX for SHARP has been reimagined to meet those needs and set the stage for the future:

• Modern, Intuitive Design
  A refreshed interface that’s easier to navigate, reducing the time it takes users to access the features they need most.

• Streamlined Workflows
  Simplified print, release, and scan flows that minimize clicks and optimize the end-user journey.

• Consistency Across Devices
  A unified experience that ensures customers enjoy the same clean, modern UX across SHARP MX and BP devices.

• Future-Ready Platform
  This design is not just about today. It provides the foundation for future features – such as customization, new scan workflows and smart automation – ensuring SHARP customers continue to benefit from ongoing innovation.

For IT admins, this new UX translates into fewer support tickets, easier onboarding, and happier end-users. For employees and students, it means an effortless experience every time they print, release, or scan at a SHARP device. We’re excited to roll this out and begin the next chapter in our partnership with SHARP. This release is more than a design update – it’s a signal of where directprint.io is headed as we look to work with more OEM partners.

The new UX for SHARP is available on production from Monday 1st September.

This will be a forced update so all BP and MX devices configured to run directprint RED will receive this update.

IT administration support can be found here.

It’s especially helpful for schools, businesses, and organizations that need to cover multiple locations or their mobile users. By moving print management to the Cloud, you get easier setup, centralized control, and the ability to print securely from anywhere.

How does it work?

Cloud printing allows users to upload their print jobs to a pull-print cloud queue, where they are securely transmitted (encrypted in transport*) to a designated storage region in the cloud. The print job remains temporarily stored in an encrypted state (encrypted at rest*) until the user chooses to print it from a device. When the user initiates printing, the job is securely delivered (encrypted in transport*) to the print device via the cloud. Users also have the option to either retain the job for future use or delete it upon successful printing.

What are the benefits of Cloud Printing?

There are several benefits of choosing to print through the Cloud:

Zero Trust Infrastructure – Many organizations now run a Zero Trust architecture that ensures security and flexibility. Enable guests to print via the cloud to printers behind a secure network, and allow workers to utilize a bring your own device (BYOD) policy while ensuring print remains part of your security checklist. 

Save on print costs – No need for expensive server and maintenance costs as the traditional IT infrastructure isn’t a requirement for Cloud printing to work. Having the ability to implement policies like print quotas and duplex printing will reduce both paper and toner consumption.

Simplified Maintenance – As Cloud Printing utilizes centralised management of printers, there is no need for on-site support. And with updates and installations managed through the Cloud, this will reduce downtime and allow admins to focus on other tasks.

Shore up security – Hold your print jobs in a secure queue and only release them when the user is present, making sure only authorized users are able to access confidential information. If you work in a school or an office setting, data privacy regulations can be met, protecting documents for students or staff.

So do I need it?

Now you have a better understanding of what cloud printing is, how it works and the benefits, the last step is to decide if this is something you want to invest in for your organization.

Assess current printing needs – it makes sense to consider the scope of the printing infrastructure you may feel that you need in your organization. Analysing print volume, locations that need covering and number of devices will give you a clearer view of whether setting up through the cloud will be more beneficial.

Evaluate cost efficiency – it’s a simple bit of math; working out the current cost of maintaining print servers, IT support and maintenance and what are the total savings potential from switching to the Cloud – not just monetary either, as there is potential to simplify workload and minimize unnecessary prints too.

directprint.io RED

directprint.io RED supports cloud based printing for SHARP MFPs. This means users can print directly from their mobile devices or laptops to the cloud and collect the print jobs at the sharp copiers. Find out more about directprint.io RED here.

 Introducing Edge Printing by directprint.io 

What about cloud printing for legacy print divers? Edge Print allows IT admins to cloud-enable legacy print devices, allowing end-users to securely print when they are not on the same network as the printer. With Edge Print, users can print from their Windows PC, Chromebook, or Mac device – whether they’re at home, on a guest network, or even between different office locations.

Printers remain on a secure network and are not exposed to vulnerabilities. Our secure, compliant, localized Cloud deployment options ensure that your business information remains confidential.

Get started today with a 30 day FREE trial of directprint.io to see if you can print smarter, save time and reduce printing costs for your organization. All our great features are included and all setup support is provided free of charge.

Useful terms

Encrypted in transport – refers to data being encrypted while it is being transmitted from one system to another over a network. 

Encrypted at rest – refers to data being encrypted while it is stored on a disk, database, or other storage medium. This ensures that if someone gains unauthorized access to the storage (such as through hacking), they cannot read the data without the decryption key.

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, traditional print management solutions can become more of a liability than an asset in the workplace. If your organization is still relying on an on-premise print solution, you may be facing challenges like rising costs ,increased IT demands and security vulnerabilities. As more companies embrace digital transformation, cloud-based print management (not to be confused with cloud printing) is emerging as the way forward — offering flexibility, scalability, and enhanced security.

There are many reasons to opt for a cloud print management solution over on-premise. In this blog, we’ll explore why moving print management to the cloud is the right strategy for your organization. Read on to discover the benefits of improved accessibility, streamlined maintenance, and future-proofing your workflows to cope with the demands of a modern workplace.

Cost savings – print management that suits your budget.

Legacy on-premise print infrastructure is a money drain—servers, storage, IT support, maintenance, and Print Management Solutions stack up fast. On the flip side, cloud solutions eliminate the need for expensive local servers and hardware, significantly cutting CapEx. SaaS print management solutions like directprint.io scale seamlessly with organizational needs, allowing businesses to pay only for the user licenses and capacity they require—minimizing waste and upfront investment.

Saving budget in the long run. 

Centralized Management – a single pane of glass.

Cloud printing solutions allow IT administrators to manage all printers, users, and policies from a single, web-based interface (or single pane of glass), no matter the location. This makes  managing print environments simpler, especially in larger organizations.

Cloud print management software is updated by the service provider, so organizations don’t have to worry about keeping their print software up to date. This means a reduction in the workload on IT teams and ensures that the latest security fixes and features are in place.

With directprint.io, IT administrators can remotely configure printers, monitor printer status, and perform maintenance tasks from a single dashboard, reducing the need for on-site support.

Alternatively, cloud enables legacy print devices and allows end-users to print from home. Providing flexibility to staff when it comes to printing is key. Having the ability to print from any disconnected network location enables end-users to change switch networks seamlessly while still being able to print to their favorite print devices.

Flexibility – compatible with your fleet of devices.

As remote and hybrid work environments continue to be the norm for many workers, employees need to be able to print from anywhere. The ability to print in the cloud enables secure, remote printing from home or other locations without the need for VPNs or complex setups.

Cloud print management often supports printing directly from smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, offering more convenience for employees who are not tied to a traditional office setup. Print-anywhere capabilities are also available, meaning users can send print jobs from any device and pick them up from any available printer. 

Security – keep important information and documents secure.

Cloud-based solutions often come with sturdy security features like encryption, secure pull printing (where jobs are only printed when a user is physically at the printer), and multi-factor authentication (MFA). In the event of local hardware failure or disaster, cloud services provide data backup and recovery capabilities that can ensure continuity and avoid data loss.

Cloud print management solutions often provide the tools necessary to comply with data privacy regulations, such as GDPR or HIPAA, ensuring secure handling of sensitive print data.

Sustainability – making changes that work for you and the environment.

With centralized print management, organizations can more easily track usage, reduce unnecessary printing, and implement environmentally friendly practices such as setting defaults to double-sided printing.

Cloud solutions offer detailed reporting and analytics on print usage, enabling organizations to monitor and optimize their printing environment, resulting in cost savings and reduced toner and paper waste.

Making sure that you have a print management solution that can be tailored to your business needs is so important to meet organizational sustainability goals.

All of that can be a lot to take in, and that’s why it’s important to find the right solution for your business. directprint.io offers a FREE 30-day trial which includes the option of a setup session with one of our developers. You can schedule a call with our team here when you’re ready to try our product.

Follow directprint.io on Linkedin and Twitter.

The time has long come and gone where we waved goodbye to Google Cloud Print, learned to embrace enhanced native CUPS printing and pivoted to other print possibilities – we strongly hope that directprint.io has made it to the top of the list to fill the gap Google Cloud Print left behind.

If that’s the case, we want to say a quick thanks! And for those who are still looking at options, we hope this guide will prove useful to you.

Just before we jump in, we’d like to announce that…

Chrome Enterprise: directprint.io is still a preferred choice.

We’re thrilled to announce that directprint.io maintains its status as Chrome Enterprise Recommended! Our ongoing collaboration with Google remains steadfast in tackling the complexities of education and enterprise print deployment and management.

We’ve written a super simple guide to setting up printing on your Chromebook with directprint.io. Head over to this page to check it out.

What does the Chromebook Printing landscape look like in 2024 and beyond? 

For many organizations, the choice to use Chromebooks is an easy one. Finding an efficient way to manage an organization’s print infrastructure will be a top priority – from security enhancements to automating workflows.

Chromebook Printing for Education 

Chromebook printing in education has become increasingly streamlined and user-friendly. Google has developed various features and tools to enhance printing capabilities for schools and educators using Chromebooks. Some key standouts include:

Management Console: For educational institutions using Google Workspace for Education, administrators can take control of managing print settings and policies through the Google Admin Console. This enables decisions on who can print, which printers are available, and other related configurations.

Integration with Google Drive: Chromebooks are deeply integrated with Google Drive, making it easy for students and educators to save their work in the cloud and access it from any device with an internet connection. This extends to printing which allows users to print directly from Google Drive.

Cost-Efficiency and Sustainability:  Chromebooks are known for being cost-effective and for their energy efficiency. As education increasingly adopts digital resources, there’s a reduction in printing within schools, with a wider movement to decrease paper usage in educational settings.

Chromebook Printing for Enterprise

Google has conquered education and now it’s after a share of the enterprise market. In recent years, Chromebooks have gained significant popularity among both small-to-medium sized businesses and larger Enterprises. With a rising level of interest, leading to a notable expansion of the market size. It’s clear to see that Google is working hard to increase the presence of ChromeOS in places that may never have considered using them before now.

Chromebook printing for enterprise has evolved further to offer more streamlined and sophisticated solutions for users. Here is a look at some of the features you might expect to see:

Centralized Management: Managing printing settings and policies centrally through the Google Admin Console or other management tools  allows streamlined control over printer access, user permissions, and print job monitoring across the organization.

Security Features: Chrome OS’s built-in security features, like automatic updates, enhance the security of printing activities. Additionally, enterprises can implement advanced authentication methods to ensure that only authorized users can release print jobs.

Compatibility and Integration: Chromebooks can integrate with various cloud-based printing solutions and services, offering flexibility in choosing the tools that best suit an enterprise’s unique requirements.

If you’d like to learn more about setting up print management for Chromebooks – directprint.io offers a 30 day FREE trial with full setup support from our hands-on team.

Follow directprint.io on Linkedin for all our latest news and updates.

In this guide we explore the different types of print management systems, covering deployment management, configuration control, print monitoring and security considerations. Plus a touch of print history for context.

To begin at the beginning [of print]^*…

Printing – the act of transferring digital text and images to paper, was one of the first key uses of computers. Some of the technology developed back in the 1970’s and 80’s to enable printing still lingers-on in printer hardware and printer software today.

The fact that 70’s & 80’s technology is still in use today is a testament to the design skills and foresight of the inventors. Don’t take my word for it: check out the history of the LPD protocol (dating back to ’83) which you’ll still find in new printers today, amazing (and scary maybe?).

There are a host of other print technologies that have their roots near the beginning of computing such as PostScript, PCL and SNMP which have lasted the test of time, even flourished since, to become integral parts of many print management solutions today.

Print management software has evolved significantly over the years. Starting with ‘mainframe‘ printer interfacing, progressing through the Windows Desktop (Centronics 36-PIN adaptors anyone?) and Windows Server (GPO, branch-office and PrintNightmare) era and now firmly embracing Cloud and all the advantages that Software As A Service has to offer.

It’s an exciting time in print hardware and software, producing a huge industry shifts, which will ultimately benefit the end-user. Will the print technology innovations of 2022 still be going strong 40-something years later?

Key types of Print Management (definitions)

There are a few Industry interpretations of ‘Print Management’ which are often confused or conflated.

We attempt to list and explain the different terminology that you will find when exploring print management solutions out there on the web.

The diagram shows the different areas within the definition of ‘print management’. Excluding commercial print technology for clarity.

While not definitive, this venn diagram gives a useful overview of the general areas considered to be within the domain of print management as understood in 2022.

• Queue management: Controlling which print queues a user can see including management of ‘branch-offices’ etc.
• Driver management: Ensuring that the correct Xerox, Canon, Sharp, HP, Konica Minolta drivers are correctly in installed on the endpoint, such as a Windows, Mac or Chromebook device
• Cloud print and follow-me (pull) printing solutions that allow users to print from anywhere to any printer.
• Printer monitoring: Getting visibility of toner supplies, errors, paper jams etc.
• Output monitoring: Getting visibility of print volumes by users, departments or organizations.
• Output control: Controlling print quotas for individuals or departments.
• Output security: Ensuring that documents only end up in the hands of authorised personnel, normally the person who prints it.
• Fleet management: Deploying configuration changes to multiple printers – an IT admins ‘most tedious task’, if not automated.
• Commercial print management: Used by print-shops to produce banners, magazines, specialist and large-format prints.

Of course, information/cyber security underpins all of the above and should be integral to any requirement analysis, especially for enterprise and education customers who are examining their future print management options.

The advantages of print management

Of course it’s possible to locally install printer drivers on a workstation or laptop, without the need for a print management system.

Without print management end-users or administrators would be responsible for local printer configuration management and driver updates. This can be a time-consuming and frustrating process.

With no print management in place, administrators and budget holders would have little or no visibility of print activity and volumes. For most large organizations this would represent a cost and security risk.

Who’s using print management?

Organizations requiring print management solutions generally fall into two categories: Direct and indirect print management users.

• Any organization with employees / students / volunteers / visitors that wants to control and track printing to their owned or leased printers, they will typically (see exception below) manage their own toner supplies and printer servicing. These organizations usually want to streamline deployment or limit access to printers across a large user base. Enterprises, schools, districts and higher education establishments, medical settings and public spaces such as libraries are typical of this class of organization requiring print management.
• Managed print services (MPS) providers that offer pay-per-print services or lease printers to an organization. The MPS provider will need to know the volume of color and black & white (mono) printing that an organisation does, so that they can correctly bill for ‘metered’ usage. This will typically involve the deployment of an MPS monitoring solution (e.g. MPS Monitor) to allow the MPS provider to track this data.

Given the breadth of the term ‘Print management’ it is common to find organizations who will take a Managed Print Service from an MPS provider [who will have their own print monitoring], but will still require an in-house print management solution for queue management, driver management, output control and output security, see the definitions above. NB ‘in-house’ does not mean on-premise, they could (should?) use a Cloud based service (SaaS) to control, manage and track printing.

The use of ‘print management’ and ‘managed print’ in this context can be confusing and should be disambiguated whenever possible.

The Evolution of Print Management: From servers to the Cloud

Like most other IT functions, print management can now be deployed in a number of ways.

Historically print management has been an ‘on-prem’ server-hosted solution such as Windows Print Services (integrated into Windows server), Papercut MF and Canon Uniflow to name a few.

Each of these solutions solves different aspects of the broader print management challenge, but will require one or multiple servers, virtual-servers and licenses to be deployed within and organization.

Gartner estimates that the all-in cost of running a print-server on an annual basis is around $5000, leading many to conclude it’s time to ditch the print server.

With ever-tightening IT budgets, a focus on efficiency, print management is not immune from the shift towards the Cloud. Spending less time on server hardware and more time on strategic growth and operational efficiency initiatives is the mission of many COOs.

Google tried to bring print management into the 21st century with its innovative ‘Google Cloud Print‘ solution. For a variety of reasons it did not succeed and has since been retired, but it did herald a new era of Cloud-first print management solutions. The key selling point of these solutions is that they allow printing from any device connected to the Internet to any printer inside an organization – very convenient, especially in our post-pandemic, remote-worker enabled world.

In 2022, the print hardware and software industry is in a state of flux. Cloud technology is a major disruptor to this long-established industry. ‘Cloudifying print’ offers huge operational efficiency advantages for consumers, while simultaneously hardware commoditization and supply pressure is squeezing OEMs (see definition below).

Breakthrough companies such as directprint.io and Tricerat offer distinct SaaS-centric solutions to the market, causing innovation & price pressure on established / incumbent / legacy print print management providers.

These new Cloud-first solutions are often referred to as ‘serverless’ solutions because they don’t require deployment of server hardware or VMs within an organization.

In taking a pure-Cloud approach to this traditional (30 year old) market, some of these companies are benefiting from the broader industry trend of Cloud adoption and offering new solutions at aggressive price points.

Print management Summary

Although the definition of print management is wide, the general industry interpretation is:

“A system provide control over printers and printing within an organization”

When it comes to choosing a print management solution, examine your requirement set:

• Do you need to control over your users’ print volumes?
• Do you need queue management (see above)?
• Is cloud printing or pull printing a use-case for your organization?
• Is tracking print volume and cost control a requirement?
• Do you need realtime notifications of out of paper and toner runout situations?
• Do you just need configuration control over the printers in your network?
• Print & document security – this is a very large topic and will be covered in a forthcoming blog piece.

You’ll find products tend to fit into these broad areas:

• Queue and endpoint management
• Print activity control and reporting
• Remote printing enablement (cloud printing)
• Fleet management
• Printer monitoring

Some companies offer multiple products covering these different functional areas.

We hope this whirlwind tour of Print Management has been informative, please email any corrections or comments to us.

Read more like this

To get more information on some of the challenges in print management in Education check out some of our blog posts here and here.

This guide hasn’t covered some of the more esoteric challenges of receipt and label printing – huge issues for retail, warehousing and logistics companies.

All trademarks are the the property of their respective owners.

Glossary of terms

• Endpoint: A computer, typically a Windows, Mac or Chromebook
• OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer, in the printer world that’s Xerox, HP, Sharp, Canon, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Brother etc. These are the guys who make the printer hardware and supply drivers.
• Print queue: A place to send print jobs – normally associated with a printer to produce output.
• Public cloud: A service hosted on AWS, Azure Google Cloud or similar
• Private cloud: A Platform as a service, hosted by an Organization (typically in a data center)
• Hybrid cloud: A mix of on-prem, private and public cloud hosting options and the ability to switch between them depending on scalability and security requirements.
• COO: Chief Operating Officer – responsible for the day-to-day and strategic operations of a company – efficiency is often a focus
• VM: Virtual machine. A machine within a machine, e.g. VMWare running multiple Windows operating systems on a single piece of hardware, synonymous with virtualization. Not to be confused with Virtual Desktops (VDI), which is about emulating a full desktop environment for end-users.

_{* directprint.io is a Welsh company: Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas is one of the best plays ever written, but we’re biased…}

Setting up managed printing for Chromebooks is easy. Follow our quick 10 minute guide to see how directprint.io can help you print more effectively than Print Server based solutions or Google Cloud Print.

Want a more in depth look at Chromebook print management? Our team is on hand at [email protected].

To begin, open up your Chrome browser on Windows, Mac or Chrome OS…

1. Create a trial account at directprint.io

Firstly, go to directprint.io and click Start Free Trial. You will be asked to enter your email followed by a short form requesting some more information to allow us to configure your account.

2. Work through the guided setup

Once you have successfully created your account you will be directed to the directprint.io admin console. You will be presented with a data dashboard which, when populated with your print data provides you with quick insights into your print activity across your organization. Use the ‘Guided setup’ call to action to use our set up wizard to get you started as quickly as possible.

2.1 Install the directprint.io extension (or application depending if on windows/mac/chromeos)

The directprint.io client app is a full-stack print driver for Chrome, Chromebooks, Windows & macOS.
directprint.io has no dependency on Cloud Print or printer manufacturer drivers.
Giving you a consistent print experience across all platforms.

Manufacturer provided drivers not required

Continuously evolving software for an ever-evolving world

According to the State of Cloud 2023 report, the trend in cloud computing isn’t migration anymore – 94% of organizations are already in the cloud – the trend now is the rapid adoption of new cloud services.

Cloud has undoubtedly proved its mettle in terms of delivering the high availability, scalability and agility that businesses need today. And as companies continue their transformation into digital-first organizations to support a hybrid workforce, the advantages of moving print to the cloud are now clearer than ever in IT decision-makers’ minds.

We’re seeing an uptick in demand from organizations looking to modernize their print infrastructure to boost efficiency, shore up security, and reduce cost.

Here, James Gilmore, directprint.io VP of Product and Design, addresses some FAQs around modernizing print with a cloud-based print management platform.

Q. Will the platform support a multi-vendor fleet?

A. directprint.io serverless solutions are compatible with all printer makes and models, including receipt (POS) and label printers. Both the directprint.io and directprint.io RED platforms feature a unique universal driver that eliminates the need to manually deploy multiple print drivers and manage numerous updates. This is easy to install through Google Workspace Admin, Microsoft Intune/PQD, or your favorite MDM tool, to all devices. Plus, it also includes configurable advanced finishing options, secure print and native accounting capabilities across all printers, ensuring a seamless, consistent print experience, regardless of the printer brand or model you choose.

Q. Our end-users work across Windows and Mac devices; how does that work?

A. directprint.io cloud-native solutions support all three major operating systems – Chromebooks, macOS and Windows, and the two major cloud productivity suite providers – Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. Directory sync capabilities enable existing single sign-on, login and authentication policies to be connected to the software. There’s also a directprint.io proprietary internal directory that simplifies the user provisioning and account set-up process, regardless of which device they use.

Q. To what extent will change impact our end-users?

A. The short answer is none, and here’s why. Our mission is to make printing easy, and we believe that printing should be reliable, powerful and easy to administer.

When you migrate print management over to directprint.io solutions, end-users won’t notice any difference, they will simply continue to print in the same way they’ve always done.

Our solutions provide end-users with access to fast and reliable printing from any device or location. Directory sync capabilities with Google Workspace and Microsoft Azure ensures simple printer deployment, end-users are allocated printers based on their login, so as soon as they turn their machine on, they automatically get the correct list of available printers. These integrations also enable single sign-on and, if end-users are created, moved or deleted, the platform automatically reconfigures their printer access.

Q. What about security of documents and data?

A. By managing the print infrastructure in the cloud, you’ll benefit from automated patching and monitoring, safe in the knowledge it’s always up to date and always secure. Seamless integration with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 in addition to the directprint.io internal directory, enables secure user authentication and access control, ensuring only authorized users can access print devices and data. Admins can grant print privileges for OUs, groups and users, determine which groups or individual users can use which devices, including those available for remote printing; provide special print privileges to VIPs, or even remove print access altogether.

Plus, with direct-IP printing, print jobs never leave your network and Edge Print keeps remote print jobs within your already approved Google/Microsoft infrastructure keeping your data safe and secure. Edge Print also supports a zero trust security architecture.

You can also enable secure PIN release on printers to protect confidential information. Choose from on-printer secure print release, which uses the device’s internal secure print capability – (we support all the leading print manufacturers) – or terminal-based print release, which enables any device to be secure print-enabled by placing a print release terminal next to the printer.

Q. Our end-users need to print from anywhere, do we need a VPN?

A. directprint.io print management platforms are cloud-native and do not require a VPN connection into the network, making it more convenient to print, as well as mitigating the risk of a VPN compromising the corporate network.

Q. We need visibility over the fleet and usage

Advanced reporting and analytics around print usage and behaviors, are among the many benefits of the directprint.io cloud-native print management platforms. Admins can access highly detailed reports from a single pane of glass.

Modernizing print – what else do we provide?

We also provide device monitoring capabilities and alerts for printer status, device health, paper levels, toner levels and more. This value-added feature, which is available as an optional extra on the directprint.io platform and built-in to directprint.io RED, provides a comprehensive overview of fleet performance, device status, supply levels, and counters – data that empowers IT leads to proactively respond to common issues such as paper jams or low toner levels and in many cases, resolve them before an end-user experiences an issue.

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We hope this blog answers any queries you may have about modernizing print for your business, but if there’s anything else, please feel free to set up a call with us here. You can also find out first-hand just how easy it is to take print to the cloud, sign up for a free 30-day trial and discover the true value-add of smart and secure serverless printing first-hand.

Follow directprint.io on Linkedin for all our latest news and updates.