Posted by Devin Anderson
Virtual environments like Citrix, VDI and VMware are known for their flexibility and functionality, which is why they’re used in top-performing companies across the globe. However, they’re not without drawbacks. The advantages of centralized apps and remote collaboration don’t always pair well with the complexities of virtual enterprise printing, which makes virtual environments great for many use cases but less than optimal as print management solutions.
Instead of using the built-in options provided by virtualization software, many organizations turn to specialized printing management software like PrinterLogic to do the heavy lifting when it comes to virtual printing. That might seem like it would add another layer of management and maintenance, but it’s actually the opposite. We’ve designed PrinterLogic to work seamlessly alongside virtual environments to enhance their native printing features while delivering all the performance-boosting benefits you would expect from our world-class enterprise print management software.
Let’s take Citrix as an example. PrinterLogic offers you three different printing options to best suit your unique print environment:
- Use the Citrix Universal Printer
- Use session printers
- Use Citrix auto-created printers
With the first two options, PrinterLogic’s printing management software allows for print job compression—which, as you know, is essential in virtual environments where print jobs are often relayed via the WAN to the destination printer. Given all the printing activity that organizations see throughout the day, that can take a hefty toll on overall network performance.
PrinterLogic also enables driverless printing in these scenarios, so you don’t have to worry about the compatibility issues and software conflicts that result in panicked calls to the service desk. The icing on the cake, though, is the simplified administration that comes with PrinterLogic’s renowned print management capabilities. You’ll be able to create, deploy and manage printers across the enterprise from a single pane of glass.
When using Citrix auto-created printers, PrinterLogic brings a different set of equally useful features. Not only will you enjoy the convenience of Citrix Universal Driver support, your end users will have access to location-based printing (sometimes called proximity printing). PrinterLogic is able to dynamically install and remove nearby physical printers—even as users roam within a session. It’s not hard to see why that makes PrinterLogic one of the most sought-after solutions for print management in virtual environments.
And it doesn’t just improve Citrix printing. End users in VMware environments can also take advantage of location-based printing. PrinterLogic’s intelligent enterprise print management solution automatically gets the right printer to the right user every time. Plus you can fine-tune deployment criteria according to Active Directory (AD) user, group, organizational unit (OU), or hardware identifiers such as MAC addresses and endpoint hostnames.
Effective print management also involves powerful driver management, and again PrinterLogic outperforms out-of-the-box tools offered by virtualization software or lesser printing management solutions. Even in large virtual environments, PrinterLogic’s centralized management interface gives you an easy and intuitive way to administer specific drivers for endpoint devices.
Virtualization is certainly an incredible boon to the cutting-edge workplace, but it still struggles with the demands of enterprise printing. With PrinterLogic as your dedicated solution for print management, you get the best of both worlds—virtual or not!