Posted by Devin Anderson
By now we’re all aware that the growing mobile workforce is an inexorable trend. And that trend toward mobility and BYOD policies raises problems of interoperability that stem from device heterogeneity. But, as we’ve also seen, PrinterLogic is the enterprise mobile printing solution that effortlessly bridges the gaps between those different devices. If your mobile device has a browser, you can print. Simple as that.
That still leaves one area of massive concern: security. Who can initiate jobs? Who can release them at the physical printer? Which printers are available to which users? Those are all questions that will immediately spring to mind when the topic of mobile print solutions comes up. And PrinterLogic has the answers.
PrinterLogic’s Secure Printing capabilities help lock down your enterprise print environment. A more generic name for Secure Printing is server-less pull printing. What is pull printing? Well, think of a print job as being broken up into two parts. There’s the “push” that comes when the user sends the job to the printer queue. Then there’s the “pull” that comes when the user gives the okay for the printer to actually print the job. It’s designed not to be a fully automated process—it requires the intervention of authorized users to make sure they’re in control every step of the way.
With Secure Printing, users you’ve authorized through services like Active Directory will be allowed to send print jobs to a particular physical printer through a specific printer driver. Once they’ve sent the job, they can pull it down at that physical printer at their discretion. The practical benefit of this pull printing solution is that confidential documents aren’t left sitting in the paper tray for hours for all to see.
By using the printer’s actual driver as the “push” conduit, all original printer functionality is maintained. That way Secure Printing from PrinterLogic retains all the security features of the original driver while keeping you from being tied to any one printer manufacturer. On the “pull” end, any device with a browser—including PCs, Macs, Chromebooks, and almost all mobile devices—can access PrinterLogic’s web-based app in order to release print jobs securely.
Where enterprise security is concerned, sometimes a few extra hoops are necessary for added peace of mind. PrinterLogic gives you the option of implementing extra security features while retaining some level of convenience.
So, for example, you can introduce a badge or card reader as a release mechanism. In this scenario an aftermarket badge reader is either placed at the physical printer or is already built into the printing device. Like a lock and a key, the badge reader integrates with the existing badge system to release the print jobs to the printer associated with the badge.
Another security feature you can implement is printer console release. Here the PrinterLogic app can be installed directly on a printer, enabling users to log in and release their print jobs via the printer’s LCD. This method doesn’t require any additional hardware for supported devices.
Through clever pull printing solutions like these, PrinterLogic brings the incredible flexibility of mobile printing to your company while actually enhancing security.