Originally published on January 13, 2016
IT professionals have started asking the same questions about their print environment as they do when they try bungee jumping for the first time.
- Is it safe?
- Is the equipment secure?
- Is it worth my time?
- How much does it cost?
Organizations have taken a different approach to print security following the global shift to remote and hybrid work. Additionally, companies have increased their use of contingent labor over the past few years to reduce costs and improve workforce flexibility and they’ve done so at a rapid pace. A recent labor report found that almost 30% of workers at large enterprises are already contingent.
For many organizations, it sparked a movement toward a Zero Trust Printing infrastructure. They’re now tasked with finding out where to start and learning how to efficiently address their print security concerns.
Fortunately, achieving secure printing doesn’t require you to perform any daring stunts or leave your comfort zone.
What’s the First Step?
Technology is the core of business operations. We get comfortable with the tech we have, making it hard to stray away from what’s familiar. However, outdated legacy hardware is becoming more expensive to maintain, failure rates are higher, and they limit scalability.
In the case of print environments–it’s print servers that haven’t aged well.
Print servers impair mobility and simply don’t keep up with current workforce demands. Not to mention, companies utilizing print servers are constantly looking over their shoulders in case of another PrintNightmare.
If you eliminate your print servers and move to a serverless cloud printing solution, your printing infrastructure receives an immediate security boost and opens the doors for integrations with modern software solutions.
How Does Secure Printing Work?
All print jobs start with the end user. When a user prints, their documents are left in the print tray–sometimes accidentally exposing confidential information. Sensitive information ranges from everyday payroll (Wait a sec…Doug makes how much?) to customer information. To steer clear of HR nightmares like these, it’s important to empower users to release print jobs when they are ready and eliminate the possibility of another person viewing it.
PrinterLogic offers Secure Release Printing with flexible methods to lock down your physical documents and ensure that only authorized users can release print jobs when they’re ready. Your confidential material is kept away from prying eyes and out of the hands of competitors, guests, or non-sanctioned employees. PrinterLogic’s Secure Release Printing feature gives users many different kinds of release methods to suit a variety of print environments:
- Badge: Release print jobs with the simple swipe of a badge or card.
- Smartphone App: Allows users of iOS and Android devices to quickly and securely release print jobs, eliminating the need for a badge scan release system.
- ID/PIN: Log in and release print jobs from your printer’s LCD control panel via Active Directory login or PIN Authentication.
- Web Browser: Enables any device with browser access to connect to PrinterLogic’s web-based application to release print jobs securely.
How Can Hybrid Workers Print Securely?
A study by Quocirca found that employee-owned home printers were ranked as a bigger security threat than office printers by IT decision-makers. For workers that need to print, it’s easy (and cheap) to stroll over to the local shop and buy a printer to get the job done. The downfall is these printers usually go unmanaged and create new attack vectors for hackers, especially since most individuals don’t maintain proper firmware updates like an IT professional would. Organizations need a solution that is promotes office printer usage, requires minimal maintenance, and lets workers send jobs to an office printer without information being exposed.
PrinterLogic’s Off-Network Printing feature fills the security gaps created by hybrid and contingent workforces by providing convenient access to printers and allowing workers to print securely to a printer behind your organization’s firewall, regardless of which network they are on. The feature also promotes collaboration with office staff and moves away from old-school workarounds like sending emails, third-party printing services, or even mailing a document. Users can hold the print job until they or a collaborator goes to the printer and authenticates it, maintaining documents confidentiality.
A Flexible and Secure All-In-One Solution
The best solutions are the ones that work behind the scenes, require little-to-no time to learn, and are designed to grow with an organization. Using PrinterLogic SaaS as your secure printing solution you gain access to a ton of additional benefits that help you maximize savings and give you optimal visibility over your entire printer fleet with minimal effort and maintenance for IT teams.
Even better, secure printing with PrinterLogic is independent of any device manufacturer, giving you the freedom to work with your existing devices or migrate to any manufacturer you choose in the future while still enjoying the benefits of our secure print solution.