Pull printing is catching on throughout many industries as a means to boost the security of printed documents and cut down on waste. Let's take a deeper look at how pull printing works and why it may be a good solution for your organization.
When a normal print job is ordered by an end user, the job typically goes to the printer and prints right away. Pull printing is when submitted print jobs are held in a secure print queue rather than being sent immediately to the printer to process the job.
Once a print job is placed with pull printing, the job is stored in the secure print queue where it will remain until the end user goes to release the job. End users are typically required to provide authentication in order to retrieve the job either through an admin, app, ID card, or some other means. This enables end users to release their held print job on their own time and when they have the availability to retrieve it.
In the world of remote/hybrid work, security has become an ever increasing concern for businesses. Computers are not the only thing being targeted in cyberattacks, hackers are also setting their sights on printers as an entry point into business's databases. Pull printing is one way to add an extra layer of security to your environment.
Pull printing requires authentication for the end user to retrieve their print job which provides a boost to your organization's data protection. Other than your admins, only the desired end user will be able to release the held print job. This is especially important for organizations who process a lot of sensitive information such as the healthcare and legal industries.
Additionally, pull printing can help to decrease the amount of print waste an organization has. Users in large offices may not know which printer they sent their print job to. When they go to get their printed document, they may not be able to locate it and attempt a second print job leading to wasted paper and toner. Pull printing ensures the end user has access to their desired printer and that the job will be held until the user is ready to release it, thus cutting down on print waste.
The upcoming release of ScrewDrivers v7.4 will include pull printing capabilities built off of our previous Hold and Release feature. After a print job is submitted, it will become a held job until the user decides to release it. An end user can open ScrewDrivers printers on any platform (including mobile), see jobs that they have held, and release the print job to any printer they are assigned. All print jobs are set by default to expire after 24 hours as a part of our held print job cleanup that aims to eliminate waste and improve security for your organization. Admins are able to extend or alter the length of time until a print job expires as well in order to help manage abandoned print jobs.
Learn more about our enterprise print management solution by checking out how ScrewDrivers Enterprise works today and stay tuned for our upcoming release!