Have you ever printed a document just to immediately realize it wasn’t finalized and ready to be printed? Have you ever printed a document with sensitive or confidential information (perhaps payroll) and you can’t get to the printer right away so it just sits there for anyone to see or accidentally grab? Have you ever walked past the printer to see a collection of unclaimed documents just sitting in the output tray? If you’ve ever experienced any of these scenarios and the frustration that comes along with them, it’s time to consider secure print release.
When it comes to printing documents prematurely or not being able to grab them straightaway, we’ve all been there. You hit print, then have to rush off to a meeting or jump on a call with a customer, and when you finally go to grab your document…it’s not there. Did someone take your document? Did it mysteriously disappear into the printer abyss? With secure print release, those days are over. Let’s dive a little deeper into secure print release and why it should be your new best friend.
What is Secure Print Release?
Secure print release, also known as pull printing or follow-me printing, is a security feature of print management software that prevents your print jobs from being printed automatically and immediately. Instead, they are held in a queue until you physically arrive at the printer and authenticate yourself. This authentication can be done through a PIN, a badge swipe, or even a mobile app.
Because your print job is held in a print queue, you don’t have to worry about if you sent your documents to the wrong printer or if your documents are left in the output tray for someone else to grab. You can simply walk up to any printer, and once you authenticate yourself, your print job will be released to that device. By requiring authentication before producing a printout, implementing secure print release puts the user in control and ensures that the person collecting the document is the owner of the document.
Why Should Organizations Use Secure Print Release?
There are several compelling reasons to embrace secure print release:
- Security: First and foremost, implementing print release ensures you are protecting all documents from being seen or picked up (either accidentally or intentionally) by unauthorized personnel.
- Cost Savings: Fewer reprints due to wasteful printing such as misplaced, forgotten, or accidental printouts means less spending on printing resources such as toner and paper.
- Accountability: Since users must authenticate themselves, secure print release practices foster a sense of accountability. It also helps organizations monitor print usage, track costs accurately, and encourage responsible printing behavior.
- User Experience: Users can select printers based on their convenience, enhancing user satisfaction and productivity.
- Sustainability: By requiring print jobs to be released at the printer, this minimizes waste on unnecessary printing and contributes to sustainability efforts.
What Industries Should Use Secure Print Release?
While secure print release should be used by an organization that is looking to increase security, cost savings, and sustainability around printing, there are a few industries that come to the top of mind where print release and the use of print management software should be an absolute must.
1. Education
K-12 schools and Higher Education universities are dealing with student records, student grades and scores, and a great deal of other confidential information on a daily basis. Secure print release can help to protect these sensitive documents. What’s more, it can be used to manage printing quotas/costs for staff and for students.
2. Healthcare
Hospitals and medical practices can utilize secure print release to ensure that are complying with HIPAA and other regulatory requirements that protect patient data and health information. It also enables medical staff to access printers that are most convenient to them, rather than having to run around to grab their printed documents.
3. Legal
Similar to Healthcare, law firms and legal offices can use print release to safeguard their confidential documents such as client files, contracts, and court documents. Tracking print activity and costs can also be very helpful in terms of billing back to clients.
4. Finance
Financial institutions such as banks, accounting organizations, and financial services firms can utilize print release to secure customer information, transactions, reports, and financial statements.
Getting Started with Secure Print Release
Secure print release is a great option for any organization that deals with sensitive information, wants to minimize wasteful printing, or maximize cost savings around printing. It’s a simple yet powerful tool that will improve your printing security, save you time, and save you headaches – so why not give it a try?
If you’re interested in learning more about our secure printing and print management offerings from Parmetech or you want to schedule a demo, give us a call at (800) 727-6383, send an email to info@parmetech.com, or connect with us online!
