Posted by Brian Wistisen

Every system needs a periodic review to make sure it’s still functioning as intended. It’s a given that inefficiencies will arise over time, and that improvements that were greeted so enthusiastically five years ago are starting to look outdated and restrictive now. Solutions that seemed like the best thing at the time could be suboptimal. And that includes print-management solutions.

In enterprise print management, traditional print architectures like print servers are being abandoned in favor of next-generation print-management solutions that are able to better serve organizations. That doesn’t just mean providing organizations with scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. It also means giving them access to advanced features like secure pull printing and mobile/BYOD printing—which are quickly becoming essential components of any print environment.

To determine whether or not your own enterprise print-management solution is starting to hold your organization back, it helps to match its performance against a set of criteria. What follows is a short checklist for print-management solutions. These are questions that you can ask yourself to better understand if your current solution is able to meet your organization’s existing and anticipated needs.

How much printing downtime are you experiencing? This is a basic metric of any enterprise print-management solution. If printing is regularly stopped by server crashes, spooler hangs or rogue drivers, something needs to change. You’d be surprised how this adds up in terms of lost productivity.

There’s a better alternative to conventional print-management solutions. Through its rock-solid direct-IP printing model, reliable printer deployment and real-time reporting, PrinterLogic delivers the stability necessary to ensure uninterrupted printing on the enterprise scale. More than three-quarters of more than 200 customers surveyed last year reported that they cut printing downtime by 15% or more using PrinterLogic.

Is your print management solution future-proof? Common print-management solutions rely on a server model established more than two decades ago—a paradigm that didn’t factor in the hypergrowth of virtual environments, or the explosion in BYOD printing and secure pull printing. Without dozens of supplemental tweaks and add-ons, the print-server model doesn’t adapt well to our security conscious, mobile-oriented modern workplace.

PrinterLogic offers optional modules for pull printing and mobile printing that integrate seamlessly into any print environment and can be activated at any time. These modules provide your organization with powerful, easy-to-use secure printing and BYOD/guest printing.

What kind of infrastructure is required? Distributed organizations often place one or more print servers in each remote location, driving up the costs of maintenance and management. Centralized and virtualized systems can be less expensive on paper, but they bind all printing functions to one vulnerable point on the network and come with their own share of caveats, such as increased reliance on the WAN.

It’s possible to retain all your existing printing functionality while leaving print servers behind. PrinterLogic’s next-generation print-management solution is able to eliminate print servers through its unique approach of centrally managed direct IP printing. This solution provides full-featured printing with minimal footprint requirements. There’s even a software-as-a-service (SaaS) option called PrinterCloud for true cloud-based printing with the same benefits.

What do your users have to say? End-user confidence is an overlooked evaluation tool but an important one. Printing is an essential function in any workplace, and users are your biggest asset in print management. When users are unable to print because deployments are unreliable and printer mapping is too complicated for them, it can be detrimental to morale.

Try empowering your end users instead. Along with its user-friendly pull printing and mobile printing features, PrinterLogic features an intuitive self-service portal that enables end users to locate and install nearby printers (even in a virtual world) with a single click. Not only does this make end users happier and more self-sufficient, but it also reduces the burden on the tech support staff.

How scalable is it? Accommodating a growing user base by simply adding more infrastructure is expensive and counterproductive. It means more money spent on procuring, operating and eventually replacing hardware, as well as more time and effort spent on managing it.

Believe it or not, as far as print-management solutions go, less infrastructure can be more scalable. PrinterLogic scales infinitely without a corresponding increase in hardware. By using its centrally managed direct-IP printing, admins can easily control the settings on thousands of printers from a single pane of glass—and just by pushing out a single change.

Sign up for a demo today and test PrinterLogic as well as its pull printing and mobile printing options free of charge in your own print environment for an entire month. You’ll see how easy it is to migrate to a more stable, more future-proof, more user-friendly and more scalable print environment with PrinterLogic. Just as importantly, you’ll see how beneficial PrinterLogic is to your organization’s bottom line.

Posted by John Beuke

This article describes common security risks in network print infrastructures and explains how to secure your environment and reduce or eliminate the many vulnerabilities associated with print servers and multifunction devices (MFDs) or printers.

Background

In July 2018, the Ponemon Institute released 2018 Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Overview, its thirteenth annual study on the cost of data-breach incidents. The research showed the increasing upward trend in the global costs of data breaches. For example, the average total cost of a data breach was estimated to be $3.86 million.

The causes of a data breach can be narrowed to two general types: intentional and accidental. Intentional breaches occur when a malicious actor, either inside or outside the organization, gains access to sensitive data and exploits it. An accidental breach, which is more common, occurs when the actor mistakenly releases the information.

Given the many recent advances in cybersecurity, one might assume that the prevention of both types of data breaches is improving. Unfortunately, the increasing complexity of technology and the rate at which it is evolving means the opposite is true.

Creating a Secure Print Infrastructure

Every time a document or form is copied or printed, sensitive data can be accidentally exposed or intentionally compromised. It is our recommendation that the following steps be implemented to create a more secure print infrastructure.

Eliminate single points of vulnerability
Most print servers and print-management software hold jobs waiting to be printed in a centralized location. Removing this central repository reduces the risk of a single-vector attack. Documents should instead be held locally at the user’s workstation until the print job is executed at the printer. This distributes any associated risk over many attack vectors; any exposure would therefore likely be limited to the user’s local workstation and not the entire enterprise.

Eliminate single points of failure
Should the print server(s) or communication with these servers fail for any reason, printing comes to a standstill until the issue is resolved. This results in lost productivity for users as well as for IT administrators, who are forced to abandon other priorities and redirect their focus on restoring print capabilities.

Our recommendation for this issue, as well as the single point of vulnerability noted above, is to eliminate print servers altogether by transitioning to a centrally managed direct-IP printing model, such as the one that PrinterLogic offers with its advanced print-management solution.

Centrally audit print activity
Centrally auditing print activity involves establishing a system whereby printers store information of their respective print-job history in a common database. In the event of a breach, this database would facilitate the identification of any printing device and user affected by the breach.

PrinterLogic’s print-management solution has built-in print auditing capabilities. This feature comprehensively tracks all print data across the print network by default enabling administrators to pinpoint print-related network events that involve a specific user or device.

Implement secure print release
It’s estimated that 15-20 percent of printed documents end up abandoned and are left in the print tray. This means anyone can walk by and gain access to sensitive data before it is retrieved by the owner of the document. By contrast, secure print release employs a methodology in which only the user who printed the job is authorized to release (i.e., execute) the job.

We recommend implementing secure print release functionality as found in PrinterLogic’s print-management solution. This feature enables users to print and retrieve their documents securely and conveniently using common authorization protocols.

Enforce role-based access control
It is critical from a security perspective that granularized access control be applied to multifunction devices (MFDs) and printers. This means that the printing devices must likewise support the restriction of features and capabilities of an authenticated user on the basis of group policy membership.

We recommend the implementation of strict role-based access control alongside print-management software and printing hardware (e.g., MFDs, printers) that natively support this practice.

Apply cryptographic standards
All print data must be encrypted to ensure that any compromised data will be difficult to access. These encryption standards include the federal government’s FIPS 140-2 standard, along with other standards used in encryption services.

The PrinterLogic solution is compliant with HSPD-12 and compliance-pending with the FIPS 140-2 standard. We expect to receive compliance verification by the end of 2018. PrinterLogic will meet the security requirements for cryptologic modules used by the U.S. military. We use TLS V1.2 for all print management and related data in motion (DIM) between workstations and the PrinterLogic Web Stack (formerly Printer Installer) Server.

Supported printers are configured to utilize FIPS 140-2 accredited Open SSL/TLS FIPS Object Modules—including AES and RSA for data at rest and data in motion. Data at rest (DAR) is protected using the Windows operating system and not the PrinterLogic software.

Digitally sign print jobs to ensure document integrity
For true end-to-end print security, we recommend that all print jobs are digitally signed at the point of print. PrinterLogic’s advanced software validates the print job by comparing hash values and the digital certificate obtained from the smart card prior to releasing the job.

Conclusion

Given the increasing cost of preventable data breaches, it is vital for organizations to take immediate and active steps to minimize risk by limiting and protecting potential access points on their print network. The costs of penalties and settlements, as well as indirect repercussions that stem from failing to secure printers, can be significant, even catastrophic.

PrinterLogic provides a single integrated software package that incorporates device-agnostic printer and driver management as well as secure printing with CAC/PIV authentication. This solution facilitates printing compliance by adding a layer of security and control that uses robust, automated security protocols that cannot be circumvented. As a result, PrinterLogic reduces the risks inherent in existing print infrastructures, corrects non-compliance, and helps companies and agencies avoid the penalties and other costs of data breaches.

To see for yourself how PrinterLogic’s next-generation print management solution can provide your organization with a secure print infrastructure that is also highly flexible and infinitely scalable, sign up for the free 30-day demo today.

Posted by Chris Poole

If your organization has multiple locations and relies on print servers, chances are your printing environment resembles one of these three scenarios:

A Centralized Print Network: This approach localizes all print-job processing in one place. Print jobs initiated at remote branches travel across the WAN to the central print server, and then route back to the local printer. If this process or route fails for any reason, so does the print job. A centralized server introduces a single point of failure for the entire printing environment. If that centralized print server goes down, print productivity and performance across the enterprise takes a big hit.

A Distributed Print Network: A distributed approach routes print traffic through a web of distributed print servers. This configuration is more resilient than a centralized network, but is harder to manage. Having discrete print servers at each location can create fragmentation. This lowers transparency and raises the burden on technical and support staff. Instead of managing one big print environment, IT has to maintain several microenvironments—each with its own distinct needs. Each must be updated and configured individually.

A Virtualized Print Network: Employing a VDI solution reduces hardware expense and increases security by keeping critical data protected in a data center. Printing in a VDI environment, however, is notoriously difficult and prone to user frustration. It increases print complexity, which can be especially taxing on IT. Print jobs have to be routed from within the virtual machine through a print server to a target printer. Each virtual machine must have the correct drivers applied. Printing delays are common, leading to systemic print productivity frustrations for end users. Advanced enterprise features such as secure pull printing are challenging to implement.

PrinterLogic is the one enterprise print-management solution that brings centralized control, improved performance, and ease of use to any print environment—without the drawbacks of a print server. Whether you prefer an on-premises or cloud-based solution, our next-generation print management software delivers unprecedented flexibility and gives you greater control over your printing environment, whether it is centralized, distributed, or virtualized.

PrinterLogic streamlines and enhances print management—anywhere in your organization—from a single pane of glass. Our web-based admin console lets you manage printers and drivers without group policy objects (GPOs) or scripts. From this same console you can alter printer settings, remove printers, and edit driver profiles.

It doesn’t matter if your home office is across the street, or across the ocean. As UW Health found out, managing network printing with PrinterLogic, even in VDI environments, is straightforward and efficient and improves print uptime across the board.

PrinterLogic is popular among end users, too. It includes a self-service portal with visual floor-plan maps so anyone can easily find and install printers on their own—without help-desk assistance. This feature is especially useful for roaming employees who travel between a main office and remote sites.

PrinterLogic’s unique approach to enterprise print management gives you the power to optimize your entire print environment in ways that you never thought possible. Whether you need an on-prem solution or a SaaS edition such as PrinterLogic SaaS (formerly PrinterCloud), we offer a free, full-featured demo and migration tool to help you test the solution in your environment. Try it for free for 30 days.

K-12 print environments have a unique set of end users and special requirements, and the print-management solutions they rely on should be up to the task. After all, how can you focus on educating and empowering the next generation when you’re busy wrestling with slow print jobs, cumbersome printer installations, and chronic issues with wasted consumables?

That’s why traditional print-management solutions, such as print servers or unmanaged direct IP, simply don’t cut it in K-12 environments. Even solutions like Google Cloud Print, which claim to offer ubiquitous mobile printing, aren’t always up to the challenges that come with a dynamic, highly transitional educational environment. Just consider some of their shortcomings:

Print servers are single points of failure
To save money on the costs of hardware maintenance and the time required to administer printers and drivers, IT decision-makers often end up consolidating their print infrastructure in a centralized print server.

The problem is this results in a vulnerable single point of failure. If a rogue driver or corrupted print job causes the spooler to crash, it can halt print activity for the entire organization. The inevitable consequence of widespread print downtime is a flood of help-desk calls, which places additional burdens on IT support staff and takes them off-task.

Traditional solutions aren’t equipped for mobile printing
Today’s K-12 environments are early adopters of mobile, cost-effective hardware like iPads and Chromebooks. Unfortunately, print servers and conventional direct-IP print-management solutions are ill-equipped to accommodate them.

IT ends up having to create detailed workarounds or specialized protocols in order to provide printing functionality, and students and teachers often have to jump through several hoops to send a PDF to a nearby printer—if they have that ability at all. Nor do mobile-oriented solutions like Google Cloud Print offer a seamless solution because they have drawbacks of their own, such as the expense of new Google Cloud Print enabled printers and limited cross-platform compatibility.

Print audit capabilities weak or missing in common solutions
There are a lot of reasons why K-12 environments need to conduct regular print audits. Security, for one. Cost control, for another. But many print-management solutions offer only barebones functionality—if they offer any at all. That makes it difficult for IT administrators to maintain the oversight they need over the print environment. Often they turn to bolt-on print-audit solutions to fill this gap, which drives up costs and can create additional print headaches when these solutions don’t mesh seamlessly with their existing print-management software.

PrinterLogic is ideal for K-12 environments
PrinterLogic’s next-generation print-management solution employs a unique combination of direct-IP printing and centralized management to provide a robust, scalable and easy-to-use printing experience that also provides seamless mobile printing and secure printing functionality. Advanced print auditing and reporting are included, too.

These features make PrinterLogic an ideal print-management solution for schools, where students are mobile, clients (e.g., mobile devices and workstations) are in constant flux, and security can’t come at the expense of printing speed and convenience.

Chromebook printing made cost-effective and easy
Chromebooks are cost-effective to buy, but expensive to administer when it comes to printing. What K-12 IT managers want an easy way to print from a Chromebook to existing network printers.

PrinterLogic is printer-agnostic and provides straightforward Chromebook printing to your existing printer fleet. This is set up centrally using the web-based Admin Console, where you can easily create a virtual printer in Google Cloud Print—or a local instance if using PrinterLogic SaaS (formerly PrinterCloud). Teachers and students see the printer as a single available queue on their device.

To use it, they click “Print,” select the “PrinterLogic Printer,” and send the print job. It works from any Chromebook web page or app that supports printing.

Integration with existing quota-management solutions
If you already use quota-management services like PaperCut, you can leave those print servers intact, and still get the benefits of how PrinterLogic manages printer and driver deployments effortlessly.

The Kennewick School District is just one K-12 organization that uses PrinterLogic to improve ease of management and print performance—while integrating seamlessly with PaperCut to retain their quota-management solution.

For more insights on how PrinterLogic can transform printing in K-12, download our white paper titled K-12 Classroom Secrets for Making Printers Easier to Manage and Turning Teachers into Raving Fans. The paper—which is grounded in a survey of education professionals—explains the challenges that face today’s K-12 print environments and how PrinterLogic can help.

Finally, be sure to request a free 30-day trial of PrinterLogic to test how it functions in your environment. With its rapid deployment, light footprint, easy printer and queue migration, as well as its advanced secure printing features, PrinterLogic can quickly upgrade your K-12 print performance while reducing help-desk costs and IT administrative overhead. Not mention how it will put smiles on the faces of teachers and staff.