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PRINT.IT
0870 903 9500
Mobile Print
PrintMe too
EFI has launched an enterprise mobile printing solution for printing
Microsoft Office files, PDFs, images files, web pages and other
common documents from any make of tablet or smartphone. EFI
claims that PrintMe Mobile can be set up to deliver mobile printing
on any printer connected to an enterprise’s network in as few as
20 minutes. Users do not have to leave the application they are
working in; receive print-outs with the correct lay-outs and fonts;
and have a choice of printing options – over WiFi (Direct to Print);
by email to a printer's email address; or by secure release to print.
Back where it belongs
Xerox PrintBack is a free
desktop agent and app that
allows users of iOS and Android-
based smartphones and
tablets to print to the printer
they normally use wherever
they are. It supports common
office file types; uses the print
driver settings installed on
your computer, such as duplex;
and takes advantage of the
connection it establishes
between a mobile device and
computer to save documents or
photos in the PC's Downloads
folder or Dropbox account. In
order for PrintBack to work,
the user requires an online
service that transports the
document from your mobile to
your PC. Xerox recommends
Dropbox, but you could also use
a dedicated web-based email
account.
Brother has all bases covered
The growing range of mobile print options is well represented on Brother’s
new inkjet all-in-ones for home workers and small businesses. These include
Airprint for driverless printing from Apple iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches;
support for Google Cloud Print, which allows users to print from any Google
Cloud Print-enabled web, desktop or mobile app; and Brother’s own Web
Connect solution for PC-free scanning to and printing from web services such
as Flickr, Facebook, Google Docs, Dropbox and Picasa. In addition, Brother’s
new models feature its established iPrint&Scan app and the popular Cortado
device agnostic mobile printing solution.
The new canon uniflow app
allows iPad users to print pull
jobs down to any network-
connected printer
Pay As You Go internet access via
750 kiosks in airports, passenger
ferries and shopping centres
in Ireland, France, the UK and
Belgium: 350 of these also offer
printing services via HP LaserJets
and the PrinterOn secure print
application, which lets users
send print jobs to the email
address displayed on the side
of a printer and output them by
entering the supplied PIN release
code. The HP ePrint Service app
means that mobile workers can
now submit print jobs to Swiftbox
sites remotely.
Mobile printing in the
enterprise
The solutions outlined above
meet individuals’ mobile
printing needs, but what about
businesses? According to
an InfoTrends report,
Mobile
Knowledge Workers: Emerging
Opportunities (February 2011)
,
56% of US CIOs are considering
implementing a mobile print
solution. In this context,
any offering must combine
convenience for mobile workers
with the high levels of security,
monitoring and management
required of any enterprise
application.
HP has solutions in this
space, but in this instance, let’s
consider the new version of
uniflow (version 5.1). Offering
fully integrated driverless
printing, Canon’s print
management software allows
corporate workers to email print
jobs from their mobile device
into the uniflow secure print
queue via the enterprise wireless
network. Because mobile printing
features are fully integrated, print
jobs are controlled, accounted for
and released just as if they had
been sent from a network PC.
As well as printing email
messages and/or attachments
(more than 300 file formats
are supported), uniflow 5.1 can
access and print documents
stored in cloud repositories, such
as Google Docs and Sharepoint
Online. Because it keeps multiple
identifiers for registered users,
e.g. email log-ins and usernames
and passwords for cloud services,
it can follow a link, log in to a
user’s account, pull down the
document they need and add it to
the print queue.
Guest printing
Uniflow 5.1 also supports both
ad hoc and regular mobile
printing by guests through its
ability to support one-off release
codes and PIN identification.
In the interests of security
and ease of use, this is done
without a connection to the
company network, yet with all
the job tracking and controls that
uniflow provides. For example,
an administrator could limit the
number of pages each guest can
print or restrict functionality so
that a guest could not scan-to-
email.
In an ad hoc printing scenario,
a hotel guest could email a print
job to uniflow, which would send
back a one-time release code,
instructions on how to output the
email message/attachments and
the price. Because mobile printing
is fully integrated into uniflow,
the cost could be automatically
added to the guest’s bill.
To meet the needs of users
with more regular printing needs,
such as an agency worker who
might be on-site for weeks,
an administrator could set up
an account and assign them
a permanent PIN code, which
would release any print job when
input on a print device. This
approach, says Canon, is of great
interest to local authorities that
in an attempt to make better use
of their resources are looking to
share hot desks and printers with
emergency services and other
public sector workers.
Alternatively, a user could
submit print jobs via a web
browser or, for laptop users, via
NT-ware’s internet printer driver.
uniflow app
Another new addition is a
uniflow app for iPads and
iPhones (an Android version is
in the pipeline) that significantly
extends the capabilities of the
system by allowing users to
access a web-based print queue
via the iPad/iPhone and release
a job on-screen, rather than by
inputting a release code on the
printer itself. This means that
jobs can be output on single-
function printers that don’t have
keypads or touchscreen displays
for data entry, as long as you
know the address of the printer
you want to use. Alternatively,
you could identify the printer to
the system using QR codes and
the iPad camera.
Another useful feature of the
uniflow iPad app is the ability
to open a print job in the print
queue and select finishing
options, which cannot be done
if you simply access the uniflow
print queue via a web browser.
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