You know about self-driving cars… but have you heard of driverless printing? Yes, the future of print management is here—it might not be transforming our roads, but it is changing the way we think about managing documents.
For universities, large print volumes take up a lot of time and effort (not to mention stress!) for IT admins. But driverless printing could be the answer to delivering secure printing with lower IT workloads—eliminating driver-related support issues and streamlining campus print services.
Let’s d(r)ive in!
The shift toward driverless printing in higher education
Driverless printing is revolutionizing the way universities handle print management, providing scalable and cost-effective solutions without some of the headaches associated with legacy systems. In higher education, print management is often a complex, time-consuming, and resource-intensive task. Universities need to support an enormous fleet of devices across large campuses and diverse student populations, providing a seamless print experience.
The rise of bring your own device (BYOD), remote, and mobile printing has complicated things further, as traditional print management systems rely on the manual installation of device-specific drivers and configurations. Allowing users to connect their own smartphone, tablet, or laptop to a campus network has traditionally caused a range of operational, security, and compliance challenges.
As a result, print drivers often contribute significantly to Help Desk calls, with users trying to work through compatibility issues from different operating systems and printer models. This explains why many universities are turning to driverless printing to simplify their processes, making it easier to integrate different devices into the printing network.
What is driverless printing?
In a nutshell, driverless printing is a modernized approach to print management that removes the need to install specific device drivers in order to print documents. In a traditional print environment, devices (such as laptops, computers, and smartphones) are connected to printers through shared print queues and servers, each with a specific driver that communicates with the printer. Printer drivers can not only cause compatibility issues, but they also require ongoing updates and troubleshooting from IT staff.
Driverless printing, on the other hand, is a flexible campus printing solution that works across multiple operating systems. It leverages universal print technologies—such as cloud-based services or print management platforms—to enable any device to connect to any printer, without needing to install specific drivers. By centralizing the management of print queues and ensuring seamless integration between devices and printers, driverless printing makes the process simpler, more efficient, and less prone to errors.
How driverless printing works in higher education IT
Now we’ve covered the basics, let’s get into how driverless printing works on campuses. Universities can integrate driverless printing with their existing networked print servers or cloud print solutions, allowing users to print from any location on or off-campus, whether they are using laptops, smartphones, or tablets.
This means users can send print jobs to any connected printer across the campus from wherever they are—whether they’re sitting in a lecture hall, in the library, studying at home, or grabbing a coffee. Once they hit “Send”, the printer receives the document through the cloud or centralized print server, processes it, and holds it. Using the secure print release feature, the student or staff member then goes to any printer on the network at any time that suits them, and authenticates themselves to release the printed document.
While IT admins remain responsible for configuring these systems, they won’t have the added workload of installing client software, printer drivers, and managing servers and user permissions. The result is a flexible, scalable solution that supports the diverse printing needs of the university while reducing complexity for both users and IT teams.
Benefits of driverless printing for IT sysadmins
- Reduced administrative burden. IT staff no longer need to maintain, update, and troubleshoot print drivers on every device.
- Streamlined print environment. IT admins don’t have to worry about ensuring that each device has the correct printer driver.
- Decreased tech support. With fewer errors and compatibility issues, driverless printing reduces the number of help desk requests.
- Centralized management. IT teams can monitor print jobs, track usage, and enforce print policies from a single dashboard, improving overall efficiency.
- Enhanced cost control. By delivering better visibility into print activity, driverless printing helps IT teams optimize print resources and manage costs more effectively.
Challenges and considerations before implementing driverless printing
Before you dive headfirst into driverless printing, there are a few things you’ll need to consider. One potential challenge is the compatibility of existing printers with driverless print solutions, as some older printers won’t support these systems or may require updates. You might need to factor in the cost of new hardware or upgrades before going driverless.
Ensuring secure authentication and access control can also be an issue in a driverless environment. Luckily, modern print management solutions typically come with advanced security features such as user authentication, secure print release, print tracking, and end-to-end data encryption—all designed to safeguard sensitive information and prevent unauthorized access to documents.
Universities also need to think about how they will manage the transition to driverless printing, as this requires careful planning, communication with students and staff, and a strategic approach to reduce disruption and downtime.
Will driverless printing become the new standard?
As universities embrace digital transformation and modernize their IT infrastructure, driverless printing will likely become the new standard for campus print management, especially in a BYOD and mobile-first environment. The increasing availability of cloud-based print solutions and devices supporting universal print protocols are key factors driving the widespread adoption of driverless printing in higher education.
While some universities may face challenges transitioning to driverless printing due to legacy systems, the long-term advantages make overcoming these constraints worthwhile. For the next generation of academic environments, driverless printing is set to provide an efficient, secure, and user-friendly solution that will shape the future of print management.
