Technology plays a critical role in today’s universities, with both staff and students relying on their laptops and tablets for work and study. But physical printing hasn’t gone away either, be it research papers, assignments, worksheets, lesson plans, and administrative paperwork.
However, modern campus printing services must rapidly evolve to support a growing hybrid learning environment and a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) student body. The days of saving files to a USB stick and taking them to a printing lab are well and truly behind us.
This means IT teams must focus on upgrading their aging print systems to improve reliability, scalability, and security.
Enter cloud print solutions: remote printing enabled by cloud technology. Instead of needing direct access to a specific computer or printer, staff and students can send their documents to a virtual print server and then print from any network-connected printer.
A growing number of universities are migrating their print environments to the cloud to enhance operational efficiency, reduce server dependencies, and support BYOD printing in hybrid learning models.
And while the costs of investing in new tech used to be prohibitively high, now there are affordable and user-friendly cloud print management solutions tailored for educational environments.
Achieving campus-wide visibility and control through centralized print management
With centralized print management, IT teams can remotely manage the print fleet from a single console. This superpower gives IT admins total visibility and control over the university’s entire print environment across all users, devices, and campuses.
Because the IT department can see who prints what, how much, and when, they’re able to allocate print resources more effectively and enforce print policies such as quotas and restrictions on color printing.
Eliminating print server sprawl to streamline campus-wide operations
Cloud-based infrastructure enables serverless printing. Removing the need for regular maintenance and updates of on-site print servers not only saves universities time and money (from $5,000 to over $20,000 per server per year, according to some estimates), but it also streamlines administration of campus-wide print operations.
What’s more, global print queues free IT teams from the task of installing individual print drivers and coordinating multiple queues – reducing the administrative burden.
Supporting flexible, device-agnostic printing with BYOD strategies
So long, old-fashioned print labs! Cloud printing lets users upload documents directly to a virtual server and centralized queue, allowing them to print from any device, be it a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, with an internet connection.
This flexibility means that universities can offer a seamless BYOD experience. With secure release print functionality, students and staff can pick up their print job at any time from the most convenient printer, so they’re not left wandering around the campus looking for a missing document.
This also enables print-anywhere access to support a hybrid learning environment.
Scaling IT resources effectively in response to fluctuating student populations
One of the key challenges for university IT departments is that student populations tend to fluctuate, along with their printing needs. Because cloud-based systems can scale up and down, they are completely adaptable to changing numbers of users and print volumes throughout the academic year. Printers can be added and removed automatically, without requiring additional IT resources or infrastructure.
Improving user experience through intuitive, app-based printing workflows
With cloud print management software embedded in every multifunction printer, the user experience is exactly the same. Every. Single. Time.
Staff and students can print, scan, and share files effortlessly from any device, without having to waste time working out how to operate the printer. Intuitive, app-based printing workflows make document management much more efficient, as well as reducing errors which lead to print waste.
Reducing security vulnerabilities through secure, serverless print workflows
In universities, safeguarding staff and student privacy is a top priority. Modern cloud print management solutions provide additional layers of security including:
- Data encryption. Print jobs are securely transmitted to the printer, ensuring data remains protected.
- Access controls. Secure print release means that only authorized users can retrieve documents from the printer.
- Audit trails. IT admins can trace every print job, making it easier to prevent data breaches and meet compliance.
Simplifying IT support with self-service printing and automatic driver deployment
Managing print drivers, queues, and users across a large fleet of printers can be incredibly complex and time-consuming. Cloud print management automates the deployment of print drivers and queues, so IT staff won’t need to configure individual devices.
Plus, with self-service printing and a simplified user experience, your IT team are likely to spend less time and energy responding to print-related support requests.
Enhancing sustainability efforts with smarter cloud print infrastructure
What’s good for your university AND great for the planet? Cloud printing! When left unchecked, excessive printing can lead to major paper, ink, toner, and energy waste.
But centralized print management enables your IT team to identify inefficiencies and excessive printing – leading to more effective print policies that reduce your university’s environmental impact.
And secure print release requires users to authenticate themselves at the printer, so unwanted or duplicate print jobs never actually get printed. As universities focus more on reducing their paper footprint, every page saved makes a difference.
By adopting cloud printing, universities can streamline the printing experience for students, staff, and administrators alike – delivering a flexible, user-friendly service that seamlessly integrates into everyday campus life.
Cloud print management enhances security, boosts efficiency, and promotes sustainability, helping reduce waste and encourage responsible printing. And by giving students and faculty the freedom to print from anywhere – whether on or off campus – universities can provide a modern hybrid and BYOD learning environment that leads to better educational outcomes.
It’s no wonder so many universities are making the switch to the cloud!
