What is cloud print?

At its most basic level, the cloud is just a way to describe the concept of a big online storage and service space – one you can access from anywhere, as long as you have the internet.

Instead of running your print server on-premise, or storing your data in a hard drive, everything’s managed through ‘the cloud’, which is really just a bunch of super-secure computers, located in data centres all over the world.

Fun fact: It’s called the ‘cloud’ because, when people first drew diagrams of computer networks, they used fluffy cloud shapes to represent all the connections you (the user) couldn’t see.

By shifting your print environment to the cloud, you can ditch those expensive, bulky, hard-to-maintain print servers.

Cloud print services tend to be cheaper to maintain than on-premise ones.

We’ve broken this down in more detail here

With centralized management, and the ability to sync print drivers automatically, cloud print is a dream for IT departments.

Cloud printing comes with automatic software fixes and level-ups right out of the box. It’s also super scalable.

Ease-of-use is underrated. With cloud print, users can have the same print experience from any location or device, as long as they’ve got internet access.

There are a bunch of reasons people move their print environments to the cloud: easier administration, centralized print management, fewer overheads, and security. But most of them come down to cost.

Although they require a regular subscription payment, cloud print services generally work out much cheaper than on-premise solutions. There’s no upfront investment in hardware, no costly server maintenance, and most services are offered on a pay-as-you-go model, which gives your finance team some flexibility.

Are you planning on moving your print solution to the cloud? If so, great! You’ll be joining most of the big companies out there. Before you pull the trigger though, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.

Check out our comprehensive Cloud Print Migration guide for more information.

Not sure if you’re ready for that big cloud migration? That’s okay. It can be a daunting prospect. Here are a few questions to help steer you in the right direction:

• What IT infrastructure do you currently have, and how is it running?
• What are your future plans, in terms of scaling your print environment?
• Are your servers on-site, or in a separate data centre?
• Do you own the data centre, or are you renting it? What are the ongoing costs?
• Are you looking for simple cloud hosting, or an end-to-end cloud print management solution?
• Do you currently have third party integrations that need to be factored in?

The answers to these questions will help you decide if you’re ready for cloud print.

The cloud isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing. In fact, when it comes to cloud printing, there are technically four ways you can go. None of these are ‘best’ as such. It’s more about what’s best for you.

Private cloud, public cloud, hybrid models…they all have their pros and cons. It’s all about what your business needs.

Just to confuse you further, there’s also a big difference between the ‘public’ and ‘private’ cloud. This basically comes down to who owns the cloud space, and who gets to use it.

The private cloud, as we mentioned above, is a cloud environment dedicated entirely to one organization. It’s your own private little bit of cyber real estate. Private cloud setups can be hosted on your premises (for extra security) or by a provider.

If the public cloud is owning an apartment in a big building, the private cloud is owning a house – with a big fence, and no noisy neighbours.

Private cloud environments tend to be more purpose-built, which means they’re more customizable. This is great for complex organizations that need a bespoke solution. And while all cloud technology is safe, private clouds are extra safe, which makes them the go-to choice for many finance, healthcare and government organizations, who really need top-level security.

Key features

• Exclusive use: All the cloud resources are reserved for you. No sharing.
• More expensive: Private clouds come with a premium price tag.
• Customizable: Design your ultimate cloud print environment.

Pros

• Dedicated resources and infrastructure.
• The highest level of cloud control and security.
• Ability to scale without purchasing additional hardware.

Cons

• You’ll need a sysadmin, if one’s not provided by the CSP.
• Same security as on-premise servers, but often a bit slower.
• More costly to setup and maintain than an out-of-the-box public solution.

‘Single tenant’ and ‘multi-tenant’ are two other terms you’ll hear thrown around, and they’re more-or-less another way of saying ‘private’ vs ‘public’ cloud. In their simplest terms, single tenant cloud apps represent one application instance per customer, whereas multi-tenant means you share that resource.

Multi-tenant cloud apps include everything from Salesforce to Office 365 to GSuite. They’re usually cloud-hosted and managed for you, and most of them run on an SaaS, pay-as-you-go model. PaperCut MF (in its default config) is a single tenant application, whether you host it on-premises or the cloud. Our cloud-native products, on the other hand, like PaperCut Pocket and PaperCut Hive, are built from the ground-up as SaaS/multi-tenant applications.

Neither single tenant or multi-tenant is better, per say. They’ve both got their pros and cons.

Pros

• Lots of control over admin, security and data segmentation.
• Can be hosted (if built with Web Services).
• Usually browser-based and easy to use.

Cons

• More expensive to set up and maintain.
• Limited scalability, at least compared to multi-tenant apps.
• More hands-on IT involvement than multi-tenant applications.

Pros

• Very cost efficient, with a flexible pay-as-you-go model.
• Quick scaling and super elastic infrastructure.
• Regular updates, fixes and new feature rollouts.

Cons

• Limited customization. Generally it’s one-size-tries-to-fit-all.
• Compliance and data privacy concerns.
• Performance is dependent on a bunch of external factors.

Cloud print migration is simply the act of moving your existing print infrastructure onto the cloud. Whether that’s a self-hosted or multi-tenant cloud setup, doesn’t matter. Most of the steps are the same.

Migrating from on-premise print servers to a self-hosted cloud environment requires a lot of planning (check out this article for more info).

Here are the basics:

Going from on-premise to fully-hosted cloud print services can be a bit of a shock. You’re giving up maximum control for a multi-tenant, third party solution. Here’s how to do it.

These are the basic steps you’ll need to take to complete a cloud migration with PaperCut.

We’ve gone into each one in more detail over here.

Preparation phase

• Set up and test the print queues on the new server.
• Install the same version of PaperCut on both servers.
• Review and copy the server properties file to the new server.
• Migrate other PaperCut components, as needed.

Cutover phase

• Inform users of the scheduled downtime for the migration.
• Deactivate the installation on your old server.
• Migrate the database to the new PaperCut server.
• Apply your licence or subscription to the new server.
• Power off the old server, or disable the network interface.

Technically speaking, we should also draw a line between software that enables printing via the cloud, and software that helps you manage printing via the cloud. They sound similar, but they perform very different functions.

Cloud print or cloud printing: When you hear cloud print, you’re really talking about cloud print enablement. That’s any software or service that lets you remote print over the internet via the cloud.

Cloud print management: this is the next level on top. Cloud print management refers to the tracking, monitoring and admin of cloud print environments. This is your cloud print dashboard.

Before you do anything else, ask yourself: are you looking for a simple solution that lets you print via the cloud (in which case, say hello to PaperCut Mobility Print) or are you looking for software to help you juggle cloud print user settings, print queues, server loads, print quotas and so on? Or how about both?

If you decide to pull the trigger on cloud print management, you need a solution that’s cost effective, easy to use, secure, scalable and compatible with everything. Those are the boxes most organizations are looking to tick.

The thing is, a lot of public cloud print solutions can be slow, insecure, and tie you down to a specific manufacturer. So it’s worth doing your research and chatting to as many vendors as possible. Start with us.

Cloud print management is the process of controlling, monitoring and optimizing an organization’s print environment through a cloud-based platform. So what does that actually mean?

1. Well, first printers are connected to a cloud print management platform via a software connector, firmware update, or direct integration.
2. Once they’re registered, the platform identifies each printer’s capabilities (e.g. color printing or duplex) and makes those available to authorized users.
3. To print a document, users must first login to the print management platform, usually through some combination of password, single sign-on (SSO) or PIN code.
4. Once they’re authenticated, users can send print jobs from their device to the cloud platform through a simple interface or mobile app.
5. The job is queued by the print management software, encrypted at both ends, and routed to the appropriate printer.
6. In an ideal world, users release their print jobs at the MFD by authenticating themselves again. This is known as secure print release.
7. While all this is going on, the platform provides your IT department with real-time analytics on print volumes, user trends, cost breakdowns and even environmental metrics, like ink and toner levels.

The idea is to give your organization maximum control over their print environment, all from one, centralized location (your print management dashboard). Short version: print management software is like the middle man, sitting somewhere between the user, their device, the cloud server and the printer. It’s the thing that keeps the print environment running smoothly.

Before cloud printing came along, complex print environments were exclusively handled by on-premise print servers (and some very stressed IT teams).

It’s funny though, while cloud technology gained traction across the internet, printing remained largely a physical, on-premise thing for a long time. It’s only in the last few years that we’ve seen most companies jump on the cloud print wagon.

Why? Well, partly this was down to bureaucratic stuff, like fixed terms leases on commercial printers. But it’s also been a cultural shift. Organizations have now fully embraced the cloud in almost every other area of business: it only made sense for printers to be next.

Simplified IT management: With your entire print environment on a single dashboard, your IT department can manage all printers, devices, users and queues from one convenient location. A huge time-saver. Couple that with automatic updates, and the fact sysadmins don’t have to spend their days wrangling physical print servers, and you can see why the cloud starts to look quite attractive.

Cost efficiency: Replacing your on-premise servers with a cloud-based solution means lower hardware, energy and maintenance costs, which is always nice. The added benefit of print management is that you start to really track your costs, and that leads to more efficient printing. With PaperCut, for example, you can see which departments are eating up your budget, adjust print quotas, and set duplex printing as default.

Enhanced security: This one’s not a slam dunk, since technically on-premise print infrastructure offers a greater level of hands-on physical control. But cloud printing, in general, comes with a host of great security features you won’t find anywhere else: end-to-end data encryption, user authentication and multi-factor ID, detailed audit trails of every single print job, secure print release, digital watermarks, real time intrusion detection, and more.

Increased flexibility: You can’t predict the future, and more and more organizations are valuing flexibility above all else when it comes to print infrastructure. Cloud printing not only supports remote and hybrid print environments, allowing staff to print from anywhere, on any device, but it also offers great out-of-the-box BYOD support, plus simple scalability, if you need to bring on more servers. Don’t forget the convenient pay-as-you-go SaaS model, either.

Environmental sustainability: The cloud isn’t exactly carbon neutral (some estimates say the cloud now has a bigger footprint than the airline industry) but it can help you print less, which is always good for ESG. Cloud-friendly features like pull printing, print quotas, consumable alerts, automated resupply and print tracking will help you print more efficiently. And efficient printing is sustainable printing.

Education institutions (schools, universities and so on) face a few unique challenges when it comes to their print environment. For one thing, there are distinct user classes (students, faculty, guests etc.) and each one needs its own print permissions and usage quotas. Printing tends to be highly dispersed, too, with big campuses, lots of MFDs, and remote printing going on ‘round the clock. Lastly, you have to factor in seasonal server loads, like around exam time, when everyone’s trying to print at once. Mix this all together and you’ve got a seriously complex print environment.

Here’s how to know if your school or university is suited for cloud printing:

Want to learn even more about cloud printing? We admire your stamina. For more in-depth info on how to get started, check out our free Cloud Printing eBook.

It’s got everything you ever wanted to know about cloud printing (and probably some stuff you didn’t)