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About Cloud Delivery

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Cloud print delivery, the “Printer pulls jobs from cloud” print delivery protocol within PaperCut Hive introduces an infrastructureless, Zero Trust network paradigm for print job execution. When enabled for a printer, cloud print delivery significantly enhances security and simplifies administrative overhead compared to traditional print delivery models.

Read on to learn more about how print delivery works in PaperCut Hive — and whether cloud print delivery is a good fit for your organization.

Evolution of print delivery mechanisms in PaperCut Hive

PaperCut Hive and Pocket currently offer two primary mechanisms for print job delivery via the local client:

  • Autopilot: This feature leverages intelligent automation to dynamically determine the optimal print job routing through available local clients.
  • Print Delivery Profiles: Administrators can define specific client or network associations for individual printers, enabling granular control over print job distribution.

Introducing Cloud print delivery: an infrastructureless approach

Cloud print delivery augments these existing print delivery capabilities by providing a third, infrastructure-independent option. When enabled, the printer app can pull the print job directly from the cloud, without the need for a local client.

Cloud print delivery removes reliance on on-premises infrastructure, facilitating a Zero Trust network environment where direct client-to-printer communication is not required. Key benefits include:

  • Eliminating print server dependency: administrators don’t need to maintain and manage dedicated print servers.
  • Reduced client dependency: there’s no requirement for an always-on local client to support print release.
  • Direct Cloud Node communication: print job delivery occurs in direct communication with the cloud node, bypassing local clients in the primary print path.
  • Optional local client fallback: local clients can be retained as a secondary or tertiary print delivery mechanism, providing redundancy and fault tolerance. Where local clients have been specified in a Print Delivery Profile, these clients are used.
  • Enhanced administrative control: administrators gain comprehensive control over the print job delivery process.

Zero Trust network compatibility

Cloud print delivery is particularly advantageous in Zero Trust network environments where direct client-to-printer communication is prohibited. In such scenarios, the printer can securely retrieve print jobs directly from the cloud, maintaining network segmentation and security integrity.

How to set up Cloud Delivery

It only takes a few easy steps to set up Cloud Delivery for a specific printer. The settings are per-printer setting — you cannot copy them across to other printers.

Select and check the printer

Ensure the printer you want to set up is capable of being set up for Cloud Delivery.

  1. Log in to the PaperCut Hive admin console.
  2. In the left menu, click Printers.
  3. In the Printer list, select a printer that is one of the listed brands that explicitly supports Cloud Delivery.
  4. Click the printer. The side panel is displayed.
  5. Click the Apps tab.
  6. Confirm that the latest version of the embedded application is installed.
  7. Leave the panel open ready for the next steps.

Set up the printer for Cloud Delivery

  1. Click the Advanced tab.
  2. In the Print delivery methods section, change the setting from Default to Custom.
  3. In the Primary method dropdown, select the Printer pulls job from cloud protocol.
  4. If an information alert appears, carefully read and follow any manual actions or instructions provided. These actions are necessary to complete the setup.
  5. Click Save changes to apply your settings.
    Cloud print delivery is now configured for the selected printer.

We recommend you configure fallback options so that if the Cloud Delivery option encounters issues, your organization still has printing functionality.

If you have active/online local clients in your network, set up secondary or tertiary print protocol options. Note that fallback options are not compatible with a Zero Trust setup.

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