If you’ve ever looked at your fleet of printers and sighed, “There must be an easier way to print!” then you need to know about centralized print management.
For businesses looking to streamline their print processes, reduce costs, and improve efficiency in their IT environments, secure centralized printing should be a top priority.
Centralized print management does exactly what it says on the tin; uses a single print management solution to monitor and control all printers from one location.
This is becoming an increasingly important strategy for simplifying and consolidating networked printers – especially for large and complex print environments with devices and users spread across multiple buildings and locations.
What is centralized print management and why should you care?
Centralized print management is a print solution that administers all your printing services from one platform, giving sysadmins complete visibility over print activity, and saving time, money, and resources.
Here are the key benefits of centralized print management:
- Track and monitor printing usage to identify and reduce waste
- Automatically manage, update, and deploy printer drivers
- Implement cost-saving measures like default duplex and black-and-white printing
- Set print quotas to prevent excessive or unauthorized printing
- Re-allocate underutilized printers or decrease the number of printers required
- Enable proactive maintenance of printers, reducing repairs and downtime
- Provide real-time alerts for suspicious or unauthorized activities
As a bonus (for your business and the planet!), a centralized print management solution can help you achieve your sustainability goals. That’s because it minimizes the environmental impact of printing through reduced paper and ink waste, lower energy consumption, and eliminates unnecessary equipment.
Centralized vs. decentralized print management: a head-to-head comparison
In contrast to centralized print management, decentralized printing relies on several print hubs, with control distributed across individual departments or locations.
While centralized print management might be ideal for large organizations seeking consistency and cost control, some smaller businesses prefer the customization of decentralized printing.
However, it’s important to be aware of the downsides of decentralized print management.
Where centralized print management software collects data on ink, toner, and paper usage to optimize costs, decentralized print management makes it harder to track printing costs organization-wide as data is spread across separate siloes.
It also has limited scalability, with separate systems and fragmented support responsibilities for each location.
Centralized print management comes with uniform security policies, whereas decentralized printing carries a higher risk of inconsistent security practices. On the other hand, decentralized print management does allow for greater flexibility, with the possibility of local customization.
What’s more, any system failures will only affect printing in one specific area rather than the entire network going down. But remember, your centralized print management solution is also capable of monitoring and proactively maintaining your print fleet, making breakdowns less likely in the first place.
The hidden costs of decentralized print management
While decentralized print management may seem easier and cheaper to get set up, over time it can incur hidden costs that strain budgets and resources. The main issue is inefficiency: without centralized oversight and controls, it is very challenging to track usage, manage supplies, and stay on top of maintenance.
This can also lead to people printing excessively and failing to use efficiency settings, resulting in paper and ink waste. Unmanaged printer fleets can also result in inconsistent supply orders and premature replacement of cartridges, adding to ongoing expenses.
A lack of streamlined support processes also contributes to increased IT workloads. Because IT teams have to troubleshoot disparate devices across multiple locations, downtime is likely to be greater – disrupting workflows and reducing productivity. Additionally, the lack of standardized security measures increases the risk of data breaches which can have costly legal consequences.
Advanced features of centralized print management software
Beyond the everyday benefits, centralized print management software offers advanced features for greater control and visibility over printing activity across your organization, including:
- Mobile printing. Enables users to print securely from mobile devices or remote locations.
- IT integration. Seamlessly integrates with other IT systems to streamline workflows.
- Cloud-based management. Managed through a cloud interface, reducing the need for on-prem infrastructure.
- Reporting and analytics. Generates comprehensive data, providing detailed insights into printing behavior.
- User authentication. Ensures that only authorized personnel can print and access sensitive documents.
- Secure print release. Holds print jobs until the user is at the printer, preventing unauthorized access.
- Data encryption. Protects confidential information from interception or interference.
The Role of AI and automation in print management software
Today, many print management solutions incorporate powerful automation and AI capabilities to help businesses manage their print environments. By automating routine tasks, AI can streamline print workflows and ensure that each print job moves along the most efficient path to its destination.
AI-powered systems can analyze print data and usage patterns to optimize print resources intelligently and identify opportunities for cost-cutting and waste reduction. Advanced algorithms proactively anticipate printer maintenance needs and supply replenishment, alerting IT teams to improve service reliability and prevent operational disruptions.
Organizations can also harness AI to strengthen the security of their print environment, by identifying potential security vulnerabilities, flagging any anomalies or unusual printing activities, and controlling access – helping prevent security breaches before they occur. Automated auditing and reporting can further support businesses in meeting their compliance obligations.
Security best practices for centralized print management
With data breaches becoming increasingly common, it’s essential to adopt strong cybersecurity measures – and a centralized print environment is no exception.
For secure centralized printing:
- Restrict printer access based on job type, employee authorization, or security classification
- Require user authentication before printing, using methods such as a PIN or ID card
- Implement secure print release to reduce the risk of documents being left unattended
- Encrypt print data during transmission and storage of print jobs
- Enable automatic firmware updates to address security vulnerabilities
- Disable any unused services to reduce the attack surface of your print environment
- Educate staff on secure printing practices, including reporting suspicious activity
- Set printers to log users out automatically after a period of inactivity.
- Only use secure APIs and protocols when integrating with other IT systems or cloud services
By following security best practices, you can ensure a robust cybersecurity posture and maximize the benefits of centralized printing.
Leveraging the advanced features of centralized print management software, IT teams and sysadmins can have greater control and visibility over the entire print environment – helping improve workflow efficiency, while reducing waste and costs right across the business.
