Keep Prying Eyes Away From Printed Documents With Secure Print
Before reading further, I’d like you to do something.
Take a quick walk around your office and visit each of your printers and copiers. Look in the output trays for uncollected print jobs. Once you’re done, get another cup of coffee and head on back to your desk.
What did you see?
If your office is like most, there were a number of print jobs stacked near the printer or sitting in the trays.
How many of those documents contained customer details? What about personnel files like salary or performance reviews? Details on the office reorganization maybe?
Or maybe they were just a variety of convenience documents for personal reference, ease of reading, or editing.
Documents containing confidential information put you at risk of a security breach. Moreover, documents that are printed but never used (up to 50% of all print jobs) are literally the equivalent of throwing money away.
You need a way to ensure that confidential business documents are only seen by those authorized to see them. Cutting costs is never a bad idea, and trimming wasteful printing will save money
The answer to both of these issues: pull printing
What Is Secure Print?
Secure Print (also called follow me printing or pull printing) is an easy-to-understand concept. Instead of immediately printing to the printer when you press “print” from your computer, the print job is held until you release it.
The user releases the print job by authenticating him or herself at any office printer that supports secure printing (the job is “pulled” to the printer). Depending on the software used and how it’s implemented, secure printing can be server-based (jobs are securely held on a print server) or serverless (jobs are held at the user’s workstation).
User authentication methods vary, depending on the office environment and level of security needed. Some authentication methods even require two methods of authentication (a PIN and a card, for example):
- PIN - personal identification numbers
- PIC - personal identification codes
- Passwords
- Card readers
- Smartcards
- Biometrics (e.g., fingerprint scan)
After successful authentication, the job is released.
Benefits of Secure Printing
From a confidentiality perspective, the benefits are obvious -- no more sensitive information sitting out in the open. For companies required to be HIPAA-compliant, the audit trail of access and output proves that only authorized users can access protected information.
I mentioned above that nearly 50% of printed output is never used. If a print job isn’t retrieved in a set period of time, it’s removed from the server. We’ve all printed a document, been distracted by a phone call or email, then printed the same document again before heading to the printer. Secure printing prevents that kind of redundant, wasteful printing.
Some Disadvantages
Using secure printing is slower. Instead of print and retrieve, you have to hit print on your computer, authenticate yourself, release the print job, and wait for it to print. Plus, you’ll need the IT staff time to set up the rules and authentication methods (or hire a third-party to do that for you). Of course, card readers and biometrics are additional costs.
That said, there’s a steep price to pay with you get hit with a HIPAA violation in which protected information gets compromised. Even in non-HIPAA environments, losing customer information in a data breach can lead to fines and lost time (not to mention lost customers who no longer trust you to protect their data).
Protecting your office from a data breach, saving money for your office by eliminating wasteful printing. What’s not to love about secure printing?
