The acceleration in cloud adoption across organisations of all sizes is driving modernisation strategies for the print infrastructure. When evaluating cloud print management solutions, there are a range of choices from both traditional print manufacturers and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). However, the market is fragmented, with different definitions around true cloud solutions and approaches that support private, hybrid and public cloud models.
For organisations that are looking for third party solutions that support a mixed fleet environment, there are several cloud print ISVs to consider. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list – full profiles for both ISV and Print OEM solutions can be found in Quocirca’s Cloud Print Services Vendor Landscape.
Celiveo
Celiveo 365 provides secure cloud printing for Microsoft 365 clients. It is a Microsoft Azure-native cloud app, which adds advanced functionality such as pull printing, access control and tracking to Microsoft Cloud Print. The Celiveo 365 software-as-a-service (SaaS) does not require a virtual private network (VPN), a virtual machine (VM), or any local installation.
With Celiveo 365, organisations can manage a multi-vendor printer fleet from the cloud, distribute and update drivers and settings, authenticate users on printers and multi-function peripherals (MFPs), and provide high-security follow-me pull printing to control usage. Celiveo 365 requires an activated Universal Print licence with credits to benefit from full driverless cloud printing.
Celiveo 365 intelligence runs at the printer level and features high-availability technology using the local cache. It is possible to authenticate with card or PIN on the printer and track printer usage, even if the internet is down.
Celiveo 365 is built on a high-cyber-security, zero-trust access architecture featuring segmentation and TLS mutual authentication using Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) TLS certificate chains. Documents are also compressed and double-encrypted, with AES256 tied to tenants and the target user until they reach the printer.
directprint.io
directprint.io is a SaaS-based cloud print management solution. Initially focused on delivering enterprise-grade Google Workspace/Chromebook printing, it now also supports Microsoft Azure AD environments. It is designed to blend the right technology mix of cloud administration, local network (direct IP) printing, and edge network capability. It offers cross-platform support for Chromebooks, macOS, and Windows, and as a serverless solution, which means it requires nothing to install or maintain on-premises. It offers zero-touch deployment through a unique universal driver, and offers configurable advanced finishing.
Today, directprint.io supports 5,000+ printer makes and models, with a strong footprint in the US. It also has deployments in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
ezeep
ezeep is a cloud print platform in the market, powered by ThinPrint, a company with decades of expertise in print management. Leveraging its proprietary technology and approach, ezeep ensures all driver management and print processing take place in the cloud. This enables any device to print to any printer without needing on-site print servers, complicated network infrastructures, or complex printer environments.
The ezeep product line is a pure cloud printing solution delivered as a service. For on-premise printing, the vendor offers its ThinPrint product, and customers can inter-mix both solutions dependent on specific needs. ezeep enables cloud printing across a range of office environments – including mobile printing, guest printing, and printing from local applications on PC or Mac, as well as Azure Virtual Desktop.
Kofax Inc. (Printix)
Kofax delivers an Intelligent Automation software platform and solutions to digitally transform content-intensive workflows. Customers realise faster time-to-value and increased competitiveness, growth, and profitability by combining Kofax’s cognitive capture, robotics process automation (RPA), process orchestration, analytics, and mobile capabilities while increasing business resiliency and mitigating compliance risk.
Kofax offers a fully integrated, end-to-end intelligent platform to automate business processes. Its acquisition of Printix in July 2021 added cloud-based print management capabilities to its Intelligent Automation platform. Its combined print automation solution, composed of Printix and ControlSuite, is delivered in a hybrid model with a robust enterprise feature set.
Printix is hosted in the Azure environment. Printix uses an active per-user billing model and supports single sign-on with Azure AD, Google Workspace, Okta, and OneLogin. Print jobs are stored and encrypted locally.
MyQ
MyQ products are designed to cost-effectively consume cloud computing resources, eliminate unnecessary traffic to the cloud and back, and reduce negative impact on local internet connection.
- MyQ X: A fully featured print management solution that requires installation on one or more on-premise servers, user PCs, or private cloud servers to run. MyQ X offers unique printer panel personalisation, as well as advanced document capturing and processing options. This is typically used by organisations that need to process and manage a larger volume of documents.
- MyQ Roger: A smart digital workplace, mobile-centric assistant that is a 100% public cloud platform. This is targeted at companies that are, or planning to be, fully digital and scan significantly more than they print. Features include one-click access to OCR scan workflows, which they can define to fit their specific document processes.
The solutions can also use capable printers as a server. This significantly reduces the number of servers required, and also provides basic operation even during a temporary outage. MyQ Roger minimises communication with cloud services, so large documents do not have to travel back and forth to the cloud when being printed, as they stay safely stored in the local network of smart printers.
PaperCut
PaperCut is an established print management vendor with 150 million global users across 90,000 organisations. It offers a portfolio of solutions for customers at any stage of their cloud journey.
Products include:
- PaperCut Hive: a fully hosted, brand-agnostic SaaS solution allowing cloud-first organisations of any size to manage printing. It also brings print visibility for work-related printing at home, allowing users to print from any device and location, and then securely release documents to any printer. PaperCut Hive uses three-tier encryption, Internet of Things (IoT) and edge technology.
- PaperCut Pocket: offers touchless secure print release with a mobile phone and QR codes, as an alternative to tap and release at the printer touchscreen.
- PaperCut Mobility Print: rose to prominence in 2020 by filling the void left by Google Cloud Print’s discontinuance. PaperCut reports that over 9 million Chromebooks exclusively use PaperCut to print in the cloud.
- PaperCut MF: flagship print management solution for organisations embracing a private or hybrid cloud approach.
Vasion (PrinterLogic)
https://www.vasion.com/, www.printerlogic.com
Core products: PrinterLogic SaaS, Vasion Suite (including Capture, Signature, Workflow, and Content Management), Vasion Signature (available on its own)
PrinterLogic is the longest-established cloud printing platform in the market. PrinterLogic SaaS delivers a serverless printing infrastructure using a centrally managed direct IP printing platform. PrinterLogic also supports native drivers for enterprise printing. Direct integrations make it easier to print in every environment, including electronic medical records (EMR) and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) integrations.
Direct IP printing capabilities ensure end-user data is secure on each device and supports a zero -trust environment. It includes a Self Installation Portal that enables end-users to make changes without creating help-desk tickets.
PrinterLogic is based on a multi-tenant architecture and built on the AWS platform. A PrinterLogic Virtual Appliance is available for customers who need to host their solution on-premises. PrinterLogic offers broad multi-factor authentication support, including integration with identity providers (IdPs) such as Okta, Ping Fed, and Imprivata.
Y Soft
Y Soft delivers enhanced print management (on-premises), reserved infrastructure (cloud hosted), and modernised multi-tenant printing experiences (cloud powered). Its flexible deployment options allow customers to move their print to the cloud when they are ready (or stay on-premises or go hybrid). Y Soft enables zero-trust printing, as well as complete customer control of data sovereignty.
Y Soft supports hybrid-first workspaces, with the OMNI -Bridge Solution incorporating home- and office-based devices into the cloud environment.
In July 2022, Y Soft acquired Copenhagen-based ISV EveryonePrint. EveryonePrint’s multi-tenant cloud platform, HCP, facilitates the migration of a legacy on-premises print environment to a cloud-based service.
Products include:
- SAFEQ 6: flagship print management software that can be combined with the Omni-Bridge device to connect an on-premises print environment to the cloud.
- SAFEQ Managed: a cloud-hosted solution eliminating the need for on-premise infrastructure and delivering print service control and visibility, as well as full cost control.
- EveryonePrint: a cloud-native solution that includes centralised management and eliminates the need for print servers.
To qualify for inclusion in this list, the vendor must offer a multivendor cloud printing solution. Due to the diversity of the market, all cloud print solutions are not equal, and we recommend that readers check out our article on What to look for in a cloud print solution. Full details of all ISV and Print OEM solutions in the cloud print market can be found in Quocirca’s Cloud Print Services 2022 Market Landscape.
