As employees begin returning to work following the Covid-19 pandemic, LRS staff have received many requests for ‘zero touch release’ options that would allow print files to be released at printers without the need to ‘touch’ the printer display. LRS software provides several options for zero-touch and one-touch print release. The most appropriate method will depend on which LRS products the customer is using, the printer hardware deployed, and the preferences of the individual customer.
Which is the right option for your organization? The remainder of this article describes the capabilities of each.
LRS® MFPsecure®/Print
MFPsecure®/Print software utilizes an LRS software agent running on the Multifunction Printer (MFP), usually in conjunction with a card reader. The MFPsecure®/Print "one-touch release" option lets a user immediately release all print jobs when he/she authenticates at the device and selects the Secure Print icon. This feature can be customized to specify a threshold (number of print jobs) for automatic document release; if the number of print jobs do not exceed this threshold, all of the user’s queued print jobs will automatically release when the user authenticates and selects the MFP Pull Print icon.
This feature is available for all supported MFP vendors. This is not a true "zero-touch release" solution, since at least one touch on the MFP display is required. However, use of a stylus, pen, pencil and/or glove is a simple and practical way to avoid skin contact with the MFP display.
Some specific MFP vendors (e.g., Xerox and Lexmark) allow device customization that results in true zero-touch release. The device can be configured to automatically select a default installed app (LRS Secure Print) when the user authenticates. This "all or nothing” approach has some potentially undesirable side effects, however. For example, if the user only wants to perform a copy or scan operation, their queued print jobs will print after authentication, whether or not they request them. (Note that copy and scan functions require user contact with the MFP display.)
The MFPsecure®/Print for HP solution includes a zero-touch release function for HP single function printers that have small screens. LRS technicians have developed a supported script that extends zero-touch release functionality to other HP devices.
LRS® MFPsecure®/Print for XT
The MFPsecure®/Print for XT solution is a hardware option that enables the release of print jobs on any network-connected printer or MFP when a user authenticates using their card. With this alternative, there is no way to select individual print jobs, so zero-touch release is the only option.
Regardless of whether the device is using an MFPsecure®/Print solution, other LRS options for print release are also available. Here are a couple of them:
LRS Mobile Connector (via VPSX Print app)
The VPSX Print app for mobile devices includes a Print Release option that allows a user to interact with and touch his/her smartphone to release one, several, or all queued print jobs without physically touching the printer. This VPSX Print app provides different methods to select the destination printer:
- Scanning a QR code on or near the device
- Selecting the printer from a floor map displayed within the app
- Taking advantage of iBeacon support, assuming iBeacon(BLE) devices are associated with physical printers. This ensures that queued jobs are printed only when the user is near the device.
VPSX Universal Print Release Web app
The Web-based Universal Print Release application can be used from any mobile phone, tablet, iPad, or workstation and can be accessed from any browser. Print jobs can be released to any defined printer, regardless of the manufacturer and/or model.
The following table summarizes the LRS Product Options for one or zero touch release:
| LRS Product |
One-touch release |
Zero-touch release |
Comments |
|
MFPsecure®/Print
|
✔
|
✔ 1 2 3
|
Can configure a threshold above which one-touch release is automatically enabled
|
|
MFPSecure/Print for XT
|
✔
|
✔
|
Printer hardware and model independent
|
|
Mobile Connector
|
N/A
|
✔ 4
|
Uses VPSX Print App on personal mobile devices (iOS and Android). Printer hardware- and model- independent.
|
|
VPSX Print Release App
|
N/A
|
✔ 4
|
Uses any Web browser on any device. Printer hardware and model independent.
|
1 All Lexmark devices that support automatically launching apps, as a custom function. Customizing the agent on MFPSecure/Print server before deployment to MFPs allows MFP to automatically select an installed app (i.e. LRS Secure Print) upon user authentication.
2 Xerox MFD customization via MFD EWS
3 Natively available for HP Single Function Printers (SFP), extensible to all HP devices via LRS-supported Script
4 Mobile devices and/or workstations need to connect to the corporate web server.