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Pull Printing: An Ideal Printing Solution in a Construction Environment

End-user mobility is crucial in most construction companies. Engineers, site managers and supervisors all need flexibility of movement. That can be tough on IT. Especially when those users have remote printing needs as well.

In dynamic construction environments with a lot of moving parts, PrinterLogic’s mobile printing and Pull Printing can help ease the strain of print management. Features like these let users print from their mobile devices and laptops conveniently and easily.

What Is Pull Printing?

Pull Printing gives users more control over where their print jobs actually print out.

It does this by splitting printing into two steps. First, the user prints as usual. But their print job isn’t sent to a default printer automatically. Instead it’s temporarily held, awaiting the second step, which is when the user tells the print job where to print. They can issue that “release” command using PrinterLogic’s control panel application, our Print Release App or even a tablet in kiosk mode that’s been associated with the printer.

The great thing about this is that an engineer could initiate a print job at the office and then print it out once she arrives at the job site. Or a site manager could be sure of always printing to the right printer — even if a last-minute change comes up and he has to move to a different part of the site. They can even release multiple print jobs at once.

Better still, with PrinterLogic’s serverless printing infrastructure, you don’t need a print server to implement Pull Printing. And it can be configured to work with any device across the entire print environment. Including legacy printers.

Secure Release Printing for Even More Control

Sometimes you need to take Pull Printing further. Sure, it has inherent security benefits over ordinary remote printing. Its intentional release step prevents print jobs from accidentally printing automatically to the wrong printer, where they’ll end up sitting in the output tray for all to see.

There’s another advantage to Pull Printing with PrinterLogic’s serverless printing infrastructure. That has to do with the direct IP connections that PrinterLogic establishes between clients and printers. As a result, pull-printing jobs are held on workstations—and not in a shared print queue—before they’re released to a printer.

But let’s say you’ve got highly confidential blueprints or other sensitive documents. That’s where you need more secure printing than basic Pull Printing.

PrinterLogic’s secure release printing adds that extra layer of control. Now the second step involves authentication rather than simple release. Users have to prove their identity using a PIN, a badge/ID card, or even CAC/PIV card in the case of some federal agencies and their contractors. PrinterLogic integrates seamlessly with all those mechanisms, so authentication is seamless too.

Better Printing with Mobile, BYOD and Guest Devices

With their constantly moving workforces, modern construction companies often have a lot of mobile and BYOD devices out in the field. And every IT professional knows how challenging it can be just to get remote printing working reliably—let alone rolling out extra features like Pull Printing and secure printing.

That’s why PrinterLogic excels at mobile printing. Our serverless printing infrastructure enables Android and iOS users to print natively right from their smartphones or tablets. For end users, it’s intuitive and quick. And for admins, there’s no client-side software to install.

Remote printing at the job site is just as easy for BYOD and guest users. All they have to do is send their files to a printer’s dedicated email address and the job will be processed just like any other. So if the visiting inspection team needs to print out a new permit or a list of changes to address, they can do it right on the spot.

And it’s worth noting once again that PrinterLogic does it all without a print server.

That’s Just the Beginning

Mobile printing, Pull Printing and secure printing are just three practical PrinterLogic features that construction companies in particular will find invaluable. There are so many more advantages.

One of the most obvious is PrinterLogic’s elimination of print servers. When you’re routinely opening, closing and resizing job sites, the less infrastructure you have to deploy, the better. As Sundt will confirm, PrinterLogic’s serverless printing infrastructure makes remote printer deployments a snap in large-scale construction companies (read the case study here).

PrinterLogic is also ideal for managed print services providers who serve the construction industry. Our solution’s near-universal printer support means that MSPs can easily support mixed-fleet environments or regional companies who work with local print suppliers. The MSP portal in PrinterLogic SaaS allows multi-tenant management from a single pane of glass.

The best way to find out how PrinterLogic performs in your environment is to start your trial today. That will give you the opportunity to test PrinterLogic free of charge for 30 days and discover how it can enhance the mobility, productivity and satisfaction of your workforce.