The world of print continues to face downward pressure, from digital transformation to the pandemic and continuously tumbling page counts. The value of print as a productivity tool remains intact, however, and that point was driven home during a recent survey by Toshiba America Business Solutions (Toshiba) that canvassed a wide mix of client demographics and verticals.
Print capability and access to output machines, regardless of the user’s location, continue to be a high area of need against an increasingly mobile worker backdrop, and Toshiba is seeking to eliminate those obstacles via its latest release, e-BRIDGE Global Print. The newest element in the company’s Elevate Sky cloud platform, e-BRIDGE Global Print bolsters customer productivity, security and workflow management.
Kerstin Woods, Toshiba’s vice president of solutions and outbound marketing, provided an overview of the solution for ENX Magazine, along with Manny Sahu, the OEM’s director of technical marketing. Woods, who was previously responsible for cloud channel product marketing for Oracle, appreciates the benefits the flexibility, scalability and freedom users enjoy when logging into the e-BRIDGE Global Print infrastructure through the cloud without the on-premises dependency.
“We’re providing this anytime, anywhere print access to Toshiba devices,” she said. “We want to make printing remarkably simple for the anywhere workforce. And that’s the goal of Global Print. We want to enable companies to reduce costs by getting greater insight, reducing waste and driving elevated levels of security and manageability. All of these things are core tenants of the product.”
Printing to the printer of choice, especially across multiple locations, presents distinct challenges for individuals and their organizations’ IT departments. Global Print tackles these challenges by allowing users to print to a single, secure, cloud-based print queue and then release prints upon end-user command at any Toshiba e-BRIDGE multifunction printer (MFP) with Global Print installed.
This harnesses the power of the cloud to enable printing simply, securely and virtually instantaneously while eliminating the cumbersome installation, ongoing management and extra cost of print servers and on-premises software.
Seamlessly Print Projects
Individuals can be up and running on Global Print in mere minutes, according to Sahu, with a quick installation of Toshiba’s universal print driver. After that quick initial setup, clients may fulfill print projects from any network and location to any Global Print-enabled Toshiba MFP. Leveraging Toshiba’s universal print driver also maintains the highest print capabilities and quality including MFP feature and function selection.
The Toshiba software delivers print requests to the cloud in an encrypted manner while releasing the projects via a person-specific code or access badge. This instills people’s confidence in knowing their deliverables are secure. Selecting and releasing print jobs on-demand further heightens security and additionally reduces the waste of extra or forgotten prints while enabling organizations to operate more cost-effectively and sustainably.
“We didn’t want customers to install any drivers or anything on premises with their servers,” he said. “We created a self-service portal that users can set up themselves. Admins don’t have to do anything like create new user accounts in the application manager. Plus, we don’t charge per user; every user within the company has access to the portal.”
Convenience, Security and Trends Tracking
Global Print authenticates individuals through their Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace identity provider while accelerating print setup. Leading cloud platforms Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services moreover host Toshiba’s Elevate Sky tool adding yet another layer of protection. Global Print further helps spur staff connectivity in and out of the office by producing documents on which teammates may readily collaborate.
Documenting usage while tracking trends via Global Print is also a breeze. Toshiba’s software provides such insight via the cloud regardless of where the print, scan or copy originates. Such capability enables IT staff to create and download reports on device usage and user productivity.
“Global Print presents modern businesses with a straightforward and intuitive solution for delivering documents from virtually any location,” Woods noted. “Individuals working at the office or remotely may now easily and securely print to their printer of choice without the need for extra software or print servers.”
###
About Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc.
Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS) is a workplace solutions provider delivering an extensive portfolio of industry-recognized workflow and document management products for businesses of all sizes across the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. TABS supports the diverse needs of today’s professionals through award-winning e‑STUDIO multifunction printers, label and receipt printers, digital signage, managed print services, and cloud solutions. Toshiba continuously focuses on the clients and communities it serves, is committed to sustainability and is recognized as a Wall Street Journal Top 100 Sustainable Company.
