Microsoft announces Universal Print, a cloud-based print solution
Printers are an indispensable device in many businesses and organizations, but printer installation and deployment are not as straightforward as other hardware devices.
Especially in a corporate environment with a large number of employees, sharing printers will be more troublesome. For this reason, Microsoft is introducing new printing solutions for enterprises and organizations.
The solution is called Universal Print, and its principle is to host the printer to Microsoft Azure and then transfer it through Microsoft server.
According to Microsoft, the cloud printing solution is mainly to connect the printer to the Microsoft cloud service. When the printer is configured to connect to the cloud, the cloud printing solution can start working.
The user terminal adds a cloud printer and then performs a pairing connection. When the file needs to be printed, the file is sent to the cloud and then returned to the local printer to perform the printing task.
In this process, the printer is still local, but the user transfers through the Microsoft cloud server and then sends the file to the local printer for printing.
This eliminates the need for all end users to install printer drivers for deployment, and it does not require time and effort to set up a local shared printer environment to use.
In addition, corporate and organization administrators can configure printers and view resource details in the background, and even manage who can use the printer.
For enterprises and organizations in need, they can apply for a preview version of the cloud printing solution. It is unclear whether the solution will be charged and how much it will cost.
If end-users need to use the service, they need to apply for an Azure AD account from the enterprise or organization administrator. The service must be logged in with an Azure AD account.
However, at this stage, which printers can support cloud printing solutions are unknown, because the old and new printers and compatibility issues may take time to resolve.
It is rumored that Microsoft is working with printer manufacturers such as Canon to be compatible with the cloud printing solution, so it seems likely that many older printing devices will not support the solution.
Enterprises and organizations interested in participating in cloud printing solutions can click here to apply. The system only supports Windows 10 v1903 Enterprise Edition and Education Edition.
