Printing Hard Copy Out In The Field!

Work / life boundaries are blurring as business /social networks converge. Instant access to data, communications and information is increasingly mobile but the requirement to obtain printed documents for business applications still remains. It’s good news that global printer brands are going to the Cloud to enable users to print hard copy out in the field!

According to recent research by the Federation of Small Businesses around 40 per cent of small businesses are now based at home. Similarly, the adoption of remote / out of office working has accelerated since the emergence of advanced mobile internet technologies and mobile worker applications. It is estimated that 2.5 million people work with computers and telecommunications of the 3 million who are regular home or filed-based workers.

The rapid development of sophisticated but instantly portable technology devices such as the smartphone and the tablet is providing the world of work increasing freedom of movement and flexibility to access the web and office / business documents and media anywhere, wherever required.

The demand to quickly and easily access, store and share the increasing overload of data has led to the cloud concept and applications such as Software As A Service. A new generation of inkjet and toner printers are now cloud-enabled to deliver printed hard copy via PC, mobile or tablet as major global brands start to offer service applications from the cloud.

At the start of 2011, CloudPrint was introduced. The service, aimed primarily at printing from a mobile, allows a document in Google Docs or an email in Gmail to be opened via a mobile browser, the instruction given to print, and the document ready to be collected immediately when arriving at the printing source.

Recently, leading printer brand, HP, introduced printing directly to any HP ePrint-enabled printer from any Google Cloud Print supported app on any computer or smartphone. Crucially, this means, there is no longer a need for a printer to be connected to a print driver or PC. In every other way, the printer itself remains unchanged in the use of the paper feed tray, printer ink cartridges, toner cartridges or compatible ink cartridges.

Another global brand to lately have begun offering their customers a cloud–based printing service is Dell which they say is intended to make organisations more efficient by reducing daily running costs and simplifying company processes.

As the shift towards out-office or on the move working becomes standard practice, the simple restriction of a lack of mobile / laptop to printer cable connection is now easily resolved. As is the limitations set in place to protect key company data in secured and password protected workstations. Authorisation by IT managers is invariably, required to be entered for a printer driver to be installed when connecting to an unknown printer network from a laptop.

Often the same restriction will apply when a company employee needs to print at another office or at home from a different or newly-purchased printer. Despite the widespread use of the iPad since launch, and other smartphones and netbooks which run on Google Chrome OS, difficulties can be encountered because many of the original versions lack onboard printing or just support a restricted number of current models of brand printers.

Most are unlikely to possess an embedded printing system and instead will simply convert images to print data, which is unsuitable for document printing. This is due to some manufacturers who claim their printers can directly print images from today’s smartphones.

Printing hard copy documents out in the field will still remains a key necessity for essential applications for many enterprises and public organisations. Cloud-based printing is only likely to increase as mobile and tablet technology becomes even more widespread. On-demand printing, wherever or whenever, is on the rise, increasingly recognised as a cost efficient and time management utility.

http://www.tonertown.co.uk are an online UK supplier of ink cartridges or toner cartridges for all the leading brands such as Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, HP and Lexmark. They offer a wide choice of guaranteed printer supplies of original and compatible ink cartridges, printer toners and laser toner cartridges.