Enabling remote workers with secured print services

For remote and hybrid employees, many workflows still require printing documents, despite the digital landscape. A recent report found that the majority of workers ― 78% ― still rely on a hybrid mix of print and digital documents to get their jobs done. Only 10% say they work fully digitally and 12% still print everything.¹

Cloud print services built specifically for businesses offer a secured, reliable remote print solution, giving distributed teams the ability to print from anywhere without compromising data protection or compliance. With the right remote print services, organizations can standardize print workflows across office, home and mobile environments while maintaining visibility, control and a consistent user experience.

How secured printing benefits remote teams ― and the business

Traditional office print environments weren’t built for distributed work. Secured remote print services address that gap by protecting documents from the moment a job is submitted until it’s released at a device.

Secured remote print solutions make printing easier, safer and more consistent for distributed teams. They also boost productivity and streamline IT operations. Encrypted print jobs, user authentication, and detailed job logs reduce the chance of accidental exposure and support audits, strengthening overall information security.

With secured printing:

• Employees can print from any device ― including their own printer after safeguards have been made ― without complex setup.

• Secure print release cuts down on wasted pages, and centralized print management reduces support demands.

• Cloud-based queues simplify onboarding and offboarding for hybrid and remote workers.

These print solutions also support flexible, location-agnostic work by allowing print workflows to follow users wherever they are, creating a consistent and secure experience across environments.

How secured print works

• Users send print jobs to a secured server or cloud queue

• Jobs remain encrypted and inaccessible until an authorized user authenticates

• Documents are released only on approved devices using PIN, badge, mobile app or Single Sign On (SSO)

This eliminates common risks like unclaimed pages, misrouted documents and unauthorized viewing. Even these small missteps can result in data leakage. Compliance-heavy industries like healthcare, finance and legal face even greater exposure.

Organizations that enable remote workers with secured print services create a controlled, auditable workflow that scales across locations.

Essential features of a secured remote print service

To support distributed users and mixed device fleets, a strong remote print service includes:

• Identity-driven authentication: SSO, PIN codes, smart cards or mobile badging provide easy, consistent authentication across environments. Multi-factor authentication further validates user identity before releasing any job.

• End-to-end encryption: TLS protects data in transit while at-rest encryption safeguards jobs stored in cloud or on-premises queues.

• Device and platform flexibility: Universal or certified drivers and cloud connectors allow users to print securely from laptops, tablets or phones without complicated setup.

• Anywhere release capabilities: Remote employees can send a job from home and release it at an office printer later — or at any authorized device across your network.

• Audit logging and reporting: Detailed logs track who prints what, when and where, enabling visibility and providing a complete audit trail for compliance.

How to securely implement remote print solutions

Deployment doesn’t need to be complex. A structured rollout helps organizations scale quickly while maintaining IT oversight. Here's where to begin.

1. Start with an environment assessment

• Inventory printers and locations

• Identify remote and hybrid user groups

• Map data sensitivity and regulations

• Review identity management infrastructure

2. Choose the right platform

• Cloud-based platforms are ideal for distributed teams

• Hybrid models help organizations supporting both office and remote environments

3. Integrate with network identity and security

• Connect to common platforms like Microsoft, Google, AWS or Okta for SSO and MFA

• Enforce TLS across endpoints

• Configure zero-trust or VPN access where appropriate

• Forward audit logs to your Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system for centralized monitoring (such as Ricoh’s IoT Command Center)

4. Implement strong access controls

• Apply least-privilege, role-based permissions

• Set duplex and color defaults to manage cost and environmental impact

• Require secure print release for high-risk documents

• Auto-purge unreleased jobs on a set schedule

5. Roll out in phases

• Start with a pilot group to validate drivers, mobile apps and release workflows before organization-wide deployment

Best practices checklist

Use this checklist to confirm your environment is ready for secured remote printing.

Solutions helping increase security for remote print environments

There are many ways you can boost the security of your remote print environments.

• Add a centralized print management application like RICOH StreamlineNX to manage devices, set policies across the printer fleet, and gain reporting into usage for greater visibility of print behavior.

• Use a cloud print service for business like RICOH CloudStream to simplify access to printers while maintaining full control over device access and gaining the security provided and maintained by the Ricoh service.

• Partner with us through our RICOH Intelligent Managed Print Services program that allows you to take advantage of our digital platform ecosystem and share the workload of managing print across your organization.

For information about these approaches or other print security solutions, contact us.