Secure Release Printing

Secure printing is a one-to-one option for held print jobs. That means the print job is sent to a specific printer, but held on workstation until you choose to release the job to that printer. A secure job can only be released to the printer it was sent to. The release can be triggered by using the Release Portal, the Control Panel Application (CPA), Simple Badge Release, designated release stations, or the PrinterLogic App.

Where the end-user needs to authenticate to see and release jobs, an identity provider must be configured.

Diagram showing the workflow traffic from the user initiating the job through to it being released and printed.

The steps required to set up Secure Release Printing using the default settings are outlined below.

Enable Secure Printing

This feature enables the Release tab on printers and the Release Portal. This allows users to hold print jobs sent to a printer from their workstation until they are released at a later time using a release mechanism. (e.g. Release Portal, Mobile App, Control Panel Application, Simple Badge Release.)

  1. In the Admin Console, navigate to Tools then Settings then Printing.
  2. In the Pull Printing section, click Enable Workstation Pull Printing/Secure Printing.
  3. Click Save.

Pull Printing section with an arrow pointing to the Enable Workstation Pull Printing/ Secure Printing setting enabled.

Default or Printer-specific

These steps walk you through enabling Secure Release Printing on a default (Global) or printer-specific level.

  1. Navigate to Tools then Settings then Printing in the Admin Console.
  2. Scroll to the Default per-printer Secure Release settings: in the Pull Printing section.
  3. Using the drop-down, enable Secure Release Printing by default (Global) or disable for the printer-specific option.
      1. Use the Allow secure release jobs to be sent to all printers by default drop-down to enable by default. Select from:
        • Yes Always: Jobs are always held and must be released.

        • Yes Prompt: End-users will receive a prompt when printing.

          Release Print job pop-up showing the printer name, document title, and the buttons to Release, Hold, or Cancel a job.

      2. By enabling this default option, all printers in the Admin Console tree view may have secure jobs released to them.

      The printer object's Printing tab now shows the default setting as enabled.

      Printing tab showing the default Pull and Secure print settings are enabled.

      1. Use the Allow secure release jobs to be sent to all printers by default drop-down to disable by default. Select:
        • No: Jobs will not be held.
        • The No option disables this feature for printers by default. Enable it for specific printers using the following steps.
      2. Click Save.
      3. Navigate to the printer object's Printing tab.
      4. In the Pull Printing section, click the bubble for Use printer-specific Secure Release settings.
      5. Use the drop-down to enable the Secure Release Printing setting for that printer.
        • Yes Always: Jobs are always held and must be released.

        • Yes Prompt: End-users will receive a prompt when printing.

          Release Print job pop-up showing the printer name, document title, and the buttons to Release, Hold, or Cancel a job.

          Pull Printing section showing the User printer-specific settings option enabled, and secure release drop-down set to the Yes (Prompt) option.

      6. This option allows end-users to choose which printers are configured for Secure Release Printing via the system tray icon. When enabled, end-users can designate specific printers to prompt, auto hold print jobs, or disable Secure Release Printing for that printer.

        1. Right click on the system tray icon.
        2. Hover over Pull Printing.

        3. Select Secure Print Settings.

          PrinterLogic system tray icon after being right-clicked, and showing the menu options with Pull Printing and Secure Print settings highlighted.

        4. Use the Secure Print Settings window to modify specific printer's secure release prompts.

          Secure Print Settings pop-up showing one printer selected, and the drop-down toggle for release prompts expanded to the right.

      7. Click Save.

  4. This option allows end-users to choose which printers are configured for Secure Release Printing via the system tray icon. When enabled, end-user's can designate specific printers to prompt, auto hold print jobs, or disable Secure Release Printing for that printer.

    1. Right click on the system tray icon.
    2. Hover over Pull Printing.

    3. Select Secure Print Settings.

      PrinterLogic system tray icon after being right-clicked, and showing the menu options with Pull Printing and Secure Print settings highlighted.

    4. Use the Secure Print Settings window to modify specific printer's for Secure Release Printing.

      Secure Print Settings pop-up showing one printer selected, and the drop-down toggle for release prompts expanded to the right.

  5. Optional: Enable Offline Secure Release Printing.
  6. Click Save.

Pull Printing section showing the different Pull and Secure print settings and options.

At this point, Secure Release Printing is configured and jobs can be released from the Release Portal. Other secure release options include:

Release Portal

Jobs sent to secure print enabled printers will show and can be released from the end-user's Release Portal or another release mechanism like the PrinterLogic App or Control Panel Application.

To access the Release Portal:

  • In a supported browser, visit <YourURL>.printercloud.com/release.
  • Visit your Self-service Portal.
    1. Click Menu.
    2. Navigate to Pull Printing > Print Job Management.
      • If you don't see these menu options, check your Shortcut Options on Tools then Settings then Client in the Admin Console.
      • Reference Client Settings Tab

To release a job, check the box next to the held print job and click Release.

Release Portal showing three pull print jobs and one secure print job held, and the Release and Delete buttons under each queue.

CPA Release Settings

If using the Control Panel Application (CPA) to release held print jobs, configure the release settings below based on the Identity Provider in use.

It's important to note that default authentication settings vary depending on the chosen identity provider. The LDAP settings differ from configuring settings for an IdP such as Okta or Entra ID (Azure AD).

  1. Open your Admin Console and click Tools then Settings then General.

  2. In the Identity Provider Settings section, ensure that LDAP is selected and that your LDAP credentials are configured correctly.

    Identity Provider Settings section of the Admin Console's General tab with the LDAP option selected.

  3. Scroll down to the CPA Specific Settings section and select the options that you want available to set on the Printer Apps tab.

    General tab's CPA Specific Settings section showing the different authentication methods that can be selected/enabled.

    Although settings are generally shown here, not all options may be available for all printer manufacturers and models. Supported options for the manufacturer will be displayed on the printer object's Apps tab.

  4. Configure the settings that correspond with the authentication options selected.

    1. Pin Settings: Can be set to store them in the PrinterLogic database or your Active Directory database. Depending on the option selected there may be additional fields to identify where to place the UserID Attribute. For Active Directory you also need to provide the field name that contains the PIN attribute.

      If the Database option is selected, the PIN must be set by the end-user within the Self-service Portal. This is done by opening the Self-service Portal, clicking on Menu, selecting Authentication, and selecting Manage PIN.

    2. Badge Settings: Can be set to store them in the PrinterLogic database or your Active Directory database. If Active Directory is selected you also need to provide the field name that contains the badge ID attribute for badge authentication on the CPA.

      General tab's CPA Specific Settings section with arrows pointing to the Pin Settings and the Badge Settings sections.

      When opting for the Database option, badge registration is mandatory. Administrators have the flexibility to manage badges individually through the badge management screen or in bulk by CSV. End-users also have the ability to set up their badge within the Self-service Portal. This is done by opening the Self-service Portal, clicking on Menu, selecting Authentication, and selecting Manage Badge. If the end-user is aware of their badge number, they can directly enter it. If the badge number is unknown, they can obtain a registration code on the screen, scan their badge and enter the provided registration code for successful registration.

  5. Scroll down to the Control Panel Application section.

  6. (Optional) If you use the same Username and Password to access the printers web interface on all printers, you can set a default Username and Password.

    General tab's Control Panel Application section with the username and password fields for default authentication to the printer highlighted.

  7. (Optional) Enable Single Sign-on. These settings allow you to lock down the printer so a user must authenticate who they are first, before getting access to the printers control panel.

    General tab's Control Panel Application section with an arrow pointing to the Default Single sign-on enable/disable setting.

    • When enabled, additional SSO options display on the printer object's App tab, and when adding printers to the CPA Manager. Those options include:
      • SSO Provider mode will display the PrinterLogic screen on the printer until the user authenticates.
      • SSO Listener mode runs behind the scene and listens for when another application acting as the SSO provider authenticates a user and will pass that user info to our CPA.
  8. Scroll back to the top and click Save.
  1. Open your Admin Console and click Tools then Settings then General.

  2. In the Identity Provider Settings section, ensure that IdP is selected and that the credentials are configured correctly for your IdP.

    General tab's Identity Provider Settings section with the IdP option on the left enabled.

  3. Scroll down to the CPA Specific Settings section.

    General Tab's CPA specific settings section showing the IdP authentication methods, self-registration options, and badge management options.

    While we aim to display settings comprehensively, please note that not all options may be available for every printer manufacturer and model. The supported options for a particular manufacturer will be presented on the printer object's Apps tab. Therefore, please refer to the Apps tab of the specific printer object to view the available options supported by the manufacturer.

  4. Select the options that you want available to set on the Printer Apps tab.
    1. Enable PIN Authentication - If this option is enabled there are two options:
      1. If ONLY Enable PIN Authentication is selected, the PIN is stored in the IdP database. In this case, mapping to a PIN attribute must be completed within the IdPs admin console.

      2. If both Enable PIN Authentication and the sub-option of Enable self registration of PIN for IdPs is enabled the PIN is stored in the PrinterLogic database. The PIN must be set by the end-user within the Self-service Portal. This is done by opening the Self-service Portal, clicking on Menu, selecting Authentication, and selecting Manage PIN.

        If you Enable self registration of PIN for IdPs, AND have a PIN attribute mapped in the IdP Admin Console, this will create conflicts. To mitigate this, only one option or the other should be configured.

    2. Enable Badge Scan Authentication - If this is enabled there are two options:
      1. If ONLY Enable Badge Scan Authentication is selected, the badge number and associated user ID is stored in the IdP database. In this case, mapping to a badge attribute and user ID attribute must be completed within the IdPs Admin Console.

      2. If both Enable Badge Scan Authentication and the sub-option of Enable managing of badges in PrinterLogic instead of in IdP is enabled the badge number is managed in the PrinterLogic database. In this case, each badge must be registered by the administrator on the badge management page or in bulk by CSV. It can also be configured by the end-user within the Self-service Portal. Reference Badge Self-Registration Options for steps.

        General Tab's CPA specific settings section showing the IdP authentication methods, self-registration options, and badge management options.

        If you Enable managing of badges in PrinterLogic instead of in IdP, any badge mapping that has been configured in the IdP Admin Console is ignored by PrinterLogic.

  5. Scroll down to the Control Panel Application section.

  6. (Optional) If you use the same Username and Password to access the printers web interface on all printers, you can set a default Username and Password.

    General tab's Control Panel Application section with the username and password fields for default authentication to the printer highlighted.

    The username MUST be admin for this manufacturers printers.

  7. (Optional) Enable Single Sign-on. These settings allow you to lock down the printer so a user must authenticate who they are first, before getting access to the printers control panel.

    General tab's Control Panel Application section with an arrow pointing to the Default Single sign-on enable/disable setting.

    • When enabled, additional SSO options display on the printer object's App tab, and when adding printers to the CPA Manager. Those options include:
      • SSO Provider mode will display the PrinterLogic screen on the printer until the user authenticates.
      • SSO Listener mode runs behind the scene and listens for when another application acting as the SSO provider authenticates a user and will pass that user info to our CPA.
  8. Scroll back to the top and click Save.