Direct Email Printing

Through Direct Email Printing, users send or forward emails directly to a printer, where they are released. Unlike Email Printing, Direct Email Printing does not hold the job, and after authenticating the user through Active Directory / LDAP, the release happens automatically.

Requirements

Ensure all of the General Requirements are completed.

  • Create an Email Account.

    Reference the following Knowledge Base articles for additional information on Office 365/Exchange and Gmail.

  • Enable IMAP, unless you are using Office 365 / Microsoft Exchange which requires OAuth.
  • Make note of the mailbox username, password, IMAP/OAuth/SMTP connection information.
  • Set a subdomain as the internal relay.
  • Create / Assign a Service Client object to run the Email Printing service.
  • To print attachments, we recommend LibreOffice installation on the device designated as the Service Client.

  • A Pull Printer is required. For details, see Create a Pull Printer.

    Pull Print is a Secure Release mechanism which requires additional licensing.

In addition, Direct Email Printing also requires the following:

  • LDAP Domain authentication method. IdPs are not supported.
  • Each user's email address must be stored as an attribute in the Active Directory user object.

Aliases might not work properly with Office 365 / Exchange. See the Troubleshooting Help section.

Configure Direct Email Printing

1. Configure the Service Client

  1. In the Admin Console, select the Service Client.
  2. Select the Email Printing tab.

  3. Check the box for Enable Email Printing.

    Enable Email Printing option selected.

  4. Use the None Selected button to browse and select the desired pull printer.

    Option to select the pull printer to use for Email Printing.

  5. In the Pull Printing Email Address field, assign an email address to the pull printer. This email is the address of the account created in the requirement.
  6. Configure the Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Settings.
    1. Enter the Server, Port, and Username / Password.
    2. In the Security drop-down, select from SSL, TLS, or None.
    3. Select the box for Test SMTP Connection on next Check-in.
  7. In the Incoming Mail (IMAP) Settings, enter the Server and Server Port information.

The Authentication Type you select depends on what email service you use.

Service Client Email Printing tab and settings.

2. Email Account Connection

The Authentication Type you select for the Incoming Mail (IMAP) Settings depends on what email service you use. For IMAP configurations, follow the IMAP Configuration steps below. For Office 365 and Microsoft Exchange accounts, use the OAuth 2.0 Configuration steps below.

IMAP Configuration
  1. In the Authentication Type field, select Username / Password.
  2. Enter the IMAP email account Username and Password in their respective fields.
  3. In the Security dropdown, select SSL, TLS, or None.
  4. Optional: Checkthe Ignore security certificate warnings box.

IMAP Authentication settings on the Service Client's Email Printing tab.

OAuth 2.0 Configuration

Configure OAuth 2.0 in the Entra ID (Azure AD) portal before completing the steps below. If you're not the Entra ID (Azure AD) administrator for your organization:

  1. Send them the link to Configure OAuth 2.0.
  2. The steps in Collect Application & Directory ID define where to find the Application and Directory IDs you'll need.
  3. Define the email to use (Step 2 below). The email requires access to Entra ID (Azure AD). You'll need to login using that email in Step 8 below.

After configuring OAuth in Entra ID (Azure AD) and collecting the IDs, follow the steps below to finish the Service Client Email Printing configuration.

  1. In the Authentication Type field, select OAuth 2.0.
  2. In the OAuth 2.0 Settings Username field, enter an email address with access to the Entra ID (Azure AD) portal.
  3. Copy and paste the Entra ID (Azure AD) Directory (tenant) ID into the Virtual Appliance Tenant ID field.
  4. Copy and paste the Entra ID (Azure AD) Application (client) ID into the Virtual Appliance Client ID field.
  5. Select the Generate Code button, then copy the provided code.
  6. Select the Authenticate button.

  7. In the authentication browser window, paste the code, then select Next.

    Microsoft login screen asking for the generated code.

  8. Login with the same user account tied to the email entered in the Username field.
  9. Select the Consent on behalf of your organization box, then select Accept.

  10. Under the Activate button, verify the activation was successful, then select Save.

    Email Printing tab showing the Activate button and Successful Activation message below it.

Email printing tab with the Tenant ID filed highlighted and the value from Azure Portal added.

3. Attachment Settings

The formats supported for email attachment printing depends on whether or not you have LibreOffice installed on your server.

Without LibreOffice Installed

  • .pdf, .txt, .html, .htm, .jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp

With LibreOffice Installed

  • Document — .pdf, .doc, .dot, .docx, .dotx, .odt
  • Spreadsheet — .xls, sxlsx, .xlt, .xltx, .xlsm, .ods
  • Presentation — .ppt, .pptx, .pot, .potx, .odp
  • Text — .txt, .rtf
  • HTML — .html, .htm
  • Images — .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .png, .tiff, .tif, .bmp

The following steps guide you through configuring Email Printing with attachments.

  1. Check the box for Enable Office-type File Attachment Printing.
  2. Leave LibreOffice selected in the Select your office suite drop-down.
  3. In the Path to LibreOffice Executable field, enter the path to the executable file. Example: C:\Program Files\LibreOffice.
  4. Select Save

Enable Office-type File attachement printing section.

4. Enable Direct Email Printing

  1. Select the box for Enable Direct Email Printing on the Service Client's Email Printing tab.
  2. If you are not configuring Direct Guest Email Printing simultaneously, leave the other settings unchecked.
  3. Select Save

Direct Email Printing settings from the Service Client's Email Printing tab.

5. PKI Encryption (Optional)

The last section on the Service Client's Email Printing tab is for Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Encryption. Follow the steps below if you wish to configure PKI Encryption for Email Printing in your environment.

PKI Encryption

Install Win32 OpenSSL v3.2.2 .exe on the Windows Service Client device.

  1. On the Service Client device, navigate to https://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html.
  2. Select and download the EXE link.
  3. Run the downloaded file and proceed through the installation process.
  4. Add OpenSSL to the PATH variable.
    1. Select Start and type Path.
    2. Select Edit the system environment variables.
    3. Under the Advanced tab, select the Environment Variables button.
    4. Under the System Variables section, select Path then select Edit.
    5. Select Edit in the new pop-up box.
    6. Double-click the next available empty line and enter the path to the OpenSSL bin folder, for example, C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenSSL-Win32\bin.
  5. After installing OpenSSL, reboot the machine.
  6. After the device reboots, access the Service Client's Email Printing tab in the Admin Console.
  7. Select Enable PKI Encryption in the Admin Console.

  8. Copy and paste the proper certification key and select Save.

    Service Client's Email Printing tab showing the Enable PKI encryption section with the enable check box, and the text field for the certificate and private key pairs.

  9. Restart the Service Client.

6. Confirm Email Printing Service is Running

After saving the Email Printing configurations, verify the service (PrinterLogicServiceEmail.exe) is running. The steps below are for confirming the service on a Windows Service Client machine.

  1. On the Service Client machine, open Task Manager.
  2. Select the Processes or Details tab.
  3. Verify the following services are running.
    1. The three Virtual ApplianceClient services. PrinterInstallerClient.exe, PrinterInstallerClientInterface.exe, and PrinterInstallerClientLauncher.exe.
    2. The Service Client PrinterLogicServiceManager.exe.
    3. The Email Printing PrinterLogicServiceEmail.exe.

Services for other features enabled on the Service Client object also display.

Task Manager's Details tab, showing the enabled services running for the client, service client, and email printing.

7. Configure Domain & Default Setting

The following settings help you customize the Direct Email Printing user experience. Default (All) to enable Direct Email Printing for all printers or Printer-Specific to just enable specific printers. Choose the option best suited for your environment.

On the Admin Console, navigate to Tools then Settings then Printing and go to the Direct Email Printing section.

Here is a brief overview of the settings.

Direct Email Address Domain

Enter the email domain of the email address(es) you want to use for the printer(s). The domain entered here appears after the direct email address in the Direct Email Printing section of printer object's Printing tab.

Default per-printer "Direct Email Printing" setting
Check the box to set the default setting to allow authenticated users to email print jobs directly to the printers.
Default per-printer "Direct Email Guest Printing" setting
Check the box to set the default setting to allow guests to email print jobs directly to the printers.

Default domain settings with no other settings enabled.

Default (All)
  1. In the Direct Email Address Domain, enter in the email address domain.
  2. Under Default per-printer "Direct Email Printing" setting, select the box for Allow print jobs to be emailed directly to this printer.
  3. Select Save

Printer-Specific
  1. In the Direct Email Address Domain, enter in the email address domain.
  2. Leave the default settings unchecked.
  3. Select Save

Default domain settings with no other settings enabled.

8. Configure Printer Email Prefix & Per-Printer Settings

Default (All)
  1. Navigate to the Direct Email Printing section on the desired printer object's Printing tab.

  2. In the Direct Email Address field, enter the email prefix decided for the printer.

    Gmail handles aliases using +. If the pull printer email address assigned on the Email Printing tab is printercloud@gmail.com, and the printer's object's name is reception, the Direct Email Address field would be printercloud+reception@gmail.com. See Direct Email Printing using Gmail for more information.

  3. Verify the following settings are selected:
    1. Use Default Direct Email Printing setting.
    2. Allow print jobs to be emailed directly to this printer.
  4. Select Save
  5. Repeat for each printer object.

Print jobs sent to the printer object's direct email address will now print out at that device using the default settings.

Direct Email Printing settings section of the Printer's tab

Printer-Specific
  1. Navigate to the Direct Email Printing section on the desired printer object's Printing tab.

  2. In the Direct Email Address field, enter the email prefix decided for the printer.

    Gmail handles aliases using +. If the pull printer email address assigned on the Email Printing tab is printercloud@gmail.com, and the printer's object's name is reception, the Direct Email Address field would be printercloud+reception@gmail.com. See Direct Email Printing using Gmail for more information.

  3. Select Use printer-specific Direct Guest Email Printing setting.
  4. Select the box for Allow print jobs to be emailed directly to this printer.
  5. Select Save
  6. Repeat for each desired printer object.

Print jobs sent to the printer object's direct email address will now print out at that device using the printer's settings.

Troubleshooting Help