How PrinterLogic Simplifies Distance Learning and K–12 Print Management

Last year’s sudden shift to distance learning revealed underlying deficiencies in IT infrastructure. In the K–12 sphere, entire school districts quickly discovered that they didn’t have the resources to fully support virtual classrooms for every student.

For many, the short-term fix was simply to channel more infrastructure toward the problem. Schools everywhere redirected their finite resources into hardware and software solutions that they hoped would smooth the switch to remote models. This proved expensive not only in terms of upfront costs but also when factoring in the costs of support. For example, some VDI solutions require teams of specialized staff.

The gradual return to in-person instruction has highlighted a new concern: print management. With Google Cloud Print now officially deprecated and pandemic precautions like social distancing still in place in many districts, schools with large fleets of student devices (especially Chromebooks) are finding it harder than ever to maintain basic print capabilities. Adding to this challenge is the growing adoption of secure print policies.

Furthermore, even as they return to more traditional instruction, some schools have chosen to retain or augment the remote platforms that they’ve relied on over the past year. Which only complicates the question of how their print management software can be configured to support both in-person and virtual students side-by-side.

As we know all too well, rolling out more infrastructure isn’t the answer. It’s costly and inefficient. For many school IT professionals, the ideal print management solution would be one that reduces infrastructure while also enabling their students to print when and where they need to—regardless of their device.

PrinterLogic’s serverless printing solution eliminates print servers. Because it leverages the strengths of direct IP printing instead of relying on an outdated server-based model, PrinterLogic enables IT departments to reduce infrastructure. Clients connect directly to printers instead of having those connections routed through a potential point of failure. That simplifies the print infrastructure, which in turn helps reduce cost in the near and long term.

But eliminating print servers does more than shrink your infrastructure’s footprint. Serverless printing with PrinterLogic also brings unprecedented flexibility, security and ease of administration to the print environment. 

• Centralized print management: Via a single console, school IT admins can oversee and manage printers and printing behavior system-wide. They get granular control over staff, teacher and student printing without the headache of GPOs or custom scripts.

• Secure print capabilities: Optional PrinterLogic features like secure release printing allow staff and teachers to print sensitive documents like HR records or exams conveniently and safe from prying eyes. Any network printer can be equipped for secure release functionality—even legacy devices.

• Support for any device: Along with Chromebooks, tablets (e.g., iPads) and low-cost laptops are also popular in K–12 environments. PrinterLogic’s seamless support for mobile and BYOD devices makes it easy to integrate a wide variety of clients into the print environment for effortless printing anywhere, anytime.

Even though organizations across the board are eager to reduce infrastructure and streamline print management, the ways they choose to eliminate print servers will take different forms. That’s why PrinterLogic offers the same powerful solution in two separate configurations: SaaS or Virtual Appliance.

PrinterLogic SaaS is perfect for organizations that want to reduce infrastructure through a cloud-style solution. The multi-tenancy capabilities are well suited to school districts that want to oversee multiple institutions with distinct printing needs. And because it has all the inherent advantages of AWS-hosted SaaS solutions, it’s ideal for dynamic distance learning environments or admins looking for a superior Google Cloud Print alternative.

The PrinterLogic Virtual Appliance is just as versatile and feature rich as its SaaS counterpart. In addition to offering secure print functionality and mobile/BYOD support, it’s unrivaled as print management software. The major difference is that it’s a self-hosted, on-prem solution designed for IT admins who want a little more control over core databases and upgrade cycles.

You can consult this handy overview to find out more about the advantages and use cases of PrinterLogic SaaS and the PrinterLogic Virtual Appliance.

It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges to the fore, particularly in K–12 education. But those same challenges have also presented opportunities for IT admins to reduce infrastructure, streamline print management and provide more reliable printing to students and teachers.

Changes like those will create a more scalable, cost-effective platform for the future—one that caters equally to distance learning and in-person instruction.

For even more background, have a look at our “K–12 Classroom Secrets” white paper. It goes into further detail about the specific needs of K–12 environments and how PrinterLogic addresses each of them.

We also have resources that speak directly to admins charged with overseeing fleets of Chromebooks. They explain how the PrinterLogic Chrome OS extension uses driverless, serverless technologies to make Chromebook printing and print management easier than ever