Print on Demand: Your Overlooked Security Asset

about print on demand

Secure documents aren’t particularly secure when they’re left sitting in a printer tray in an open space, accessible by anyone. Not only do unsecured printing practices lead to potential breaches in internal and customer data, but they contribute to waste paper. So what is print on demand, and how can it increase your data security?

Print Only When Authorized

Here’s how print on demand works. While an employee may send a document to your multifunction printer, the document doesn’t actually print until the employee physically authorizes the machine using a swipe card or a PIN. This way the employee must be physically present to receive the document,
ensuring a secure presence and minimizing access only to the person who printed the document. Without authorization at the device, the printer holds the document in queue without releasing it.

How Does This Increase Document Security?

With assigned access codes or swipe cards, it’s impossible for anyone to tamper with documents they aren’t privileged to access. Implementing a secure access policy ensures that document security can be effectively controlled by assigning user roles or limiting access to certain documents to those with a
specific code or set of codes. Greater control over document access means a tighter security architecture overall, and a more cost-effective way to prevent data breaches caused by careless use of physically printed information.