Driver-Based Vs. App-Based Secure Print: What’s The Difference?

Suppose your business currently leases or owns printing devices. In that case, you may have heard of the feature “secure print” or “secure release printing.”

But were you aware that there are two different types of secure print?

Driver-based and application-based are two types of Secure Print software that help businesses print securely and efficiently. But still, why should understanding both types matter for your company?

Well, fully grasping what they are and how they differ can help your business decide better for business operations.

At LDI Connect, we offer office copiers, printers, and MFPs that incorporate the standard secure print software within the device. However, we also provide app-based secure print through software programs like uniFLOW and PaperCut.

To assess which is better for our clients, we work to understand their print needs and long-term goals before recommending the right option for them.

This article will define both device-based and app-based secure print. Then it will cover the key differences between each. By the end of this article, you will have a better idea of what both offer and which may be a better fit for your business.

What Is Driver-Based Secure Print?

You can think of driver-based secure print as a standard feature with the printing device. This means that most devices incorporate a secure print feature within them.

Now, let’s break the feature down a bit more.

The standard driver-based secure print enables users to send jobs to a particular device. It’s then held in memory until the user is ready to print. More specifically, print jobs are stored in a print queue and only released once the user inserts a numerical code or scans their badge.

This reduces paper waste and the number of accidental prints. It also reduces the security risk of having a document filled with confidential information hang out at the printer unattended for another employee to scoop it up.

With the standard driver-based secure print, a job will not release until it’s specified to do so by the user who authorized the print job in the first place.

What Is App-Based Secure Print?

Now that we’ve outlined what driver-based secure print is, we can dive into what application-based secure print is.

As outlined above, driver-based refers to the feature that comes standard with the printing device you’re operating. In contrast, app-based fast print is a part of print management software that requires a separate installation onto your printing device.

Examples of print management software that incorporate secure print are uniFLOW, uniFLOW Online, and PaperCut.

With app-based, you’re still getting all that comes with the standard driver-based secure print. But there are additional elements that can help improve your company’s workflow, print costs, and security. What do we mean by this?

While we’ll get into the exact differences below, app-based provides customizable options that make printing more seamless, safe, and efficient for employees.

What Are The Differences?

Neither driver-based nor app-based is necessarily better or worse. It all comes down to which better serves your organization’s print needs.

It’s essential to understand their differences so that your business can decide which is a better fit for your team.

Now that we’ve uncovered what driver-based and app-based secure print mean, let’s dive into their differences.

Here are three differences between both types:

1. The Number Of Devices You Can Send A Print Job To

One big difference between both types is the options a user has when retrieving a print job.

Users can only retrieve a print job from one selected printer for the free driver-based secure print. This means that a user cannot switch the location of where the print job will be released nor conveniently print at a device that’s closer to their office.

Due to it being driver-based, this type of secure print only allows a user to print a document on one particular device.

App-based secure print allows users the freedom to select any device with the print management software installed.

Suppose your business is small and only leases one multifunctional device. This fundamental difference may not affect you all that much. But for larger organizations that lease or own a fleet of printers, this point is to keep in mind moving forward.

2. The Security Standards

With driver-based secure print, you can see other users’ print jobs in the queue when you’re physically at the device.

This doesn’t mean that you can print other users’ jobs. Still, as you scroll through to identify your job, you’ll notice a list of other queued-up documents waiting to be released.

However, with app-based secure print, jobs are not visibly available to everyone. App-based uses the latest network security standards to ensure that each print job is encrypted and protected.

Secure print applications like uniFLOW and PaperCut can help industries like healthcare and education meet compliances by ensuring the secure encryption of each piece of data sent and retrieved from a device.

3. Customizable Options That Can Improve Cost Recovery

With app-based, your company can see how much a user ID prints daily, weekly, or monthly, and base your following decisions on the data retrieved.

For example, your company can set regulations within the application to only allow black and white printing for employees or color printing for a select few authorized employees. How does this help?

Your business can save money by ensuring that employees aren’t using an excessive amount of toner or ink when it isn’t necessary.

These customizable options are not available within the standard driver-based secure print feature.

Customizing an application to meet the needs of your business can reduce print costs and help you save money on print consumables.

Ready Secure Print Is Right For Your Business?

Whether you use the standard secure print or purchase the app-based software, there is no wrong decision.

But as you’ve read above, app-based secure print does provide businesses with more oversight and control over their print jobs.

If you need more help deciding which to follow for your business, let’s provide some examples to help steer you in the right direction.

If you’re a small business leasing two MFPs, utilizing the free standard driver-based feature may be enough.

Suppose you’re a larger business that requires each print job to be encrypted for compliance reasons and is overspending on print consumables due to people accidentally printing in color. In that case, the app-based secure print may be better suited to your needs.

At LDI Connect, we work closely with prospects and clients to address their security concerns through user-friendly print management solutions.

Reach out to an LDI Connect representative today to learn more about secure print and how it can help your business.