Is it Possible to Print From Home to Your Office Printer?

Posted on May 01, 2023

Topics: Office Technology

Is it Possible to Print From Home to Your Office Printer?

In the modern era of remote work, many employees in Ontario have the flexibility to work from home on certain days of the week. 

In many instances, remote workers still need to print documents and other materials to their office printer - whether it be for their colleagues to collect from their printer or for themselves to pick up next time they are in the office. 

Fortunately, it is possible to print from home to the office printer in various ways, depending on the printer type and network access. In this blog, we’re going to explore exactly why it’s important to be able to do so, and how to do it. 

Why it’s Important to be Able to Print From Home to the Office

There are several reasons why it's essential that your employees can print from their home to your office printer, including:

✔️ It allows your business to support a remote workforce: One of the most significant benefits is the flexibility it offers in terms of where and when work can be completed. Supporting remote work helps you to maintain a healthy and happy team, enhance your team’s work-life balance, and even gain a competitive edge by improving your access to top talent.

✔️ Improved productivity: By being able to print from home, employees can complete work more quickly and efficiently, without the need to travel to the office to print documents. This can help to save time, as well as improve overall productivity. Employees can simply ask their colleagues to collect their documents, or pick them up next time they are in the office. 

✔️ Reduced printing costs and environmental impact: By printing from home, employees can avoid traveling to the office unnecessarily to print documents, which saves time and money on transportation costs. Additionally, printing from home to the office can reduce paper waste by allowing employees to print only what they need, rather than printing extra copies that may not be necessary.

✔️ Improved workforce flexibility: The flexibility provided by printing from home is another significant benefit. With the ability to print from home, employees can work from anywhere and still access and print necessary documents. This can be especially helpful for employees who travel frequently or have flexibility in where they work from.

Methods for Printing From Home to the Office

There are multiple ways to print from home to the office printer, here are some of the most effective methods: 

Mobile Print Control and Release

Print control and release solutions allow users to send print jobs to a printer, but the jobs are held in a queue until the user is physically present at the printer and releases the job. These solutions typically require users to authenticate themselves at the printer using a username and password or other form of identification, such as a smart card or biometric scan.

This can be useful for printing confidential documents or reducing paper waste by preventing unnecessary printing and enhancing your company’s security. Print control and release is by far the most cost-effective and secure way for employees to print from home to the office. 

Email

Email is one of the simplest methods to print from home. Many modern printers have an email address that accepts print jobs sent via email. To use this method, you need to know your printer's email address and have access to an email client like Gmail or Outlook. Create a new email message, attach the document you want to print, and send it to the printer's email address.

Cloud Printing 

Cloud printing is another option that is becoming more popular. Many printer manufacturers offer cloud printing services that enable you to print from anywhere using the internet. 

To use this method, you need to set up your printer for cloud printing and then access it from your home computer or mobile device. Set up your account with the printer manufacturer's cloud service, register your printer, and then print documents by logging into your cloud account and selecting the appropriate printer.

VPN

A virtual private network (VPN) is another option that can be used to print from home to your office printer. If your office network uses a VPN, connect to the VPN from your home computer, and access the printer as if you were in the office. 

This method is more complicated than email or cloud printing and may require some assistance from an IT expert to set up if you don’t have an in-house IT department. 

Remote Desktop

Finally, a remote desktop is a method that allows you to access your office computer from home and use it to print to your office printer. This method requires a computer in the office that is set up for remote desktop access and the appropriate software installed on your home computer.

Interested in learning more about how your Ontario-based employees can print from home to the office printer? Get in touch with OT Group today. Our team of office technology specialists and IT experts would love to help. 

 

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