20 March, 2026
The way we work has changed. Today, your employees too probably work in the cloud, store their documents in SharePoint or OneDrive and also work from home. But what about printing? Is that already as modernly organised as the rest of the workplace? Or are there still print servers in the office, struggling with drivers and your employees printing their documents before they even reach the device?
Cloudprinting is the logical choice for easy and secure printing in a cloud environment. That is why this solution is a standard part of the smart workplace at IT Local. In this article, we would like to tell you more about it and read what cloud printing is, what the advantages are and what you can expect from us.
What is cloud printing?
Cloudprinting means that print jobs no longer go through a local print server, but through a cloud platform. Users log in with their Microsoft 365 account and automatically see the right printers, no matter where they work. A print job is sent securely via the cloud to the right printer. This could be a printer in the office, at another branch or even a printer at a home workplace. A job is printed only when you confirm it at the printer, possibly after identification for extra security.
Management is simpler: no more print servers to maintain, no loose drivers per workstation and no manual installations for new employees.
Why does this make sense when working in the cloud?
Traditional printing simply no longer fits with modern working in the cloud. If you work with Microsoft 365, for example, applications and documents run in an external data centre instead of on your local PC. However, the printer is still physically in the office. Without cloud printing, a document must first be downloaded to a local device and then resent to the printer. This creates extra steps, potential driver issues, dependence on local print servers and increased security risks.
Cloudprinting solves this by sending the print job directly and encrypted from the cloud environment to the printer, without a traditional print server. This makes printing location-independent, more manageable and secure, especially in organisations with multiple offices, hybrid workplaces or strict compliance requirements.
What do your employees notice?
Quite simply: it works... everywhere. Your employees can print from any device and from any location. They automatically see the printers available to them. Do you work with several branches? Then you can select the right printer at each location.
Follow-me-printing
A common feature is follow-me-printing. Here, you send your print job to the cloud and collect the print(s) from a printer of your choice within the network. Only after your confirmation and possible identification (via a PIN code or app) will the document actually be printed. This has several advantages: you print where you are at that moment, confidential documents do not remain unattended in the output tray and you avoid waste because you only print your documents after confirmation at the printer.
What is also convenient is that your employees can print something from home and pick it up at the office the next day.
Less management, less frustration
For IT administrators (and therefore also for us as your IT partner), cloud printing makes a world of difference. No more print servers to maintain, no loose drivers per workstation and no manual installations for new employees.
What is also convenient is that, as an administrator, you can give guests access to certain printers.
"We link the print environment to Microsoft 365, create printer groups and set policies. New employees log in and automatically see the right printers. That saves an enormous amount of management work and support tickets."
Freek Konings, engineer at IT Local
Secure and AVG-proof
A job application letter still on the printer, a financial report accidentally sent to the wrong printer and printed, an employee printing out files en masse, a hacker gaining access to an office printer and being able to see confidential documents... with cloud printing, you can prevent many of these kinds of security issues because:
- Print jobs are sent encrypted and linked to an authenticated user via Entra ID.
- Documents are printed only after you confirm the print job on the device, possibly after identification with a PIN or an app.
- By setting central printing policies, you can regulate who can print where, how much someone can print and when secure printing is mandatory.
Insight and control over costs
Cloudprinting gives you insight into how and how much is printed within your organisation and prevents unnecessary costs. Again, setting up a central printing policy helps. To save costs, you can, for instance, default double-sided printing, print in black and white instead of colour or set limits per user or department.
You also avoid waste because documents are only printed after confirmation at the printer. So no more piles of forgotten prints.
What solution do we offer?
We work with an industry-leading cloud printing solution that is fully integrated with Microsoft 365 and identity-based via Entra ID. The software is suitable for almost all modern printers. In most cases, existing printers can simply remain in place, so there is no need to invest in new hardware.
What we actually do for you
For us, cloud printing is not a separate tool, but part of our smart workplace. We take care of the complete set-up as well as management and support.
Setup
After we have discussed all desired settings with you, we will install the software for you and set everything up. We carry out this work:
- Creating the cloud print environment
- Link with Microsoft 365
- Setting up printer groups
- Setting policy rules
- Configuration of colour/black-and-white and paper trays
- Setting up secure printing with PIN code or app (if you wish and if the printer does not support it)
- Activating follow-me-printing (if you wish)
Next: management and support
Once the software is running, our management department monitors the printing environment. Is there a malfunction? Then our Service Desk is your point of contact to solve it or help you further. Is the problem with the physical device itself? Then we will involve the supplier. We also take care of implementing changes, e.g. for new employees, different rights or an additional location.
"Everyone knows the moment when a printer just doesn't do what you expect. With cloud printing, we remove much of that complexity from the printing environment. As a result, customers using our solution experience significantly fewer software failures than in traditional printing environments."
Bart Boer, account manager at IT Local
Cloudprinting as part of your smart workplace
Easy and secure printing, insight and control over costs and no worries about management... would you like to know how cloud printing can be set up within your organisation? We would be happy to show it to you as part of our smart workplace. Call Bart Boer for more information (06 43 75 97 42) or send him an e-mail.