Meet directprint.io: a Chromebook Printing Solution
Part of the excitement for our team at ISTE this past year was getting to interface with our Partners. That’s also where we met David from directprint.io for the first time. As a background, Amplified IT reviews the services available to K-12 schools and select the ones we feel are most suitable for our customers and create partnerships to offer their services. One of the common pain points we hear is printing reliably on Chromebooks. With our customers’ experiences in mind, we partnered with directprint.io to offer a printing solution for Chromebooks.
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I had the chance to chat with David from directprint.io, our newest partner, to talk about all things printing. Keep reading to learn more about the solution and pain points directprint.io can solve for your school.
What is your background? How did you get into cloud printing?
I am a Tech professional with a strong interest in web technologies. I’ve been managing teams using Web tech and especially Javascript for over 20 years. I bought a Chromebook for home use and found I couldn’t print easily, so I decided to solve the problem myself. I created a printer driver in my bedroom one night. One thing led to another, and I very quickly had interest from companies and schools who were struggling with the same challenges. The US Education sector is the largest Chromebook market there is, which is how I got into working with schools to solve their printing woes. I’m very proud to have founded a company whose software is used by hundreds of thousands of people and I get to speak to schools every day.
What are the common pain points you find schools are trying to solve surrounding printing on Chromebooks?
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Reliability – Cloud print is really difficult for some schools to set up and to get working consistently.
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Control – Schools can’t control who’s printing what and where. The existing solutions out there don’t offer the granularity of control or features that directprint.io does. Our solution has a direct integration with Google Workspace so you are able to create policies based on users and/or devices. Deployment of complex printer lists and rules is easy.
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Accountability – Schools are guessing their print costs and not realizing how they can save money. directprint.io provides a complete overview of how much is being printed, by whom, and how much printing is costing your school.
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Ease of use – Reduce the complexity! No print servers. Sign-up, configure and deploy the driver app. Printing shouldn’t be more complex than that. With directprint.io you’ll be printing from a Chromebook within 20 minutes of signing up to the trial. Set it up yourself or we can help you every step of the way.
What is different about directprint.io than other print solutions that are on the market today?
directprint.io is unique as it’s a full stack universal printer driver backed with a Cloud service.
It’s traditional yet modern – the traditional print driver means that your jobs are sent direct to the printer – meaning no print servers required, no Cloud print loop. It is fast, reliable, and predictable. As it’s a universal driver it works with all leading brands and most printers.
The modern Cloud service gives you 24/7 control, visibility and print accountability together with rolling product updates and new features. This means that you never have to upgrade another print server again or VPN into the school just to check on a printer.
Will my printers be compatible with directprint.io?
Our list of printer compatibility is HUGE and growing. We have customers using 10 year old HPs thru to the most modern MFPs. The printer setup wizard will tell you instantly whether it’s compatible – Google Cloud Print compatibility is not required. I’m interested to hear about the OLDEST printer you have working with directprint.io.
If I want to try the product, what does the process look like?
Just sign up for a free, fully functional 30 day trial at https://directprint.io/login/signup and follow the instructions. There is no server software to install, everything you need to get printing is right there. If you need support, just ping us via the directprint.io help section or give your favorite Amplified IT support person a call and we’ll get you up and printing.
How can I get started with the service or a trial?
Amplified IT can set up free trials for all of our partner services. We also set you up for success day one by talking through best practices, keeping your Google for Education environment in mind and we’re are also known to give gentle nudges to alert you when your trial is coming close to expiring.
If you are interested in learning more about how directprint.io can help you with cloud printing at your school or district, contact Catherine Weers, Partnership Manager, she will happily walk you through the printing service, set up a trial, and support you throughout the process.
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Catherine Weers
Partnership Manager -
About the Author:
Catherine Weers joined the Amplified IT team in 2017 after 13 years working in Public Schools as an educator and Technology Coordinator. She has a rich history in Educational Technology. Today, she is the Partnership Manager where she is in charge of ensuring schools get the right tools to fit their individual needs in security, Chromebook management, web filtering, backup solutions and much more. She is your #1 resource so feel free to ping her and chat about how she can help your district find the right fit.