Canon’s imageRUNNER ADVANCE models will provide native support, while uniFLOW Online and uniFLOW Online Express will provide organisations with expanded print management capabilities.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. and NT-ware announced the upcoming support for Universal Print, developed by Microsoft. Organisations that wish to utilise Universal Print within their environment can benefit from the native support that will be built into imageRUNNER ADVANCE firmware along with the additional capabilities that will be provided by either the free-of-charge uniFLOW Online Express, or optional uniFLOW Online.
Designed to provide a modern print service experience in Microsoft 365 for businesses and educational institutions of any size, Universal Print moves some key Windows Server print infrastructure to Microsoft 365 and offers print management capabilities. As an added convenience, a single generic driver is used, irrespective of printer model, so no driver management and setup are needed.
Native support for Universal Print with imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX and third-generation imageRUNNER ADVANCE models is set to be included in version 3.11 of the Unified Firmware Platform, which is currently scheduled to be released in September 2020.
This allows users to print to these models using Universal Print without the need for local print servers. uniFLOW Online Express, a free-of-charge SaaS service also running on Microsoft Azure, will be able to extend the capabilities of Universal Print for these models by providing device authentication, comprehensive print/copy/scan/fax reporting, scan to myself and Google Drive.
“The way people work is changing as cloud adoption and technology continue to expand and evolve, driving digital transformation. Canon’s imageRUNNER ADVANCE multifunction printers along with uniFLOW Online can provide the flexibility and scalability to help address diverse workplace needs,” said Shinichi Yoshida, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “As demonstrated by this collaboration with Microsoft, Canon is committed to continuously deliver solutions that support our customers in their journey to the digital workplace.”
“We are excited to be working closely together with Microsoft on the integration of uniFLOW Online and Universal Print,” said Karsten Huster, President and CEO, NT-ware. “The result will be a holistic cloud solution that combines powerful features with straightforward administration.”
Issa Khoury, Principal Programme Manager Lead, Microsoft Corporation, said: “Universal Print was developed to provide our Microsoft 365 customers with an easy-to-use solution to help them migrate and manage their print infrastructure in the cloud. We are happy to be working alongside Canon and NT-ware to expand this offering and help our joint customers meet ever-changing business needs. We are really excited that Canon will have print devices in market that will have native support for Universal Print.”
