Pharos Cloud Platform Update January 2023 Release Notes

This release represents the latest version of Pharos Cloud. This update includes new features and improvements to Pharos Direct Print.
PHAROS CLOUD DIRECT PRINT ENHANCEMENTS

In March 2021, Pharos introduced Pharos Direct Print, the cloud-based workflow enabling employees to send their print jobs directly to a printer. Employees could add a direct printer via the Chrome extension or the Pharos Secure Release desktop app and then send print jobs directly to the added printers without requiring authentication to release the print job.
This release includes improvements to Direct Print that drive efficiency and improve user experience. Key enhancements include:

• Print driver management

• Location-based printing

• Directory User Group synchronization

Print Driver Management

One of the most challenging aspects of managing printers is managing print drivers. This release simplifies print driver management by allowing IT admins to: 

• Centrally manage print drivers in the cloud

• Select a driver from the list of manufacturers’ printer drivers for Windows in the Pharos Cloud web console 

• Upload device-specific print drivers using the new Driver Capture tool

• Use the Pharos IPP class driver 

Print drivers for Windows in Pharos Cloud 

To simplify print driver management, Pharos Direct Print comes with universal drivers for various printer manufacturers for Windows. When IT admins configure print queues in the Direct > Direct Printers > Print Queues tab of the Pharos Cloud web console, they can now select a driver from the list of pre-loaded manufacturer drivers. Each print driver also comes with a list of pre-configured finishing options (printing preferences).  

Adding a direct printer (either manually or automatically) from the Pharos Cloud Secure Release desktop app automatically downloads and installs print drivers and finishing options on user workstations.
If any of the pre-loaded drivers are not suitable for a device, IT admins can easily add specific print drivers using the new Driver Capture tool.

Driver Capture Tool

The Driver Capture tool is used to upload drivers as well as set up related finishing options in Pharos Cloud. With the Driver Capture tool, an IT admin can:

• Upload print drivers and finishing options. For organizations that require print drivers other than the ones in the Pharos Cloud driver store, there is an option to upload device-specific print drivers to  Pharos Cloud. 

• Add new finishing options for an existing driver. Create new finishing options for existing drivers in Pharos Cloud. For example, IT admins can create a new finishing option configuration (e.g., A3, Color, Duplex) for the existing HP Universal Printing PCL 6 (v7.0.1) print driver.

Note: Adding print drivers is supported on Windows only. macOS is not supported. 

IT admins can launch the Driver Capture tool from the Pharos Cloud web console (Direct > Direct Printers > Print Queues tab).

More Information: Driver Capture Tool

Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) Support 

Direct Print also supports Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). This allows users to submit print jobs using the standard IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) protocol over an encrypted connection without requiring any additional software or app. With IPP, Pharos Cloud encrypts print jobs and protects the “last mile,” making sure that print jobs are safe from threats, such as sniffer software.
Direct Print includes Pharos’ IPP class print driver which can support thousands of printer models across all manufacturers—from low-end single-function printers to large, departmental MFPs. The Pharos IPP class driver now supports creating multiple queues (with different finishing options)  for the same printer. 
Note: The Pharos IPP class driver supports Windows 10 and Windows 11.  macOS and Chrome extension are not yet supported. 

Location-based printing

Printers can be in multiple areas within a building or multiple offices and branches around the world. Location-based printing enables users to print to devices based on the network location of their workstation. The Print Scout installed on user workstations detects the user’s location and seamlessly shows a list of the available printers at their current location.
Pharos Direct Print uses the concept of “locations” to represent the physical structure of your organization and to define printers’ locations in relation to your organization’s physical layout.

• Add and manage locations in the Direct > Direct Printers tab of the Pharos web console. 

• Locations are configured in tiers to create a hierarchy of your organization’s physical location. At the top of the hierarchy is the Region, which holds child locations Site, Building, Floor, and Area. 

• Locations can be configured with network information (if auto-installing printers on user workstations). If network information is not available, is unsuitable, or is not desired, users can manually select a location or manually install printers themselves. 

• Print devices are assigned to locations. Each print device can have one or more associated print queues. A print queue can be one of two types: a Windows queue or an IPP queue. 

Note: Location-based printing is supported on Windows only.

More Information: Location-based Printing

Direct Print User Experience 

Depending on how direct print queues are configured, users can either print right away, manually select a location, or manually add a printer.

Auto-install Printers

Auto-install printers (i.e., auto-install print queues) are automatically installed on user workstations based on a user’s location. This allows users to print immediately as soon as they connect to a network. When the user moves to a different location, the printers from the previous location are removed and printers from the new location are added. 

Note: Auto-install printers require configuration of network information in the Pharos web console. 

Auto-install Printers – Manual selection of workstation location 

Users can manually choose their location from the Secure Release desktop app. This is used when network information is not configured for any given location. 

To manually set a location, the user selects Set Workstation Location from the Secure Release desktop app. The user then selects a location. Auto-install printers are automatically installed on the user’s workstation. 

Manual-install Printers

Users can manually add the nearest printers themselves using the Pharos Secure Release desktop app. Allowing users to manually install printers is particularly important for organizations with special printers that they do not want to be readily available to users. For example, administrators may choose to not automatically install color printers because they want to discourage color printing, but they want to provide users with the option to add the printer themselves if color printing is needed. 

Note: While Auto-Install printers are automatically removed when a user changes location, manual-install printers are retained. Users will need to manually delete them if they are no longer needed. 

Directory User Group Synchronization

Pharos Cloud now supports the automatic provisioning of users and groups from identity providers using the System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) protocol. SCIM is an open standard automating user provisioning for organizations by communicating employee identity data from identity providers (IdP) to service providers. 

Pharos Cloud supports the following identity providers:

• Microsoft Azure AD

• Okta

• Ping Identity

An administrator configures users and groups in the identity provider to synchronize with Pharos Cloud. Once the connection is established between Pharos Cloud and the identity provider, any changes to user and group information from the identity provider are automatically updated in Pharos Cloud. Synchronization between Pharos Cloud and the identity provider supports the following:

• Creating users or groups

• Updating user attributes 

• Deleting users or groups

User group information can be used to restrict access to direct printers. When a direct printer has been assigned to a group, it is only available to the users in the assigned group, meaning only users in the group can search for and add the direct printer. If there are no group assignments, all direct printers are available to all users by default.

Note: Ping Identity does not support user groups. 

Changes in the Pharos Web Console 

A new User and Group Sync section has been added to the Secure > Advanced tab of the Pharos Cloud web console or the Direct > Settings tab (for organizations with a Direct Print only license).  This screen is used to generate credentials for use with the SCIM integration with the identity provider. 

Important Notes 

• SCIM support is available only upon request. 

• Once a connection with SCIM is established, we do not recommend using the import function to import users into Pharos Cloud. However, you can use import to add cards for the users. 

• The supported authentication type is OpenID only.

More Information:  User Group Synchronization

Print Scout Improvements

Direct Print requires the Print Scout client component to be installed on user workstations. It is responsible for installing the new Pharos Secure Release desktop app which provides the user interface for Direct Print. 

In this release, the Pharos Cloud desktop app has been updated to support the new features and improvements for Direct Print, including location-based printing. Some of the notable changes include:

• A new Direct Print tab has been added to the Pharos Secure Release desktop app.

• Adding a printer manually now shows a location tree.

Changes on the Pharos Cloud Web Console

This version of Pharos Cloud Direct Print includes the following changes to the Pharos Cloud web console. 

• A new Print Queues tab has been added to the Direct Printers tab.

• The Direct Printers tab now includes a new Locations section.

• The Direct Printer Name in the Direct Printers tab is now called Printer Label. 

• The Direct Printer Enabled field has been removed from the Direct Printers tab. This field was used to enable a printer for use with Direct Print. Enabling a printer for Direct Print is no longer required in this release.

• The Ipp Url field is now populated with the value from the Discovered Ipp Url (discovered by Device Scout) if a manually entered value is not present. Previously, only a manually entered value was displayed for Ipp Url.

The following image shows the updated Direct Print tab on the Pharos Cloud web console.

Existing Customers Upgrade

Pharos endeavour to make the transition to the new Direct Print for existing customers as easy and as minimally disruptive as possible. We want to make sure that existing users can continue to use Pharos Direct Print even after the upgrade. The following details how Direct Print works for existing customers after the January 2023 Pharos Cloud update. It is assumed that Print Scouts on user workstations are not immediately upgraded to the latest version. 

• After the upgrade, Pharos Cloud automatically creates an IPP queue for any existing printer that was enabled for the previous version of Direct Print. 

• This release does not include an update to the Chrome extension or the macOS Print Scout. Existing users can continue to use direct printers added to the Chrome extension or the mac Print Scout after the upgrade. 

• Existing users can continue to use direct printers added via the Pharos Secure Release desktop app (with older Direct Print compatible Print Scout) after the upgrade. 

• Direct Printers added from the previous version will continue to work. Users can still search and add direct printers using the Chrome extension and the Pharos Secure Release desktop app (with older Direct Print compatible Print Scout).

• If a new device is added for Direct Print, IT admins must ensure that an IPP queue is created so the printer can be added using the Pharos Secure Release desktop app (with older Direct Print compatible Print Scout). 

• Any updates to print queues will be available only after a manual refresh or after the automatic daily refresh.

• Previous versions of the Chrome extension and Print Scout are not aware of the new print queue model for Pharos Direct Print. Users running older versions of these client components cannot add a printer that only has a Windows queue. 

• Any existing user group permissions applied to a printer are honored by the new version of Pharos Direct Print. 

• Print-at-home on Print Scout also continues to function.

• If existing printers had information on Region, Site, Building, Floor, and Area, that information will be used to construct the location tree.

COMPONENT RELEASE VERSIONS 

This release includes the following software components and release versions. 

*Note: Secure Release mobile apps will be published after the Cloud Services are updated.