Canon to support Universal Print, Developed by Microsoft as a Part of Commitment to Cloud-Based Solutions

Canon will support Universal Print developed by Microsoft as a continuing commitment to cloud-based solutions that enable digital transformation in the USA. The organizations that wish to utilize 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 the printer model, so no driver management and setup is 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 release 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.

imageRUNNER ADVANCE devices can be registered to uniFLOW Online in bulk, easing administration burdens. Users are able to select supported finishing options such as duplex, hole-punch and multi-position staple from the Windows print dialogue or the Canon device panel. Support for Universal Print will be launched with the next uniFLOW Online deployment update, which is currently expected in October 2020. Large organizations have the opportunity to try uniFLOW Online and the Universal Print integration before the official launch date.