Print Scout Release

Print Scout Release is a secure print delivery method in which one or more Print Scouts deliver print jobs to Secure Printers on behalf of the user. In this model, the printer does not retrieve print content directly from the cloud. Instead, a Print Scout securely handles delivery at the time of release.

In HP Insights, there are two primary approaches for delivering print jobs to printers:

Print Scout Release (Push Print)

Print jobs are delivered to the printer by a Print Scout.

Cloud Release (Pull Print)

Secure Printers retrieve print jobs directly from the cloud.

NoteThis document describes Print Scout Release. For cloud-based release, see the Cloud Release documentation.

Supported Print Release Workflows

These delivery approaches are combined into four practical workflows:

Local Storage & Personal Print Scout

The print job never leaves the customer’s network. Print submission and print release will use the employee’s personal Print Scout.

Cloud Storage & Crowdsourcing

Print submission will store a print job locally and in the HP Insights. Print release will use the employee’s personal Print Scout if online otherwise will use cloud backup and an available crowdsource Print Scout.

Cloud Storage & Virtual Print Services

Print submission will store a print job locally and in the HP Insights. Print release will use the cloud backup and an eligible virtual print server Print Scout. The employee’s personal Print Scout is never used for print release.

Cloud Storage & Pull Printing

Print jobs are uploaded to the HP Insights and the Secure Printer pulls it directly. Print Scout is not used to deliver the print jobs.

NoteFor details on delivering print jobs without using the Print Scout, refer to the Cloud Release documentation.

Document Storage Options

Cloud Storage is a document-handling option in HP Insights that determines whether encrypted print jobs are stored only on the user’s workstation or also stored securely in the HP Insights. This setting directly affects how print jobs can be released and which release methods are available.

Local Storage (Cloud Storage OFF)

Print jobs are stored only on the user’s workstation in encrypted form. The workstation must be online at the time of release in order for the job to be printed.

This option is configured by disabling Cloud Storage in Secure > Settings > Document Handling.

This is the default setting.

Cloud Storage (Cloud Storage ON)

Print jobs are stored (encrypted) on the user’s workstation and in the HP Insights. This allows print jobs to be released even if the user’s workstation is offline, improving availability and resilience.

This option is configured by enabling Cloud Storage in Secure > Settings > Document Handling.

NotePrint Scout Release uses Cloud Storage as an optional backup to enable release when a workstation is offline. Cloud Release depends entirely on Cloud Storage and does not use Print Scouts for delivery.

Local Storage and Personal Print Scout

In this workflow, the print job never leaves the customer’s network. Both print submission and release rely on the user’s personal Print Scout.

Print Submission from Personal Print Scout

A user submits a print job from a Windows or macOS workstation running a personal Print Scout.

The Print Scout services encrypt the print job and store the encrypted job locally on the workstations.

Print Release from Personal Print Scout

The user releases the print job from a secure printer. HP Insights first checks whether the personal Print Scout is online and reachable.

If the Print Scout is available, HP Insights notifies the Print Scout to release the print job.

The Print Scout decrypts and sends the job to the Secure Printer.

NoteThe print job will only be released if the user's personal Print Scout is online. If the personal Print Scout is offline or does not have a line of sight o the secure printer, print release will fail.

NotePersonal Print Scout does not support print jobs submitted from a mobile device, the Chrome Print extension, the Linux Print Scout, user portal, or guest portal.

Cloud Storage and Crowd Sourcing

In Crowd Source Print Scout Release, print submission and release occur on different workstations. Jobs are stored locally and backed up in the cloud. The user’s personal Print Scout is used for release when available; otherwise, another eligible Print Scout retrieves the cloud copy and delivers the job to the printer.

User submits a print job from a Windows or macOs machine running a Print Scout (personal Print Scout).

NoteUser can also submit print jobs from a mobile device with the Secure Print app installed or from Chrome OS extension or Linux workstations. Chrome extension, mobile, and Linux print submission options require Cloud Storage and OpenID Connect as the user authentication provider. Print jobs are not stored locally on the workstation.

The Print Scout encrypts the print job, stores a copy of the encrypted print job on the workstation, and uploads a backup copy of the encrypted print job to the HP Insights.

When a user prints a job and their personal Print Scout is online and the job is stored locally, the Print Scout decrypts and releases the print job.

NoteIt's important to note that this does not apply to print jobs submitted from a mobile device, Chrome extension, or Linux Print Scout.

When a user prints a job and their personal Print Scout is offline, HP Insights will notify another Print Scout to release the print job to the secure printer.

NoteFor this to work, Cloud Storage must be enabled.

Cloud Storage and Virtual Print Services

With Virtual Print Server release, print release occurs through a Print Scout running in "Print Server" mode. Print jobs are stored both locally and in the cloud. For print release, the cloud backup and a virtual print server Print Scout are used. The employee’s personal Print Scout is never used for print release.

NoteTo use this option, you will need to enable the Force delivery via print servers setting in the Secure > Settings > Document Handling section of the web console.

This option is designed for customers who have printers that operate on a different VLAN than workstations. In this case, the user's workstation will not have access to the printers, therefore a "special" Print Scout is needed within the printer's VLAN to handle all job delivery requests.

For this feature to work, the following are required

Cloud Storage is enabled.
Print Scout is installed on Print Servers

User Workflow

User submits a print job from a Windows or macOs machine running a Print Scout. User can also submit print jobs from a mobile device with the Secure Print app installed or from Chrome OS extension or Linux workstations.

The Print Scout encrypts the print job, stores a copy of the encrypted print job on the workstation, and uploads a backup copy of the encrypted print job to the HP Insights.

The user walks up to a secure printer and authenticates. HP Insights will notify a Print Scout running in Print Server mode to release the print job to the secure printer.

How HP Insights Selects a Print Scout for Secure Print

When a secure print job is released in HP Insights, a Print Scout is responsible for decrypting and delivering the job to the printer. In some environments, multiple Print Scouts may be available to release the same job. This section explains how HP Insights determines which Print Scout is used and how the system handles availability and retries.

How Print Scout Selection Works

HP Insights uses a policy-driven and fault-tolerant selection process to choose an appropriate Print Scout. The goal is to ensure reliable job release while minimizing user impact if a Print Scout is unavailable. The selected Print Scout is determined by configuration settings in combination with real-time Scout availability.

Configuration Comes First

Administrators can configure how and where print jobs are released. These settings define which Print Scouts are eligible to deliver jobs. Examples of common configuration options include:

Local job storage only

Restricts job release to the workstation where the job was originally submitted.

Restrict Print Scout Release

Allows jobs to be released only by the user’s own workstation Print Scout or by Print Scout servers. Other user workstations are excluded.

When Restrict Print Scout Release is enabled, the user’s originating Print Scout is used as the primary point of job release whenever it is online and on-network. If the originating Print Scout is unavailable, HP Insights automatically selects an online Print Scout running in "Print Server" mode to download the job from cloud storage and deliver it to the printer.

This approach prevents one user’s print data from traversing another user’s workstation and ensures that job data flows only through well-known, dedicated print server–mode Scouts.

For most environments, Restrict Print Scout Release is preferred over Force Delivery via Print Servers because it provides predictable and controlled job routing, reduces the risk of print data traversing other users’ workstations, ensures a reliable fallback through server-mode Print Scouts, and significantly simplifies troubleshooting in real-world customer environments.

Force delivery via Print Scout servers

This option forces delivery of jobs to Print Servers instead of local workstations. When Force delivery through Print Servers is enabled, all job release activities will be handled by Print Scouts that are in Print Server Mode (also known as virtual print server mode). The user's originating Print Scout will never be used for job release even if it is online and on the network.

This setting should only be enabled when required by network design. For example, in environments where workstations have no printer access, and a server exists within the printer VLAN, and HP Insights networks are correctly defined.

NoteThe Force delivery via Print Servers and the Restrict Print Scout Release options should not be enabled at the same time. They are mutually exclusive operations.

NoteThe Restrict Print Scout Release and Force delivery via Print Servers options are available in the web console under Secure > Settings > Secure Print Settings > Document Handling.

These settings allow organizations to balance availability, security, and operational control based on their environment.

When a job is released, HP Insights evaluates which Print Scouts are allowed by configuration. From the eligible options, the system automatically selects a Print Scout that is available and able to complete the release successfully. No manual selection is required by the user.

If the preferred Print Scout is unavailable (for example, a workstation is offline), HP Insights can automatically use another eligible Print Scout, such as a server-based scout, to complete the release. This helps reduce failed print attempts without compromising security.