Have you ever needed to print an important document while on the move? You may have booked a flight from your iPhone and need to print your ticket before arriving at the airline check-in desk. Or, an email is sent to your phone containing a document for a meeting you are already on your way to.
Increasingly, we find ourselves conducting our business and personal transactions over the internet. We receive important documents by email, place orders for goods, and even book our travel and entertainment on the internet.
These types of common situations require a secure and convenient solution that allows people on the go to print documents wherever they choose, and as easily as they print at their home or main office. Ricoh’s HotSpot printing solution meets these requirements. It provides reliable access to driverless printing in an embedded, secure mobile printing system.
HotSpot printing can provide organisations and businesses with a competitive advantage by offering greater convenience. It will improve customer satisfaction and loyalty—especially in the travel, hospitality, and entertainment markets. If your customer chooses to incorporate a payment option, their clients can quickly and securely pay for their prints via PayPal.
The HotSpot printing solution is easy to set up, and it doesn’t require the installation of any additional software or drivers.
What is HotSpot printing?
Ricoh Hotspot is printing service that allows end users to send a print job to a Ricoh HotSpot printer from a mobile device, such as a laptop or phone, without the need to install additional software or printer drivers.
It gives service-focused businesses—such as airports, cafeterias, and hotels—an advantage over their competitors. HotSpot printing can also benefit Ricoh customers in corporate environments where users need to move between several locations.
What is required for HotSpot printing?
Organisations and businesses providing this service require a Ricoh HotSpot printer embedded with Mobile Printing Technology—developed by PrinterOn. Users need an internet-enabled mobile device to use this service.
How does HotSpot printing work?
A user can send a print job to a Ricoh HotSpot printer:
- By email—the print job is sent to the printer’s email address
- From a website—the print job is sent to the printer from the printer’s web address.
The print job is stored on the HotSpot printer’s memory until the user releases it at the printer by entering a unique release code that is automatically emailed to the user’s mobile device.
Selling the HotSpot printing solution
It's an ideal solution for businesses offering passenger transport, entertainment, and hospitality services to allow their customers to print boarding passes, train tickets, and concert tickets on demand. Large corporations will be able to offer their employees flexible and convenient printing.
The HotSpot printing solution provides Ricoh with the opportunity to sell more Ricoh HotSpot printers to these markets. It will allow businesses to provide a convenience that will attract new customers or, as a chargeable printing service, to increase revenue.
Using HotSpot printing
The HotSpot printers perform all daily network printing tasks for office-based employees while supporting the mobile needs of users travelling or located remotely. Users can print emails or attachments directly from their devices, whether they are on an iPhone, Blackberry, or any other internet-enabled mobile phone or laptop. Documents sent for printing are encrypted and held securely until the user releases them using the code sent to their mobile device.
When a Ricoh HotSpot printer is installed, it's allocated a unique email address and web page. The web address is automatically registered with PrinterOn’s global printer directory. This web page can also be branded to reflect the customer's corporate image.
Printing documents using the printer’s email address
A user can print from to a Ricoh HotSpot printer simply by sending an email, with or without an attachment, to the HotSpot printer’s email address. A print job is created for each email or email attachment, and held securely in the printer’s memory until the user releases it.
A reply email is automatically sent to the user’s mobile device with a unique, randomly generated release code. The user releases the documents for printing by entering the release code on the keypad at the printer.
To ensure security, the print job is deleted from the printer’s memory after printing.
Printing documents using the printer’s web page
A Ricoh HotSpot printer is allocated a unique web page, where the users can upload their documents for printing.
On the web page, the user selects a document from their mobile device for printing, enters their email address for receiving a release code, and submits their print request to the printer.
If there is a fee for the print service, the cost is displayed on the web page before the user decides to send the print job to the selected printer.
The web page displays the number of printed pages in the document, and the release code required to release the print job is sent to the user’s email address.
The user enters the unique release code at the printer to release the print job. Once the document is printed, the print job is deleted from the printer’s memory.
Fast and secure payment
If your customer would like the option of charging users a fee for printing via the Ricoh HotSpot printer, integration into PayPal is available to assist the customer and their cost recovery.
The user sends their print job to the HotSpot printer, but before they get their release code, they are transferred to the PayPal site where they can pay by a PayPal account or
credit card. Once the payment is confirmed, they will be redirected back to the HotSpot web page where they’ll receive the release code to print the job.
PayPal gives customers a safe, secure, and convenient way to pay online. All they need is a business account with PayPal, and Ricoh will integrate the customer’s account with their Ricoh HotSpot printer.
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