Section
Document Workflows
Repeatable processes for scanning, printing, and document handling.
10 entries
Repeatable document processes — scan, print, archive, fax. Described as procedures with re-runnable steps, not as one-off task lists.
Print from a phone or tablet
- Print From an iPhonePrinting from an iPhone normally uses Apple's built-in AirPrint, which requires no app or driver when the printer is compatible and on the same network. This workflow explains the dependable path.Open the workflow →
- Print From an Android DeviceAndroid printing typically uses the built-in print framework with a print service for the printer. This workflow explains the dependable path and the usual prerequisites.Open the workflow →
- Print Documents From an iPadPrinting from an iPad uses the same built-in AirPrint path as other Apple devices. This workflow focuses on document printing and the common prerequisites.Open the workflow →
- Mobile Office PrintingMobile printing in an office succeeds or fails on network design and discovery. This workflow describes how to make phone and tablet printing dependable for many users.Open the workflow →
Scan to searchable PDF
Print shipping labels
More workflows
- Scan-to-Cloud WorkflowA scan-to-cloud workflow digitizes a physical document on a scanner or multifunction device and delivers it to a network- or internet-hosted destination rather than saving it only to a locally tethered computer. The term covers both a destination (cloud storage, a file-sync service, email, or a document-management system) and a transport model (the scan initiated or brokered over the network). Vendor-neutral building blocks include eSCL (Apple AirScan), Microsoft's WSD/WS-Scan, the PWG IPP Scan Service, and the archival PDF/A format, while integrations with named commercial services are largely proprietary firmware or companion-app connectors rather than cross-vendor standards. The output side typically produces a searchable PDF via OCR and, for preservation, a PDF/A file conforming to ISO 19005.Open the workflow →
- Scan-to-folder workflowScan-to-folder is a workflow in which a scanner or multifunction printer (MFP) digitizes a document and writes the resulting file directly into a shared folder on a server, PC, or NAS, acting as a network file-sharing client rather than requiring a PC-initiated "pull" scan or an email step. The two dominant transports are SMB (the native Windows file-sharing protocol, also served by macOS, Samba, and NAS appliances) and FTP with its secured variants FTPS and SFTP. Because these transports are standardized, the workflow is implemented consistently across essentially every major MFP brand. The deposited file lands in a known filesystem location, which makes scan-to-folder the classic "hot folder" ingestion point for OCR, indexing, and document management pipelines. Modern relevance is shaped by the industry-wide move off SMBv1 to SMB2/SMB3, the growth of encrypted transports, and the coexistence of cloud and connector destinations that have not displaced the shared-folder pattern.Open the workflow →
- Scan-to-email workflowScan-to-email is a feature of networked multifunction printers, copiers, and standalone network scanners that digitizes a paper document at the device and delivers it as an email attachment directly from the control panel, without routing through a connected PC. The defining characteristic is that the device acts as an email client, not a server: it composes a MIME message and hands it to a configured SMTP server, whose infrastructure handles onward delivery. This page describes how the workflow chains image capture with SMTP submission, the three common submission patterns documented by Microsoft and Google (authenticated SMTP AUTH, connector relay, and direct/restricted send), typical output formats (PDF, searchable PDF, PDF/A, TIFF, JPEG), the roles of OCR and document management, and the practical constraints administrators face — attachment size caps, TLS and port requirements, deliverability (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), and provider send limits. The most significant recent change is the industry-wide shift from basic-authentication SMTP toward OAuth 2.0, which many older devices cannot perform, pushing administrators toward connector-based relay methods. All technical claims are drawn from primary sources including Microsoft Learn, Google Workspace Admin Help, the IETF (RFC 5321/821), ISO (PDF/A-1), and the Mopria Alliance.Open the workflow →
- Shared Printer WorkflowsA shared printer that no one has designed a process around drifts into confusion: cryptic device names, wasteful defaults, confidential pages left in the tray, and jobs no one can clear. This workflow describes the deliberate process that keeps shared printing predictable, private, and low-waste for many users at once.Open the workflow →
Fax workflows are documented in the Fax section.