Protecting Your Practice: Why Secure Printing is Crucial for Utah Law & Health Firms
As a legal or healthcare professional in the Salt Lake City area, you already know the importance of protecting your clients’ or patients’ sensitive information. But did you know your office printer could be one of the weakest links in your data security chain?
At Associated Business Technologies, we help law offices, medical clinics, and healthcare practices across Utah implement secure printing systems that not only protect confidential data but also streamline compliance with regulations like HIPAA, GLBA, and Utah’s own data protection laws.
In this guide, we’ll break down why secure printing matters more than ever in your field—and how you can implement it in a way that enhances your workflow, not disrupts it.
The Hidden Risks of Unsecured Printers in Professional Offices
Think about how your office printer is used on a daily basis. Legal documents, health records, financial statements, prescriptions, contracts—these all pass through your print infrastructure. And if your printer or multifunction device isn’t properly secured, every one of those documents could be vulnerable.
Some of the most common threats include:
- Unauthorized Access: Anyone who walks by the printer can pick up unclaimed documents, including highly sensitive files.
- Unencrypted Print Jobs: Print jobs sent over your network could be intercepted without encryption protocols.
- Hard Drive Exposure: Most modern multifunction printers (MFPs) store data on internal hard drives. If these aren’t encrypted or wiped properly, they can become goldmines for cybercriminals.
- Firmware Exploits: Outdated firmware can make printers susceptible to hacking, malware, and even ransomware attacks.
- Remote Access Risks: With more practices adopting cloud solutions and remote workflows, unsecured remote printing can open the door to breaches.
What’s at Stake: Legal and Healthcare Implications in Utah
The consequences of a print-related data breach can be severe—not just financially, but legally and reputationally as well.
For Law Firms:
- Violations of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) can result in stiff penalties for failing to protect client data.
- Ethical obligations from the Utah State Bar require you to safeguard client confidentiality at every step, including document handling.
- Breaches can undermine client trust and lead to malpractice claims or loss of licensure.
For Medical & Healthcare Providers:
- HIPAA violations can incur fines up to $1.5 million per year, per violation category.
- Medical identity theft is on the rise, and unclaimed printouts can be a source of patient data theft.
- The Utah Health Information Network (UHIN) and local compliance expectations emphasize secure information exchange—including print workflows.
What is Secure Printing and How Does It Work?
Secure printing refers to technologies and policies that ensure print jobs are accessed only by authorized users and protected both in transit and at rest.
Here’s how a robust secure printing setup might look at your practice:
1. User Authentication
Before a document prints, the user must authenticate at the device—typically with a PIN, proximity card, or mobile app. This ensures only the person who initiated the job can release it.
2. Pull Printing / Follow-Me Printing
Jobs are stored in a secure queue until the user logs in and selects them for release. This prevents sensitive documents from sitting unattended on the tray.
3. End-to-End Encryption
Your print jobs are encrypted from the moment they leave your computer or device to the moment they’re printed. This is vital for protecting data on your network.
4. Secure Erase of Hard Drives
Multifunction devices from Associated Business Technologies can be configured to automatically delete data from internal storage once a job is complete—or even overwrite it multiple times for enhanced protection.
5. Audit Trails and Reporting
You’ll have access to detailed logs that show who printed what and when—critical for compliance audits, internal reviews, or breach investigations.
Best-In-Class Secure Printing Devices for Law and Medical Offices
At Associated, we partner with trusted brands known for their security features—so you can build peace of mind into every print job.
📌 Kyocera MFPs with K-Level Security
Kyocera’s devices offer integrated data encryption, secure boot functionality, and user authentication tools—all certified to Common Criteria standards.
📌 Canon uniFLOW for Healthcare Workflows
Canon’s uniFLOW print management system provides HIPAA-compliant secure printing, mobile print access, and cloud document integration—all with robust audit tracking.
With Secure Print, user authentication, and encrypted hard drives, Xerox MFPs are a favorite among law firms that require compliance with federal and state-level data regulations.
Integrated Secure Printing With Managed Print Services (MPS)
Secure printing becomes even more effective when it’s built into a broader Managed Print Services (MPS) strategy. Our MPS offering at Associated includes:
- A full audit of your current printing environment
- Recommendations on how to reduce exposure and cut unnecessary output
- Installation of secure print software and authentication tools
- Regular updates and firmware management
- On-site and remote support to keep your devices secure and efficient
With our MPS approach, you won’t just enhance security—you’ll also gain insight into how your team uses print resources, so you can cut costs and reduce waste.
How Salt Lake Firms Are Already Benefiting from Secure Print
Let’s look at a few real-world examples from Associated clients across the Salt Lake metro:
✅ A Mid-Sized Law Firm in Murray
Implemented Kyocera MFPs with card-based authentication and pull printing. Reduced their risk of accidental data exposure and cut print waste by 28%.
✅ A Private Clinic in Draper
Used Canon devices with secure scan-to-EHR integration. Improved HIPAA compliance, and staff now prints from tablets without worrying about confidentiality breaches.
✅ A Healthcare Group in Sandy
Leveraged our MPS services to consolidate devices, encrypt hard drives, and add print tracking. Passed their annual HIPAA audit with zero findings.
Your Next Steps: Secure Your Print Environment Today
If you’re not currently using secure printing in your practice, now’s the time to make a change. The cost of a breach—or a failed audit—can be devastating. But with the right technology and a trusted local partner like Associated Business Technologies, you can get ahead of these risks and build confidence into your workflows.
💡 Ready to Get Started?
Here’s what you can do right now:
- Schedule a Print Security Assessment – We’ll evaluate your current risks and identify opportunities to tighten security.
- Ask About Our Secure Print Bundles – We can bundle MFPs, software, service, and support into one predictable monthly cost.
- Request a Compliance Walkthrough – Learn how your print environment can meet HIPAA, GLBA, and Utah data regulations.
Secure your reputation. Protect your data. Trust Associated Business Technologies to help you print smarter—and safer.
