Led by Cortado, the CPA has the support of several companies, among them Brother, Dell, Funkwerk, Konica Minolta, Kyocera Mita and Oki, all of whom have signed an agreement to develop common IP printing standards, most notably in the field of wireless smartphone printing.
The long-term aim of the alliance is to create a common standard for the printing of files from all manner of devices, including smartphones, via all types of networks, from WiFi and cellular, all the way through to secure cloud services.
The CPA is already working with a number of web and cloud service providers on the standard.
Carsten Mickeleit, CEO of Cortado’s ThinPrint division, said that the alliance will set a new standard for cloud printing. “Customers can use a variety of devices and do not need to purchase specialised cloud printing printers, or even turn on a computer to print”, he noted.
Cortado says that it plans to invite a number of WiFi hotspot providers to join the alliance. The company adds that it has developed an app – Cortado Workplace for the Android, BlackBerry and Symbian platforms – as well as iOS based devices such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
In addition to the cloud printing function, Cortado Workplace also acts as a central cross-device file system, says the firm.