Setting up scan-to-email on a copy machine shouldn’t be complicated. Unfortunately, changes to modern email security have made something that used to take a few minutes increasingly difficult.
Many copiers, multifunction printers (MFPs), scanners, UPS devices, and other SMTP-enabled devices were designed to send email using a simple SMTP server, port, username, and password. Modern email platforms have moved toward OAuth and other authentication methods that many of these devices simply don’t support.
That’s where an email relay can help.
CM Relay is designed specifically to make copy machine email relay setup simple, without requiring your copier to support modern OAuth authentication.
Why Is Copier Scan-to-Email Getting Harder?
Traditionally, configuring scan-to-email was straightforward. You entered an SMTP server, selected a port, provided credentials if necessary, and started scanning.
Today, organizations increasingly use Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, where legacy SMTP authentication may be restricted, disabled, or undesirable from a security standpoint.
The problem is that the copier may still work perfectly well. It simply doesn’t understand the newer authentication methods required by the email provider.
Replacing a functioning copier just because it doesn’t support OAuth doesn’t make much sense.
An SMTP relay provides a bridge between the copier and the modern email platform.
A Simple Email Relay for Copy Machines
CM Relay was built specifically for devices and applications that need to send email but may not support modern email authentication.
Instead of forcing the copier to communicate directly with Microsoft 365 or Google using OAuth, the copier sends its message to CM Relay using standard SMTP.
CM Relay then securely processes the message and delivers it using the connected email service.
Copy Machine → SMTP → CM Relay → Modern Email Provider → Recipient
This allows organizations to continue using existing copiers and scanners while modernizing the way those messages are delivered.
Easy Copier SMTP Configuration
One of the goals of CM Relay is to keep the configuration on the copier itself as simple as possible.
Typically, you’ll configure the same basic SMTP settings that copier technicians and IT administrators have been using for years:
- SMTP server
- SMTP port
- Encryption and TLS settings
- From email address
- CM Relay authentication information
You don’t need to configure OAuth directly on the copier.
That is particularly useful for older devices where the available email configuration consists of little more than SMTP server, port, username, password, and TLS options.
No Static IP? No Problem.
Traditional SMTP relay configurations often rely on the public IP address of the location sending the email.
That works well when the office has a static public IP address. It becomes more difficult when the customer has a dynamic IP address that can change.
CM Relay was designed to support environments with or without a static public IP address.
For locations without a static IP, CM Relay provides device-friendly authentication options that allow supported devices to identify themselves without relying exclusively on the site’s public IP address.
This can be especially useful for:
- Small offices
- Home offices
- Remote locations
- Copier deployments using dynamic Internet connections
- MSP-managed customers without business-class static IP service
A changing public IP shouldn’t mean having to reconfigure scan-to-email every time the ISP assigns a new address.
Designed for Copiers, Scanners, and SMTP Devices
General-purpose email delivery platforms are commonly built around applications, APIs, marketing email, or transactional email.
CM Relay takes a different approach.
It is designed around the needs of physical devices and legacy applications that speak SMTP.
Common examples include:
- Copy machines and multifunction printers
- Document scanners
- Scan-to-email systems
- UPS and power monitoring systems
- Network appliances
- Security and monitoring equipment
- Legacy business applications
- Other SMTP-enabled devices
If a device can send email using SMTP, there’s a good chance it can work with an SMTP relay without requiring major changes to the device itself.
Built for MSPs and Multi-Customer Environments
Copy machine email relay becomes more complicated when you’re responsible for dozens or hundreds of devices across multiple organizations.
CM Relay includes options designed for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and partners who need to manage multiple customer environments.
Rather than treating every deployment as an unrelated SMTP account, partners can manage customer accounts and relay configurations from a centralized platform.
This makes CM Relay particularly useful for MSPs, copier dealers, copier leasing companies, and IT providers responsible for maintaining scan-to-email across many customer locations.
Microsoft 365 and Google Email Delivery
A major reason organizations need SMTP relay services today is the transition away from legacy authentication.
CM Relay is designed to bridge that gap by allowing legacy SMTP devices to work with modern cloud email environments.
Your copier continues communicating using SMTP while CM Relay handles the modern email delivery process.
That means you don’t have to teach a 10-year-old copier how to speak OAuth.
Keep Your Existing Copy Machine Working
A copier may remain useful for many years after its original installation. Email authentication standards, on the other hand, can change much faster.
That creates an unnecessary problem: perfectly functional hardware can lose scan-to-email capability because the email platform around it changed.
Using an SMTP relay separates those two systems.
The copier can continue using the SMTP technology it understands, while the relay handles communication with modern email infrastructure.
How to Get Started
Setting up copy machine email relay with CM Relay is straightforward:
- Create your CM Relay account.
- Configure your email delivery connection.
- Add and authorize your copier or SMTP device.
- Enter the provided SMTP settings into the copier.
- Send a test scan.
- Verify successful delivery.
Once configured, users can continue using the copier’s normal Scan to Email function without needing to understand what’s happening behind the scenes.
Make Scan-to-Email Simple Again
Copy machine email shouldn’t require replacing otherwise functional hardware or spending hours troubleshooting authentication protocols the device was never designed to support.
CM Relay provides a bridge between traditional SMTP devices and today’s email infrastructure.
Whether you’re configuring a single office copier or managing hundreds of devices across multiple customers, the goal is the same:
Make scan-to-email work — and keep it working.
Learn more about CM Relay and easy copy machine email relay setup.