PaperCut NG Frequently Asked Questions

Controlling Printer Access Based On Time?

PaperCut NG comes with a comprehensive set of XML web services API's and a set of command-line tools for use in traditional scripting environments such as batch files or shell scripts. These tools can be used to control accounts, settings and printer access. One example of their use is controlling printer access based on time of day. Here is an example on how to set this up:

This example assumes:

PaperCut NG is set up on a Windows print server named "printsrv1"
There is a printer access on the server called "labprinter"
The administrator would like the printer disabled between 5:00pm and 8:00am on week days.

Schedule close-printer-access.bat to run on at 5:00pm on weekdays.
Schedule open-printer-access.bat to run on at 8:00am on weekdays.

What does PaperCut NG do?

PaperCut NG is a print monitoring, charging, quota and control system designed for multi-user networks. It also however works on standalone home systems, or small peer-to-peer networks. The software monitors printing activity allowing administrators to monitor and control users or restrict print usage to required levels.

PaperCut NG includes many new innovative features to help streamline and manage printing, including remote administration via a browser, automatic management of user accounts, and ability to monitor printing visually via graphs and reports.

Network users gain access to technologies such as the ability to view their account history via a web browser and access to TopUp/PrePaid cards to provide a means to add funds to their account.

In education and business networks, popup client software may be used to allow users to charge printing to secured shared accounts or other personal accounts.

Why have you developed PaperCut NG?

Many PaperCut users over the last few years have demanding innovation in the area of scalability, extensibility and openness. To address this we felt we needed a catalyst and framework to build these ideas upon. The PaperCut NG project is this initiative. The new application framework, cross-platform support and service oriented architecture now in PaperCut NG will also allow us to add new features at a significantly faster rate.

What systems can I run PaperCut NG on?

PaperCut NG has been developed simultaneously on Microsoft Windows and Unix systems. PaperCut NG supports:

Why have you made the source code available?

The software industry has seen many changed over the past 3 years. One significant change has been the growing popularity and preference for open source software. Many leading companies and software projects make their source code available to their user base. These include major open source projects such as Linux, Apache, Open Office and Java. Proprietary software companies such as Microsoft and Sun also now make their source code available as a way to prove quality and ensure 3rd party integration and compatibility. We are keen to see PaperCut Software keep up with the expectations of our users.
As a software company we believe we follow industry best practice. Now you can see this with your own eyes!

Where can I find the documentation?

A PDF version of the documentation on the download page. download page

I'm interested. How do I download the software?

All PaperCut NG downloads are available on the PaperCut NG downloads page

What type of organizations should run PaperCut NG?

PaperCut NG is designed for organization and networks of all sizes. For small organizations we have improved our support on small peer-to-peer networks with desktop style printers. For larger organization PaperCut NG offers scalability up to 20,000+ users and much improved multi-server support!

Features

What are the best new features?

PaperCut NG has a ton of new features. One of our favorites is the fact that now anything can be done from anywhere on the network with a web browser - management, reports, graphs... Other testers have pointed out that they love the new "shared accounts" option and client popup. The XML data export support, the integration with other external databases (like SQL Server and PostgreSQL) is also a hit. The best way to find out is to try the softwarefor yourself!

I have an idea for a new feature!

All our developers have their heads down working flat out on PaperCut NG. Now is the time to put your ideas forward. Please take the time tell us about your ideas. You can email us

What new features are you working on?

We're working hard ensure PaperCut NG remains the best product of its kind. We have lots of good ideas, and are always looking for more. The highest priority features we'll be adding over the coming months are:

One of the big advantages of PaperCut NG is enhanced software framework will allow us to add new features faster so you can expect regular releases with lots of enhancements.

What are the differences between PaperCut NG and PaperCut Quota/ChargeBack?

PaperCut Quota and PaperCut ChargeBack were first developed back in 1999 and have been continually enhanced over the last 6 years. PaperCut NG was an initiative to develop a premium version and inspire new ideas and integrate in the latest technologies. Some of the project goals were:

Organizations requiring the best feature set should opt for PaperCut NG over the lower priced cousins PaperCut Quota and PaperCut ChargeBack.

Installation / Upgrading

Can I upgrade/reinstall PaperCut and retain my user account values?

The PaperCut NG installer is designed to allow over-the-top installation. So if you are upgrading from a previous release, then all you need to do is run the setup program again and complete the setup wizard.

It is also simple to install PaperCut on a completely new machine and retain every single setting. Once the new system is installed it will be identical to the previous installation and require no re-configuration, saving you lots of time. To move PaperCut NG to a new system:

1. Backup the existing installation's database
2. Install the PaperCut NG on the new system
3. Restore the data backed-up in the above step

Are locally connected desktop printers (peer printers) supported?

Yes. PaperCut NG was specifically designed to allow organizations to have any number of systems hosting printers. Where possible we recommend network printers centralized on print servers if possible. All that is required to track local printing is to install the light-weight print monitoring service on the workstation. To do this run the installer and select the "Secondary print server" option when prompted.

Another option is to consider networking the printers. Many hardware companies sell hardware "print hubs". These devices retail for around US$50.00 and allow existing USB or LPT printers to be networked using standard TCP/IP printing.

Can I upgrade from PaperCut Quota?

Yes. It is a simple process for PaperCut Quota customers to upgrade to PaperCut NG. PaperCut NG includes a data conversion tool that imports user balances from Quota. Instructions for upgrading from PaperCut Quota can be found in Appendix D of the user manual. Upgrade costs will be in line with our existing upgrade policy.

I'm currently running PaperCut Quota. Should I upgrade to PaperCut NG now?

We recommend existing PaperCut Quota users on large networks upgrade to the take advantage of the new features in PaperCut NG. The data migration tool makes it easy to import user balances from PaperCut Quota. Existing PaperCut users should consider the following:

Troubleshooting

Users are not receiving the "print job denied" popup messages?

PaperCut NG supports a number of different notification methods, including Winpopups, Email and to the user client software. Typically it is the winpopup messages that cause the most problems for our clients.

The most common reasons for users not receiving winpopup messages relate workstation settings and are easy to fix. The knowledge base has a good article on winpopup message problems and their resolution.

What if my question isn't answered here?

If you can't find the answer in the knowledge base, we're happy to answer your questions by email or to chat online. You can find our details on the contact page.