PaperCut NG FAQ Here is a collection of questions and answers covering PaperCut NG. If your question is not covered here, please contact us.

General

What does PaperCut NG do?

PaperCut NG is designed to monitor, charging, quota and control network printing and optionally internet bandwidth use. It's a system designed for multi-user networks of all sizes. It also however works on standalone home systems, or small peer-to-peer networks. The software monitors user activity allowing administrators to monitor and control users or restrict 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.

The Internet Control module that allows administrators to monitor and quota Internet usage is also now available for testing. For information see the Internet control module testing page.

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, Unix and Apple Mac systems. PaperCut NG supports:

• On the server: Windows, Linux and Apple Mac
• On the workstation: Windows, Mac, Unix and Linux workstations

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 company we also support open source programs and try to integrate with them as much as possible. Examples include integration with the CUPS print system on Apple Macs and Linux, and integration with the popular Squid proxy server.

As a software company we believe we follow industry best practice. Now you can see this with your own eyes!

Are there any screen-shots?

The product tour section has many screen-shots, explanations and also some animated demos! Also don't forget that you can also download the software and trial on your own system.

Where can I find the documentation?

A PDF version of the documentation on the download page.

An online version of the documentation is also available for online viewing.

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!

With the the print release station support addedin PaperCut NG 6.2, it is now suitable to implement a pay-per-print system in a public library or Internet Cafe. See the release station product tour for more information.

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... Others 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, SQL Server Express and PostgreSQL) is also a hit. The print release stations can be used to implement Secure Printing, or a pay-per-print system for libraries or Internet Cafes. Last, but not least, we now run on Mac and Linux systems!

The best way to find out is to try the software for 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 at support or catch up on our live chat.

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:

• Inclusion of PaperCut Quota's internet charging module with new innovative features. This is expected in the 6.3 release scheduled for September 2006. If you are interested in testing then see the Internet control module testing page.
• Inclusion of advanced business reports and client tool from PaperCut ChargeBack with some new innovative features and reports.

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:

• Support all types of computers from Windows, Mac, Unix and Linux.
• Scale to networks of all sizes.
• Open up the application to allow customization and integration with other systems.
• To add many great features. See a summary of features here, or see them in detail at the product tour.

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, as discussed here
2. Install the PaperCut NG on the new system
3. Restore the data backed-up in the above step, as discussed here

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:

• If you're using the internet charging module, stay with PaperCut Quota for the moment. If you would like to use both at the same time, please contact us to discuss your options.
• PaperCut Quota and PaperCut NG should not be run on the same system. If you're interested in just testing, maybe consider installing on a spare desktop system (Windows XP Pro is support as a "server").

Troubleshooting

I'm evaluating PaperCut and have a problem?

This FAQ, the knowledge base, and the User Guide's Troubleshooting & Technical FAQ's are always good places to start, however don't forget that our developers are more than happy to help! Why not send them an email at support@papercut.biz? You can also get them on live web chat for around 12-hours of the day! As you will see from our testimonials, our support is one of PaperCut's best features!

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.