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Do I need a dedicated print server?

Do I need a dedicated print server? Can I have workstations printing directly to the physical printers?

PaperCut monitors printing by "watching" the jobs pass via a print queue. It needs to intercept the print jobs between the workstation and the printer so that it can perform analysis and control jobs for various reasons (e.g. delete it if the user doesn't have quota available, or hold it if using a release station). If workstations print directly to printers then interception is not possible (unless the workstation is set up to host the special monitoring software).

The best solution in a medium to large network is to host your printers and PaperCut on a "print server". In some cases a print server may be a dedicated server, however on most networks an existing file server or domain server will fill this task. Hosting printers on a centralized server also has a number of administrative advantages over direct printer connection, including:

  • Automatic printer driver deployment and updates from the server
  • Centralized access control
  • Ability to deploy printers via Active Directory and related tools
  • Consolidated queue management, which allows you to
    • use Windows/OS level security to secure the printer (e.g. a staff only printer)
    • view/manage all print jobs in a queue

Can I monitor a locally attached USB printers or Direct IP printing?

Yes. PaperCut can monitor locally attached printers. This works by installing a small monitoring component onto the workstation. This component intercepts the jobs and reports the printing back to the central PaperCut server (the primary server) using XML Web Services calls. More information on this architecture and setup is covered in the PaperCut manual. You can read the online version here.

Categories: Implementation / Deployment

keywords: print server, printer setup, configuration, installation, direct IP connection

Page last modified on November 03, 2011, at 06:14 PM

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