Please also see Reporting Problems

How to submit a "print to file" to the PaperCut developers.

A "Print to file" allow the developers to inspect the raw printer data sent to the printers as produced your particular driver and network environment.

If the problem relates to a page count issue:

1. Open a problem document in an application (e.g. MS Word or a web page)
2. Select Print. The print dialogue box will open.
3. Select the Print To File option.
4. Press Print, and Save the file to the HD: i.e. C:\testprint-5pages.prn (Important: record the number of "expected" pages in the file name)
5. Repeat 1 to 4 with another document that has a different page count.
6. Email both files for analysis, including details on the model and make of printer to support@papercut.com.

If the problem relates to a “copy count” problem:

1. Open a problem document in an application (e.g. MS Word or a web page)
2. Select Print. The print dialogue box will open.
3. Select the Print To File option.
4. Press Print, and Save the file to the HD: i.e. C:\testprint-5pages-1copy.prn
5. Repeat 1 to 4 with the same document but changed the "number of copies" setting.
6. Email both files for analysis, including details on the model and make of printer to support@papercut.com.

If the problem relates to color detection or another attribute detection problem:

1. Open a problem document in an application (e.g. MS Word or a web page)
2. Select Print. The print dialogue box will open.
3. Select the "Print To File" option
4. Press Print, and Save the file to the HD: i.e. C:\testprint-3pages-2color-1bw.prn
5. Repeat 1 to 4 with the same document but changed the attribute that is failing detection.
6. Email both files for analysis, including details on the model and make of printer to support@papercut.com.

Alternate Method

If the application does not support "Print to file", the following alternate method (for Windows servers) can be used:

1. Manually power down the printer or pause the queue so printing will stay held in the queue.
2. Print a document that demonstrates the problem (normally using a workstation).
3. On the server, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\Spool\PRINTERS\
4. Take a copy of the SPL and SHD files who's creation date matches the time of the print.
5. Rename the files to a descriptive name like "testprint-3pages-2color-1bw.spl".
6. Zip the files and email both files to support@papercut.com for analysis.

Apple Mac users may find the following related article useful: Capturing a Mac spool file

Categories: Troubleshooting