Large Licenses - Pricing and Common Questions
If you're a larger education/academic organization then this page is just for you! It explains the licensing model as well as addressing some common pre-sales questions.
We have historically asked larger sites to email us for a formal quotation, however this runs contrary to our ethos of transparency, hence we've decided to publish pricing calculations for large sites.
Pricing for larger licenses is based on a simple formula:
3000 user license price (USD $1,170) plus USD $0.25 per additional user
The order system can automatically calculate the price and provide you with a formal quotation. Click here and follow the directions. Customers wishing to purchase in other currencies may use the calculate feature in the order system to determine the price in your local currency.
Common Questions
Can you provide me with a quotation?
Yes. You can create your own formal quotation online, by visiting our online order system and selecting "Create a quotation".
I have a lot of inactive users on my network. Do I have to include them?
This is a very common situation. For example, many colleges and universities have inactive user accounts that remain after students have left. If you feel you fall into this category, please consider applying for a license exception. We have a very flexible exception policy and are happy to consider your situation. We're not in the business of charging for licenses you'll never use!
What hardware do I need?
It's almost impossible today to buy a computer with a CPU that's not fast enough to run PaperCut on even the largest sites. Like all server-side applications, PaperCut benefits from RAM. Larger sites should consider at least 2Gb of RAM. Sites with 20,000 users or more should consider 4Gb (PaperCut has 64-bit support). Good quality hardware is also recommended.
Is there a limit on the number of servers?
No. Licensing is based only on the number of users. It's a true organization-wide license with no limit on the number of servers, workstations, or printers. There is also no hidden extras when implementing features such as clustering, monitoring locally attached printers, or external databases. Our goal is to ensure that licensing constraints don't impose on your network design or architecture.
Can I use a license over multiple sites?
Yes. We're happy to have a single license used across multiple sites within the same organization (i.e. a true organization wide-license). The requirements are that the organization must have centralized IT services and the number of users licensed covers the sum of the user count at all sites. Centralized IT is to ensure there is a nominated single-point-of-contact so support requests come from one person rather than separately from each sites.
If your organization does not have centralized support, please contact us. We'll still be able to arrange a multi-site bulk purchase discount.
Is the price negotiable?
One of the advantages of having a fully transparent and open pricing policy is that we avoid the "negotiations" that may occur. The end result is we all save a little time. We also believe our pricing is very fair and reasonable. We've managed to keep our pricing very low by selling our software direct. We don't have a complex chain of agents, resellers and marketing layers all wanting a piece of the pie! If however you feel you have special circumstances, then please contact us. We have initiatives such as the developing world license to ensure people from all parts of the world can run and afford PaperCut.
Why do you publish the price?
We've always sought to maintain an ethos of transparency for our customers, whether though our development model, sales, support or just while chatting with us. For example, the developers keep a blog, all customers are able to access source code, and our users "vote" on their favorite features to help us prioritize development. Not publishing a full price list (i.e. only providing prices for smaller licenses) seemed to run contrary to this transparency. In some respects it also sent the wrong message. People might have thought we were the type of company that charges extra to people who turn up with shiny shoes and a fast car. In reality we were not that organized (or immoral)! All we did was apply the above formula and issue a quotation. By publishing our full price list we've engineered out this step out... a true "tech geek" solution!
What is the upper limit on network size?
It's hard to give definitive answers on this as computers are becoming faster by the week. To offer a guide however, our largest site is 350,000 users. PaperCut supports external databases (such as Microsoft SQL Server) and clustering, and large sites should also consider some capacity planning considerations. Our development team has lots of experience with large deployments. Please feel free to get in touch with our team if you'd like to discuss your situation. Some more information is available on the system requirements page.
What hardware do I need?
It's almost impossible today to buy a computer with a CPU that's not fast enough to run PaperCut on even the largest sites. Like all server-side applications, PaperCut benefits from RAM. Larger sites should consider at least 2Gb of RAM. Sites with 20,000 users or more should consider 4Gb (PaperCut has 64-bit support). Good quality hardware is also recommended.
Do you do tenders?
We have a "no tender" policy. Some of our resellers will however chase tenders (with a markup accordingly!). Our feeling is that print control software has moved in a commodity direction following other network/server based solutions such as backup software. Today nobody considers going to tender for backup software! Instead organizations evaluate and purchase one of the established off-the-shelf solutions. We believe PaperCut also sits in this space. It's priced in a similar band to backup software.
Over the years we've been asked to respond to a number of tenders. Each time we indicate our no tender policy and ask the site if they would consider purchasing PaperCut direct outside tender using their standard software procurement procedures. A growing number of organizations are now doing so with a large portion last year (including some big names universities) bucking the trend. If you have special requirements or purchase minimums that mandate tender then please contact us so we can discuss options.
I need to customize the software. Is this possible?
PaperCut is an off-the-shelf solution. Along with this come many benefits over bespoke solutions such as providing a constantly evolving solution and robust software used and tested by many organizations. On the flip side, the opportunity for customization is lessened. In recent years we've tried to change this and now offer a full set of APIs and customization options. These include XML and JSON web services, a scripting interface and tailored web tools. If you have specific customization requirements, please contact us.
Can I talk to someone about my deployment?
Sure. We're all technical people in here and love talking to the tech guys at the larger sites. Please get in touch and we can swap stories and experiences about clustering, database design, cryptography, network architecture, and which new Apps you have on your iPhone. (Oh! And we'll talk about PaperCut too!)
Further information is available in the Purchasing FAQ.
PaperCut is easy to setup, configure and manage through the simple web console, with multi-platform support and a friendly, fast and efficient support channel.