Pull Delivery in PaperCut Hive

Pull Delivery, the “Printer pulls job” print delivery protocol within PaperCut Hive, introduces infrastructureless print job execution. Compared to traditional print delivery models, when Pull Delivery is enabled for a printer, the print job is pulled directly from the PaperCut Hive Cloud Node. This significantly enhances print security and simplifies administrative overhead.

Read on to learn more about how Pull Delivery works in PaperCut Hive — and whether Pull Delivery is a good fit for your organization.

Evolution of print delivery mechanisms in PaperCut Hive

PaperCut Hive already offers two options for delivering print jobs via the local client:

• Autopilot: This feature leverages intelligent automation to dynamically determine the optimal print job routing through available local clients.
• Print Delivery Profiles: Administrators can define specific client or network associations for individual printers, enabling granular control over print job distribution.

Using these options, the print job is “pushed” to the printer via a local client (edge node).

Introducing Pull Delivery: an infrastructureless approach

Pull Delivery (also known as Cloud Delivery) augments PaperCut Hive’s two existing print delivery capabilities (Autopilot and Print Delivery Profiles) by providing an infrastructure-independent option. Pull Delivery enables the printer app to “pull” the print job directly from the cloud, without the need for a local client.

Key benefits of Pull Delivery printing

Pull Delivery printing offers the following benefits:

• Eliminates print server dependency: administrators don’t need to maintain and manage dedicated print servers.
• Reduced client dependency: there’s no requirement for an always-on local client to support print release.
• Direct Cloud Node communication: print job delivery occurs in direct communication with the Cloud Node, bypassing local clients in the primary print path.
• Optional local client fallback: local clients can be retained as a secondary or tertiary print delivery mechanism, providing redundancy and fault tolerance.
• Enhanced administrative control: administrators gain comprehensive control over the print job delivery process.

Prerequisites for Pull Delivery

Pull Delivery is only available on some printer brands, with more brands on the way. The Cloud Node must be enabled in the admin console for Pull Delivery to work.

Check the selected printer can support Pull Delivery

Here’s how to ensure that a printer is capable of being set up for Pull Delivery:

1. Log in to the PaperCut Hive admin console.

2. In the left menu, click Printers.

3. In the Printer list, find the printer you want to use for Pull Delivery. Ensure it matches one of the following Manufacturers:
   

   MANUFACTURER	SUPPORTED STATUS
   Kyocera	Available now (public beta)
   Lexmark	Available now (public beta)
   Ricoh	Available now (limited access beta)
   Sharp	Available soon (limited access beta)

4. Click the printer. Its details panel opens.

5. Click the Apps tab.

6. Confirm that the latest version of the embedded application is installed. If it shows Re-install, it is up to date. If it shows Upgrade, it needs to be updated.

Check the Cloud Node is enabled

Pull Delivery pulls a print job directly from the Cloud Node. Before you set up Pull Delivery, confirm that the Cloud Node is enabled in your organization.

1. Log in to the PaperCut Hive admin console.
2. Select Edge Mesh.
3. Confirm Cloud Node is toggled on. If not, enable it.

Cloud Node print job size limit

After the Cloud Node is enabled, all print jobs submitted by any Find-Me print queue managed via PaperCut Hive will automatically replicate to the Cloud Node. Note that the Cloud Node has a 200 MB per-job size limit. If your users are printing jobs larger than this, ensure that a Secondary Delivery Method is available for local “push” printing (that is, any delivery method other than Pull Delivery). See (Optional) Configure fallback options .

How to set up a printer for Pull Delivery

It only takes a few easy steps to set up Cloud Delivery for a specific printer.

1. Complete the prerequisites:
   • Check the selected printer can support Pull Delivery .
   • Check the Cloud Node is enabled .
2. In the PaperCut Hive admin console, go to Printers and select the printer. The printer side panel is displayed.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. In the Print delivery methods section, change the setting from Default to Custom.
5. In the Primary method dropdown, select the Printer pulls job <Beta> protocol.
6. If an information alert appears, carefully read and follow any manual actions or instructions provided. These actions are necessary to complete the setup.
7. Click Save Changes to apply your settings.
8. Re-start the printer. Pull Delivery is now configured for the selected printer.
   

(Optional) How to configure fallback options (recommended)

We recommend configuring fallback print delivery methods so that if the Pull Delivery option encounters issues, your organization still has printing functionality. Pull Delivery requires the print job to be on the Cloud Node. Therefore, if a job fails to replicate to the Cloud Node and no fallback option is available, the job will fail.

If you have active/online local clients in your network, go to Printers > Printer details panel > Advanced > Print delivery methods and set up secondary and, optionally, tertiary print protocol options.