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Ignoring or deleting printers

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Q What’s the difference between ignoring printers and deleting them?

Good question! Let us clarify:

  • Deleting a printer - removes the printer entirely from the “Printers” list in PaperCut NG/MF. The printer might reappear if it is tracked by PaperCut on a print server running the PaperCut Secondary Server or a workstation running the Direct Print Monitor.

  • Ignoring a printer - configures PaperCut not to track the printer in the first place. The printer might stay in the “Printers” list in PaperCut until deleted.

Q How do I delete a printer in PaperCut?

By default, PaperCut is designed to automatically monitor all printers on the system/server. Deleting the printer via the admin web interface will not stop monitoring - the printer will just reappear next time a job arrives (as the system will detect is as missing and re-add it).

Q Is there a way to delete printers in bulk from PaperCut?

Yes! Have a look at our article Batch Deleting Printers.

Q How do you ignore a printer in PaperCut?

To completely ignore a printer, the Print Provider component needs to be instructed not to track activity. This procedure is explained in the user manual section Adding and Removing/Deleting/Ignoring Printers, available online here:

Ignoring / deleting a printer in PaperCut

Note: History logs are still maintained allowing access to historical data. Always confirm your action before proceeding with the delete!

Q Why ignore a printer?

Common reasons for ignoring a printer include:

  • You need to test printing with PaperCut disabled for troubleshooting purposes.
  • The printer is a virtual printer such as a FAX or PDF converter.
  • You are not concerned with tracking usage on the printer.
  • The printer is only used by trusted people and it’s usage can be disregarded from reports.
  • The printer is used for a special purpose such as label or batch printing and tracking is not appropriate or causes problems.
  • Management has made a determination that print recording should not occur on a particular device (e.g. printing of sensitive material/documents).

Q PaperCut is ignoring my virtual printers (PDF, Fax). How can I track printing on these?

In the print-provider.conf, located in [app-path]/providers/print/[platform], find the ignorevirtualprinters=On option, uncomment it if necessary and set to Off.


Categories: How-to Articles , Print Queues


Keywords: excluding a printer , remove printer , ignore printer , stop monitoring , delete , bypass , subset , sub set , not monitoring , not tracking print jobs

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Last updated February 15, 2024