PrinterOn Enterprise

How can I receive training on the PrinterOn Enterprise Edition?
We provide training for all of our solutions. Please send us an email with your questions to support@printeron.com or sales@printeron.com

• What are the server requirements to run PrinterOn Enterprise?
• P4 2 GHz processor or higher
• 2 GB RAM minimum, 4 GB recommended
• 500 MB free disk space
• Windows Server 2008 (R2) 64-bit, Windows Server 2012 (R2) 64-bit with current patches installed
• Internet Explorer 10.x or greater, with current patches installed
• IIS must be disabled if installed; Apache Tomcat (which is installed with PrinterOn Enterprise) will not
• operate with IIS enabled.
• Microsoft Office 2003 or higher, with current patches installed.
• LibreOffice v4.0 or higher

Where can I go to change or administer the printer settings for my PrinterOn Solution?
The printer listings are stored in your Administrative Dashboard and can be accessed by going to www.printeron.com/administrators

What information can I change about my printer in the PrinterOn Directory?
You can change the driver being used to render the print job, change duplex and page orientation along with adjusting the price for each print job

How do I map my printers currently configured within the PrinterOn.com website to the actual printers within my environment?
This item can be changed by opening up the Print Delivery Station, then on the printer’s tab, edit the ‘Printer Listing’ and point to the printer or Print queue based on the IP Address/Share name. You can download the print delivery station here: https://printeron.com/support/download/

Do I need to have Adobe Reader installed on the machine that hosts the PrinterOn server?
You do not need to have Adobe Reader installed as the PrinterOn Solution is able to render the document using the rendering engine installed by default.

Does PrinterOn Enterprise allow authentication with my LDAP/AD environment?
Yes, PrinterOn Enterprise does in fact bind with your LDAP or AD environments, further details can be located within the CPS (Central Print Services) documentation.

Can I change the colors of my web portal to match my company/school colors?
Absolutely you can, in fact PrinterOn has included this information within the CPS (Central Print Services) documentation; however if you need further assistance please do not hesitate to contact our support team who would be able to provide you additional information and support to get this completed.

Can I configure the ports that are used on my PrinterOn Enterprise server to ensure communication passes over secured ports as per my specific environment?
Yes you can. PrinterOn Enterprise uses configurable ports throughout our the solution, as such you can configure most ports that are specific to your environment, some requests to the PrinterOn Global Directory cannot be configured, for further details on this please review the documentation or consult the PrinterOn support team.

Can I download the PrinterOn mobile application and use it freely on my current iOS and Android devices?
Absolutely you can. With your iOS or Android device you can visit go to the application store for your device and search for ‘PrinterOn’, which will allow you to freely download and use the application to submit your wireless print job to a public print location. Download mobile apps here.

I can locate many public print locations by going to printspots.com; how can I disable my printers from displaying publicly for everyone to see?
You can remove your corporate printers from the Directory by simply logging into your Administrative Dashboard then select ‘Hidden’ to ensure your location is remove from the directory (please note this can take up to 30 minutes to be removed from the Directory)

My printers are currently not being displayed; however I would like my users to be able to find my location by going through your website or going to printspots.com, how can I do this?
Your service could be hidden, you can log in to your Administrative Dashboard and enable the option ‘Shown’ so your location can be displayed for your users. (Please note, this can take up to 30 minutes for the listing to display in the Directory)

Do I need a dedicated server?
The PrinterOn server applications SHOULD be installed on a dedicated server for two reasons. Document processing can require a high amount of CPU/RAM use, which may interfere with other solutions expecting guaranteed response times. Second, for support reasons, we cannot easily provide assistance if there are problems that may be caused by interaction with applications beyond our control.

Can students submit wireless print jobs from home?
Yes, assuming the PrinterOn Enterprise server is accessible outside of your company/school’s network, students can enjoy wireless printing from their homes.

What other authentication options exist other than LDAP/AD?
The PrinterOn Enterprise Solution also provides Access Control Lists (ACL) as another method when a company/school does not have an authentication server. Further details about ACLs can be found in the CPS manual or by contacting the PrinterOn support team.

Is an evaluation version available?
Yes. By contacting the PrinterOn Sales team, arrangements can be made to allow your company/school to utilize the solution, with support for up to 5 printers and unlimited users.

Does it work with photocopiers?
If your photocopier is a multi-function device that can also be used as a printer, then it should be compatible with PrinterOn Enterprise.

Does PrinterOn Enterprise only accept print requests from wireless devices?
PrinterOn Enterprise solves a lot of wireless printing issues encountered when wireless devices are brought into the mix, but it can take print requests from any device with internet access and a browser.

Can I set this up for use with printers across multiple campuses?
Yes. Since communication between the technology components occurs using Internet protocols, you can install the core software at one location and service all your print requirements for all campuses.

Can I integrate PrinterOn Enterprise with our current Print Management Software?
PrinterOn is able to integrate with several print management solutions such as: Equitrac, PaperCut, Streamline NX, EnvisionWare and Pharos. PrinterOn Enterprise will simply submit the print job data to the printer queue and the management software handles the request from there.

My printers are not visible to the wireless network.
Not a problem. Since we use Internet protocols between components, users can print using either the web service OR the print driver when connected to the 802.11 network.

What is the PrintAnywhere^® Server?
PrintAnywhere is the core technology that services print requests on behalf of users. It manages document types, external applications, print drivers and its own components to provide fast, reliable server-based printing. The programming interfaces are based on web protocols such as HTTP and XML.

Throughput of a single PrintAnywhere server varies dramatically based on a wide range of factors, most notably the type of documents being printed. Typically, 700 documents or 3000 pages per hour is expected. If necessary, multiple PrintAnywhere Servers can be deployed using built in fault-tolerant schemes to provide higher throughput or availability.

What file types does PrinterOn Enterprise support?
The service supports many file types. Formats include:

• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Visio
• Adobe PDF
• Open Office
• TIFF
• JPG
• PNG
• GIF

For a complete list of supported file formats, see the Supported File Formats document

PrinterOn Public

How do I get PrinterOn for my location?
Fill out this form and someone from our sales team will get in touch with you as soon as possible about your specific requirements.

How do I install Print Delivery Station?
To download and install PDS and additional print delivery components such as the desktop shortcut, you can go directly to the PDS download page. To complete the configuration, follow the steps in this guide.

What is the maximum file size I can print?
Several factors can limit the size of the file you can print, including constraints on the size of email attachments. However, the largest file size that PrinterOn Public will accept is 50MB.

How do I let users know about my PrinterOn service and how to submit documents for wireless printing?
PrinterOn provides free “how-to” materials to use at your location. Download them here.

How do I set my service offline so that it can’t be used by anyone?
Log in to your Administrative Dashboard at www.printeron.com/administrators. On the management page, under your service, click Change beside Set Online/Offline. When users visit your portal, they will be presented with a web page explaining that your service is temporarily unavailable.

How do I access the Print Delivery Station?
Log out of the Guest account on the computer. Login to the Windows Administrator account, click Start>Programs>PrinterOn Corporation>Print Delivery Station, and then double-click the PDS icon in the system tray.

I configured PDS and sent a successful test job. After I reboot, why do I get a printer error?
Programs such as “Deep Freeze” can erase PDS, or reset it to an earlier state, or delete print jobs that PDS has successfully downloaded. Other categories of “lock-down” software may have unexpected deleterious effects. Ask your business center provider if you may have a form of this software.

I replaced my printer, how do I make it work with my existing PrinterOn service?

1. Contact PrinterOn support and advise them of the new make/model of printer.
2. Log off the computer and Log in as the Administrator, not the Guest account
3. Open the software – Print Delivery Station from C:\Program Files\PrinterOn Corporation\PDS\client
4. Click on Settings and under the Import Settings tab, click on Reimport Customization File. Once that is done, go into the Printers tab.
5. Highlight the printer and click Edit. Browse your printers (hold Shift when you press Browse and uncheck “Network Printers”) and select the new printer.
6. Click OK and exit out of PDS.
7. Submit a test job and try to release it.

Why doesn’t the PDS Desktop Icon appear?
Users sometimes need to completely log off an account and then log in again to see the desktop icon. Switching users will cause the icon to disappear.

How do I configure the Desktop Icon?

1. Open the PDS Desktop Icon Configuration window (Start>All Programs>PrinterOn Corporation>PDS Desktop Icon>Launch PDS Desktop Icon Config).
2. Select the Server URI text box.
3. Enter the IP address of your Print Delivery Station computer followed by port 8181. If you are installing the desktop icon on the same computer as PDS is installed on, leave this field as the default. (i.e. http://172.16.10.1:8181)
4. Click Apply. Your Current Server Connection Settings will update.
5. Click Close.

Why do I get a message stating the page cannot be displayed when I click the Desktop Icon?
Your computer’s firewall may not be allowing a connection over port 8181 by default. To change this, open Control Panel – Windows Firewall – Exceptions – Add Port. Set the name to PDS Desktop Icon and enter TCP port 8181. Click OK and reboot the computer to complete the changes.

How do I access print jobs?
If the location you’re printing to has a PrintValet keypad, use it to release your document. Press OK on the keypad and you will be asked to enter your ID code. Enter in your 6 digit release code and press OK. Once your job is found, confirm the print by pressing OK. You can also access jobs from the PDS computer. Type one of the following in the address line of your Internet browser:

• http://127.0.0.1:8181
• http://localhost:8181
• http://dns.name:8181 (where dns.name is substituted for the actual DNS name for your computer on the network). You will be prompted to enter your release code.

How do I restart PDS if it appears to have stopped unexpectedly?
Open the PDS console (Start>Programs>PrinterOn Corporation>Print Delivery Station) on the computer where PDS is installed, then check the Start button. If the application does not start, reboot the computer. If it still does not start, contact PrinterOn Support.

How do I know PDS is running?
To check if PDS is running, open the PDS console (Start>Programs>Print Delivery Station). “Start” should be selected and the lines in the graphic should be animated. If the lines are flat, the service is stopped and must be started. In the newest version of PDS, the system tray icon will have a solid blue background if the service is running and a white background if it is stopped.

How long do print jobs sit in the queue?
This can range from 1 to 168 hours, and is configurable in PDS. The default time is 72 hours; or three days. This means that the job will be available to print for up to 7 days after submission. After this time, the job is purged. You can change the Purge Abandoned job interval setting in the Print Processing tab under Advanced Settings.

What is the difference between Manual Mode and Automatic Mode within the Print Queue Manager window?
The Print Mode determines how PDS handles print jobs.

• In Manual Mode, print jobs are spooled and must be released by a user or administrator.
• In Automatic Mode, print jobs are printed as soon as they arrive*. Automatic mode is not recommended for public environments, since this may breach a user’s privacy if their document is retrieved by someone else.

* For Printers set with a Privacy Mode (other than None), print jobs are held even in Automatic Mode. A user or administrator with the required credentials must release them. For details, see the Print Delivery Station Guide.

How do I prevent users from making changes to the PDS settings if it is installed on a computer they have access to?
PDS must be installed by a Windows Administrator. To limit the amount of users who have access to it, simply password-protect the Administrator account and allow users access to a “regular” or “guest” Windows account. You can also enable the GUI password on the Security tab found in the Advanced Settings of PDS (Start>Programs>Print Delivery Station>Settings>Advanced>Security).

Why do I get “Internal Error 110” when trying to print my job?
This means that PDS is unable to send data to the printer. Check your local printer name in the Printers tab of PDS. Reimport your Customization File in the Import Settings tab. If you still receive this error, check the print driver that is chosen in your Administrators account www.printeron.com/administrators

Is there a support fee?
The following ‘support issues’ are not included in your subscription and will be charged a $100 fee for each call: Re-installation of PrinterOn’s Print Delivery Station software due to the following:

• New PC
• Replacement PC
• PC hard drive re-built
• Print location moved (ie. From front desk to business center)
• New Printer installation
• New computer
• Computer move
• Printer Move
• Additional printer added to service
• New logo/brand colors inserted
• Change to supplied guest awareness materials

Every other troubleshooting issue is handled by the support team.

What file formats does PrinterOn Public support?
The service supports many file types. Formats include:

• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Visio
• Adobe PDF
• Open Office
• TIFF
• JPG
• PNG
• GIF

For a complete list of supported file formats, see the Supported File Formats document

Security & Connectivity

Why Apache Tomcat instead of IIS?
PrinterOn can control the installation and configuration of an Apache web server during install. Apache also provides a cleaner servlet container through Tomcat.

Are print jobs lost if the system crashes?
No. A copy of all work in progress is stored on disk. If power goes out or a Windows service dies, then when the system restarts, it can usually resume processing without losing a request.

What client browsers are supported?
If the browser supports JavaScript, HTML and file browse/upload, then the user should be able to print their documents. The PrinterOn Enterprise CPS has been used successfully from browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, FireFox, Opera, and Safari.

Can students and staff use different printers?
Yes. We have rule-based authentication support. This means groups of users can be tied to different Printers and Departments. An example of this: IT users can locate and print to only printers in the IT department.

Is a security certificate required?
No, but it is recommended. The most common configuration of CPS involves authenticating users by communicating with the LDAP/AD server.. This connection should be protected, therefore installing a security certificate will enable SSL for secure user communications.

Is print data encryption available?
Yes. Every Print Delivery Station instance generates a unique RSA key-pair with a 1024-bit public key private key. The AES key is encrypted using the RSA key-pair and is delivered alongside the print data to the PDS. A version of Print Delivery Station is included with the PrinterOn Enterprise Installer.

How do students locate the web service?
The most common means are for the school web site to include links to the printing service from appropriate locations. If users have PrintWhere installed, they can search for campus printers and send documents directly from the document application.

Can we authenticate against Active Directory or LDAP?
Yes. Although many clients use Linux and OpenLDAP, Novell and Microsoft Directory Servers both support LDAP, and are compatible with CPS.

The PrinterOn Directory

What is the directory?
The PrinterOn Cloud Directory is a web service hosted by PrinterOn that provides select information about print destinations to users and applications on an as-needed basis. All PrinterOn software applications leverage the existence of the PrinterOn Directory to provide easy, secure, accurate printing from any location to any device.

Why is the directory service external?
The Directory needs to be in a known location that can be accessed by all users, servers and applications with the least amount of configuration. The PrinterOn cloud Directory facilitates wireless printing across network segments, from home, offices and schools, by hosted wireless carriers, and from handheld devices.

What internet bandwidth is required?
Print data does not pass through PrinterOn web sites. The PrinterOn Cloud Directory provides the information needed to allow sources to communicate directly with destinations. The transactions made to the Directory service are small and fast. Various solutions may also cache transactions to further reduce the numbers of conversations. Typically, with SSL overhead, 2 Kbytes per print job.

What information is in the directory?
An entry in the Directory is termed a “Printer Listing”,listings describe several attributes of printers. Listings are self-managed, and a company/school administrator can update or remove them at any time. Technical information ensures that printers are used correctly and easily. Owner information allows a user to correctly and easily find printers. Additional configuration data allows restrictions to be placed on page limits, color use, duplexing, and so forth.

What if the directory service fails?
It doesn’t. With the exception of the blackout in the North East in the summer of 2003 (which took out major network hubs), the Directory service has been continuously available since 2000. It is clustered, fault tolerant, multi-site and multi-homed with standby power systems. A cache component is also available for locations that are subject to intermittent Internet connectivity.

The PrinterOn Cloud Directory is situated in a fully clustered, fault tolerant, multisite and multi-homed environment with backup power systems to ensure availability and full connectivity. Statistically speaking the PrinterOn Cloud Directory has always been available with minimal impact which was attributed to a major network hub failure.

Print Management Systems

How does PrinterOn differ from print management systems?
Print management is used near the tail end of the printing process to track usage and ensure that someone is appropriately charged for the print job. PrinterOn is user-centric, designed to make the printing experience simple and easy. Print management recovers the cost of consumables, whereas PrinterOn reduces the cost of support, together, they form an end-to-end printing system for any organization/school.

Do I need a print management system?
No. We have clients that have adopted our solution simply to make printing easier for students. These customers are currently not charging for print jobs.

Which print management systems are compatible?
Almost any print management solution will work with PrinterOn technology where basic printing is concerned. We have successfully installed our software in conjunction with applications such as Equitrac, PaperCut, EnvisionWare, Ricoh Streamline NX, Pharos and many more.

Using PrintWhere

Why is a print driver necessary?
The server-based printing solution does not support every application ever created. We are also not able to print a secure webpage based on a URL. If you have users that need to print in these situations, then PrintWhere is the ideal choice. Download PrintWhere here.

Is PrintWhere installed for every printer?
No. PrintWhere is installed only once. The built in Directory search allows users to select any one of the printers in PrinterOn’s public print directory. Driver installation, along with printer options, are downloaded at the time the printer is chosen.

Are the same restrictions observed?
The print driver will adhere to most of the same rules that apply to the PrinterOn Enterprise CPS web service. User login ID, pricing information, access control, duplexing, data encryption and page counting are all similar.

Is there a Mac version?
Not currently. Macintosh users can easily create PDF versions of anything they wish to print. These PDF files can then be submitted to the CPS web service for wireless printing.

Can I enable LDAP or AD authentication for use with PrintWhere?

1. Yes. Simply log in to your account www.printeron.com/administrators.
2. Select the Printer Icon and choose the printer you’d like to enable authentication for.
3. Select the Payment & Authorization tab. In the “Authorizing Users” section, select Redirect to authorize user, track pages or bill customer and User Authorize URL.
4. Enter the pathname of the server which hosts the PrinterOn Enterprise CPS Admin application. It will be similar to http://servername-or-ipaddress/cps/aaaLogin.jsp. Eg, http://192.168.1.20/cps/aaaLogin.jsp.
5. Save your settings and test the driver.

PrinterOn PrintConnect Device

How do I set up my PrintConnect?
The physical setup of a typical PrintConnect deployment is:

• Power supply from PrintConnect to outlet
• Ethernet cable from PrintConnect to network port
• A to B USB cable from PrintConnect to printer
• PrintValet into the PrintConnect by USB

Another possible setup allows the PrintConnect to communicate with the printer via a network connection. It would eliminate the A to B USB cable connection, but all others remain the same.

Does the PrintConnect need internet access?
Yes, the PrintConnect needs uninterrupted internet access in order to communicate with the PrinterOn servers. Specifically, we need access over port 80 and 443. For more information, view the PrintConnect Network Requirements document

Can I set a static IP address for this device?
Yes. By default, the PrintConnect uses DHCP however; you can set a Fixed IP with our Config File Generator. Download the PrintConnect Configuration Utility.

How do I set a static IP address for the PrintConnect?

1. You can set a static IP address for the PrintConnect by creating a configuration file using the Config File Generator www.printeron.net/download/focus_pda/configAuth.jar. You’ll require a FAT formatted USB drive. Note:If you download from Internet Explorer, you’ll need to change the file extension from .zip to .jar in order to launch it.
2. Enter your Hardware ID which is the PrintConnect’s MAC address and can be found by pressing the “?” key on the PrintValet keypad once. The password by default is password. Fill in the Static IP information and click Go. Save the file onto your USB drive.
3. Turn the PrintConnect off and insert the USB drive. Turn the PrintConnect back on and once the PrintValet keypad reads “Print Release Press OK”, unplug the USB drive.

You can confirm the changes were made by pressing the “?” key on the PrintValet keypad twice to view the IP address. If you do not see the correct IP, check the name of your config file on the USB drive. If it was read, it will be called config.bak. If it still shows config, follow the same steps using another USB drive.

How do I access print jobs?
Use the PrintValet keypad to release your document. Press OK on the keypad and you will be asked to enter your ID code. Enter in your 6 digit release code and press OK. Once your job is found, confirm the print by pressing OK.

How do I know if the PrintConnect is running?
To check if PDS is running, press the ? button on the keypad 3 times. The display should read PrintConnect 3.0 License OK.

How long do print jobs sit in the queue?
After a print job is processed by PrinterOn, the PrintConnect will download the job. Once the job is downloaded, it will be available to print for 72 hours.

Why do I get “0 jobs available” when trying to print my job?
The PrintConnect looks for print jobs every 60 seconds. If you enter your release code before the job resides on the PrintConnect, you may receive this message. Make sure you are typing your release code correctly. If it is provided by PrinterOn, the release code will always be 6 digits. Your PrintConnect may not be able to communicate with us. Try rebooting the device by turning the switch on the back off and back on. When the PrintValet reads Print Release Press OK, try releasing your job again.

What should I do when I get a “NET Error”?
Verify that the Ethernet cable is functioning. Verify that the cable is connected to a functioning Ethernet hub or switch. The network activity light will flash when network activity is detected (i.e. data is being transferred). Try replacing the Ethernet cable if the error message persists.

How do I obtain log files from the PrintConnect?

1. You can get log files from the PrintConnect by creating a configuration file using the Config File Generator
2. You’ll require a FAT formatted USB drive. Note:If you download from Internet Explorer, you’ll need to change the file extension from .zip to .jar in order to launch it.
3. Enter your Hardware ID which is the PrintConnect’s MAC address and can be found by pressing the key on the PrintValet keypad once. The password by default is password. Set the logging level and click Go. Save the file onto your USB drive.
4. Turn the PrintConnect off and insert the USB drive. Turn the PrintConnect back on and once the PrintValet keypad reads Print Release Press OK, unplug the USB drive.
5. You should now see some files on the USB drive with .log as the extension. If you do not see these files, check the name of your config file. If it was read, it will be called config.bak. If it still shows config, follow the same steps using another USB drive.