PaperCut

Print management. Where the SNMP connector watches the hardware, this one deals with people: balances, page counts, credit and the card that releases a job at the multifunction device.


Category	Printing
Authentication	XML Web Services auth token
Reaches	Your PaperCut server, on your network
Needs an agent	Yes, on managed hosting
Demo mode	Yes, on by default

Capabilities

printer.status, printer.upsertCardUser, printer.userLookup, printer.adjustBalance

The last two are print-management operations rather than printer operations. They mean nothing to a connector that only speaks SNMP to the hardware, which is why the two connectors are separate.

The private network question

The PaperCut server is internal.

Self-hosted on that network: direct.

Managed hosting: needs a connector agent.

Enabling the API in PaperCut

PaperCut’s XML Web Services API is off by default and has to be enabled, and the calling host has to be allowed.

In the PaperCut admin interface, go to Options, Advanced.
Find Enable XML Web Services, and turn it on.
Set the auth token to a long random value. This is the credential.
Under Allowed XML Web Services callers, add the IP address of the server running Plugboard, or of the connector agent.

That last step is the one people miss. PaperCut will refuse a correctly authenticated call from a host that is not on the list, and the error does not obviously say so.

Configuring it in Plugboard

Admin, Connectors, PaperCut MF / NG, Configure.

Settings

Field	Default	Value
`baseUrl`	empty	Your PaperCut server URL, for example `https://papercut.school.edu:9192`
`cardField`	`secondary-card-number`	Which PaperCut card field to write
`demoMode`	`true`	Return sample data, making no calls to PaperCut

Port 9192 is PaperCut’s default for HTTPS. Plain HTTP is 9191.

Credentials

Field	Value
`authToken`	The XML Web Services auth token from step 3

Save and test, then turn demoMode off.

The card field choice

PaperCut holds two card numbers per user, primary and secondary.

Plugboard writes the secondary by default, on purpose: an existing primary card is left alone. A school that has already issued cards and has them working in PaperCut does not want an integration overwriting them.

Switch to primary only if you know that field is not already carrying something your users depend on.

What it enables

Card registration writes through. When you register a card in the card checker, it can be written into PaperCut at the same time, so the card that identifies somebody at the service desk is the same card that releases their printing. That is one fewer system to maintain by hand, and one fewer reason for a card to work in one place and not the other.

Balance and page count at the desk. “Why can I not print” is a common question and the answer is usually a balance. Having it in front of you saves a trip into another console.

Adjusting credit. Where your school allows it, from the desk, audited.

Permissions and policy

Adjusting a balance is giving somebody money, in the sense that matters to a school with print quotas. Decide who should be able to, and reflect it in roles.

Every adjustment is written to the audit log.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause
Sample data appears	`demoMode` is still on
Connection refused	Wrong port. 9192 for HTTPS, 9191 for plain HTTP
Certificate error	PaperCut’s default certificate is self-signed. Install its CA, or use a proper certificate on the PaperCut server
Authenticated but refused	The calling host is not in the allowed callers list. This is the common one
`Invalid auth token`	Wrong token, or XML Web Services is not enabled
Card written but not recognised at the printer	The wrong card field. Check whether your MFDs read primary or secondary
User not found	PaperCut usernames differ from the ones in your SIS. Check what PaperCut actually calls them

Printers over SNMP for the hardware side. Most schools running PaperCut want both.