Print Geeks of PaperCut

Welcome to a special edition of Print Geeks. Today, we're excited to share a success story from Pittsburgh Technical College in Pennsylvania, USA.

Pittsburgh Technical College recently faced a daunting challenge – an uncontrollable printing environment that led to wasted resources and a monthly paper bill of $30,000. But thanks to PaperCut MF, their paper usage was dramatically reduced to just $2,500 per month, and the transformation didn't stop there.

Join us as we delve into how PaperCut's flagship print solution, along with Mobility Print and Print Deploy, not only slashed costs but also provided essential visibility and security.

Director of Network Operations, Jon Buhagiar, tells us how they regained control, simplified their printing experience, and even tackled security risks like PrintNightmare.

Discover how Pittsburgh Technical College saved money, trees, and gained control over their print environment, all while enhancing security and user-friendliness. Stay tuned for this inspiring journey of transformation with PaperCut.

PaperCut's resident print management specialist is back for his patented check-up on all the latest and greatest features and enhancements for PaperCut products. In today's episode, the Doctor provides a dose of updates including direct print jobs, integrated scanning, Fujifilm MFD embeddeds, data centers for PaperCut Hive and PaperCut Pocket, and more. Missing anything from the Doctor's check-up, drop him an email at thedoctor@papercut.com with all your prescription needs.

Print Spoolers. You might not know what they are, or why they are, but chances are you've come across many a "Paused - Printer Spooling" message while printing. In this installment of Print Geeks, we explain what print spoolers are, why they exist, why print spooling issues occur, and how to fix them. To do so, our host PaperCutter Kieron is joined by his semi-regular co-host, PaperCutter Jamie. Together the duo is joined by PaperCut legend and former Microsoft employee, PaperCutter Alan Morris. He taps into his experience of building the Windows print system to provide all the must-know basics and tips on the Windows Print Spooler, as well as alternatives like CUPS for macOS and Linux. Want to know (almost) everything you need to know about Print Spoolers and print spooling? Start here!

For more on Print Spoolers, check out these other pieces of content:

• Printer spooling: what it is and how to fix it: https://www.papercut.com/blog/print_basics/printer-spooling-what-is-it-and-how-to-fix-it/
• Print Bits: Let's chat about Print Spoolers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1hE5Ih6pcE

Chapters:

• Introduction 0:13
• Meet the Alan, the Original Geek 2:31
• Why are Print Spooler issues so common? 5:11
• What is a Print Spooler? 7:11
• Print spooling v Print Spooler v CUPS 8:46
• Why do you need a print spooler? 9:42
• The baseball analogy... 10:56
• Print Drivers and causes of print spooler problems 12:41
• How do Print Spooler problems occur? 16:35
• The canary analogy... 19:00
• Alan's troubleshooting tips 19:49
• Print service logs 20:59
• Dump files 25:13
• Remote desktop redirected printers 27:20
• What to do: end-user and IT admin guide 30:08
• Bringing it home... 36:21

Schools print a lot. Specifically, schools, from K-12 to higher education, spend approximately 10% of their annual budget on printing. Assignments, worksheets, letterheads, records, essays, study guides, study notes, readings, tests - all of that is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the various document types printed by students and staff in schools. It is therefore vital that schools have print management software to control and administer their printing environments. On this deep dive episode, Print Geeks founding member PaperCutter Al drops by the pod booth to discuss in-depth with PaperCutter Kieron why all schools need print management software.

Chapters:

• Welcome to Print Geeks 0:00:15

• Today's guest: PaperCutter Al 1:31

• School famous: the kids know PaperCut! 3:12

• Why print management is essential in education 5:20

• BYOD printing: anytime, anywhere 12:41

• A note on print enablement 15:19

• Visibility: print data and insights 17:22

• Ease of use: making printing simple 20:43

• Cost savings: control consumables 27:03

• Cost recovery: payment kiosks 29:17

• Data and document security 31:02

• Waste reduction 38:13

• Freeing up IT time 41:36

• Summary 45:39

For this audio guide on everything you need to know about print security, Print Geeks host PaperCutter Kieron is joined by PaperCut IT and Security Manager, Stan Chathuruthy. Stan discusses the print document lifestyle with Kieron and wags his finger at Kieron's less-than-secure password management processes in the PaperCut office.

Chapters:

• Intro 0:14
• Forgotten password: a timeless tale 2:12
• IT and Security Manager - PaperCutter Stan 3:51
• Is print security overlooked in IT? 5:08
• Human error: the biggest security threat 7:08
• Phishing attacks 9:50
• Common print security leaks 14:53
• The print document lifecycle 16:49
• Securing print infrastructure 17:29
• Securing print workflows 20:38
• What is encryption? 22:20
• Balancing convenience and security 26:54
• Securing printed output 31:27
• The #1 thing to know about security... 35:59
• Attack surface area explained 37:00
• Hackers: blackhats, whitehats, greyhats 41:23
• Stan's final print security tips 42:25
• Conclusion 44:11

It's another Print Geeks assemble episode! PaperCutters Kieron and Jamie are joined by regular and print industry veteran, PaperCutter Lucas, and making her Print Geeks debut is Rebecca Ballantyne, from our Customer Experience team. And we're talking about the cloud again. Specifically, we dive into everything you need to know about printing and the cloud: Why is the cloud a hot topic in the print industry? What is cloud printing? What is cloud print management? Why are businesses moving their printing to the cloud? All those questions and more are answered in this all-star panel.

Episode timestamps:

• Intro 0:13
• "Printees" not customers 3:19
• What's the deal with printing and the cloud? 4:08
• Cloud printing vs cloud print management 4:56
• The "print pyramid": infrastructure, enablement, and management 6:37
• What "printees" mean when they say cloud 10:14
• Who says "cloud" anyway? 12:46
• What printing problems? 14:09
• Printing from cloud storage 16:33
• Back to the print pyramid! 17:29
• Private, public, and hybrid cloud 18:29
• Hardware lease agreements and the cloud 20:59
• What's a "server" anyway? 21:53
• Why are we talking about the cloud like it's 2009? 24:43
• Print: the "last bastion" of the cloud 26:12
• How cloud-hosted print software works... 31:14
• Think "printing problems" before thinking cloud 33:54
• Summary 36:45
• Outro 40:31

Looking for how to solve those pesky printing problems? Bracknell-based PaperCutter, technical support engineer Jemma Roxburgh, drops by the show and tells PaperCutter Kieron all about the most common PaperCut printing problems and how to troubleshoot them. Slight disclaimer, we're mainly referring to issues experienced in PaperCut MF and PaperCut NG managed print environments, but we also have some PaperCut Hive and PaperCut Pocket tips. Tune in to hear all the top tips on how to cure your printing woes. As well as some fun anecdotes about the wild and wacky world that is working in technical support.

Episode timestamps:

• Introduction 0:13
• A bit about Jemma and how PaperCut support works 3:51
• Printing problems overview 7:21
• How to log in 9:47
• Site down situations 12:30
• Upgrading too high 18:01
• Print Nightmare 19:55
• BYOD printing issues 23:15
• Mobility Print troubleshooting 26:48
• Print Deploy troubleshooting 32:24
• Secure Print Release 36:47
• MFD issues 38:22
• Printer driver tips 42:47
• Network issues 46:24
• PaperCut application server specs 49:00
• PaperCut Hive and PaperCut Pocket tips 52:29
• Thank you Jemma 55:51
• Printing problems summary 56:50

Ever found it difficult to buy PaperCut software? Unsure what the difference is between PaperCut Resellers and PaperCut Authorized Solution Centers and PaperCut Authorized Partners? Can't tell the difference between Technical Support, Technical Services, and Customer Care? We have the episode for you. PaperCutter Kieron is joined by two traveling Portland PaperCutters, Shari and Ariel, to answer the question: how do you get PaperCut software? They also explain the PaperCut ecosystem and who to talk to during each stage of your software-buying journey. 

Sidestepping from the print side of things, and focusing on the human, brings us this week’s installment of the Print Geeks podcast. I’m joined by visiting Portland PaperCutters Operation Specialist Shari and Customer Care Specialist Ariel to talk about PaperCut’s global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging group, or DEIB for short.

DEIB is a unique part of PaperCut culture. It’s been going 3 years strong and strives to ensure all PaperCutters and partners feel a sense of home and can embrace what makes them unique, inside and out. Shari and Ariel were in town, along with many other global DEIB members, planning DEIB’s next 12 months, and to celebrate Midsumma Pride March here in Melbourne Australia.

I had a chat with the two about what DEIB is, how it was founded, why it’s important in every workplace, and how the Midsumma Pride March went.

In the first episode of the Print Geeks podcast for 2023, PaperCutters Kieron and Jamie are joined by fellow PaperCutter but also print legend, Alan Morris. The trio dives into possibly the printiest and geekiest episode we’ve yet attempted. Alan taps into his past tenure at Microsoft to walk us through the history of the print server and his work building the Windows print systems.

PaperCutter Kieron is joined by who is now becoming his partner in crime, PaperCutter Jamie, to explain the only 3 ways you can print in the cloud. Leaving off from their previous episode on “serverless printing”, the pair are joined by special guest, Mark Hart of ACDI, one of PaperCut’s Authorized Solution Centers. Mark taps into his 25 years of experience in the print industry to discuss the 3 primary types of cloud print deployments he sees when talking to customers. If you’ve ever wondered how cloud computing is similar to real estate, this is the episode for you.

Even if you've only just discovered PaperCut software, you'll soon discover that we're all about thoughtful printing. But... what does that term actually mean? We often talk about "printing essential documents only" without actually explaining what the heck is an essential document and what print jobs are thoughtful print jobs. So in this episode, Print Geeks regulars Kieron and Jamie break down the philosophy behind thoughtful printing and propose a formula/checklist for how to know when your print job just simply must be printed. They also spend too long talking about Valentine's Day for some reason. No birthday cards were harmed in the making of this podcast.

PaperCutter Kieron is joined by PaperCut Strategic Vertical Lead and "healthcare captain" Mat Buttrey to talk about everything faxing. That's right, faxing is still a thing in 2022 and it isn't going anywhere any time soon. Mat talks us through why faxing is still used by billions of people the world over, what faxing looks like in today's modern workplace, and how PaperCut integrates with fax service providers.

PaperCutter Jamie returns to the show to demystify “serverless printing” and explain how cloud print management services actually work. What’s a print server anyway? Why isn’t direct printing a suitable alternative to maintaining a print server? Why is it that printers need a print server?  If you don’t have a print server, what does the servering? What’s the best form of cloud print management? What does “serverless printing” actually mean in the first place? All those answers and obligatory Game of Thrones analogies inside!

The Doctor's monthly check-up takes a look at:

• PaperCut Grows, our new Forest Positive printing program
• Our Mobility Print server, which now comes with Ghost Trap, but what does that mean for you?
• WCAG accessibility new in PaperCut MF 22.0. 
• Integrated Scanning's fancy new options
• New Sharp devices getting their own PaperCut MF release

Listen to this episode to dive a little deeper into the what and why of our new and improved print management features. 

In celebration of #SysadminDay2022, PaperCutter Kieron talks to PaperCut Software CEO, co-founder, and former Sysadmin, Chris Dance. To celebrate Sysadmin Day, Chris strolls down the memory lane of his time as a part-time sysadmin. His first real job. The same job that inspired the “little bit of code” that became PaperCut Software. Kieron also presses Chris with hard-hitting questions like who is the Sysadmin of Star Wars? And the biggest question of all... who is more important to a business, the Sysadmin or the CEO?

What's the difference between print management and print enablement? Resident tech journo, Kieron, asks PaperCutter veteran, Jason, who taps into his 12 years of experience with PaperCut and his past life as a SysAdmin to provide the answer. Although this is Jason's first time on Print Geeks, IT admins will know him as igotapapercut on Reddit, when he's not wearing his product manager/product engineer/QA engineer hats. Jason and Kieron discuss how print management and print enablement impacts administrators and end-users, as well as what went into developing PaperCut's print management products and our print enablement solutions PaperCut Mobility Print and Print Deploy.

Our resident tech enablement specialist, Doc Ballje, kicks off a new monthly segment we're calling the Doctor's check-up! A monthly dose of feature and product news for our Authorized Partners and Resellers. On this episode, Doc provides updates on:

• Mobility Print
• Print Deploy
• PaperCut Grows
• PaperCut NG and PaperCut MF
• PaperCut Hive
• PaperCut Multiverse

PaperCutter Matt Coad joins the show again and taps into his print industry expertise to explain the history of Managed Print Services, and how COVID-19/hybrid working has impacted MPS providers.

PaperCutter Kieron is joined by Print Geeks regular Jamie McClunie for a deep dive on how to save paper. 

Inspired by a 2008 blog post by our CEO and co-founder Chris Dance, Kieron and Jamie provide a 2022 update of how to save paper without print management software in a hybrid working world. Whether you're in the office or working from home, here's 11 ways to save paper all without spending a dollar!

In this International Women's Day special, PaperCutter Tee assembles a panel of inspiring female PaperCutters to talk women in tech and the #IWD2022 theme "Break the bias." Tee is joined in this bumper pod by Head of Talent in People Experience Laura White, Principal Product Engineer Shalini Sharma, and Associate Product Engineer Milindi Kodikara.

PaperCutters Al and Kieron are joined by Product Marketer and fellow Print Geeks regular Jamie McClunie, and Americas Marketing Lead Lisa Miller. Fresh from our recent Partner Summit virtual event, we discuss the print and IT trends that will define 2022: remote/hybrid working, security, cloud, and sustainability.

PaperCutter Jamie speaks with knowledgeable PaperCutters, Tim Grimshaw (Support Operations guru) and Alan Morris (Technical Lead, former Microsoft employee) about PrintNightmare. The trio delve deep into the Windows printing security bombshell, asking the what, how, and why of PrintNightmare. 

Tim talks us through the customer impact and Alan shares firsthand insights from his time at Microsoft.

Join Josh, the new host of our interview series, previously Meet a PaperCutter before the Print Geeks reboot! To kick off our first installment of MeetCuts, Josh chats to recent addition but old-time PaperCut chum, Matt Coad, in our Melbourne HQ's pod booth during Matt's recent trip from Sydney.

It doesn’t take long for the conversation to drift from an overview of Matt’s work history in the print industry, to an intense discussion on blockchain, NFTs, the metaverse, and virtual reality!

PaperCutters Al and Kieron finally make it to the office to record NewsCuts in person! They celebrate the holiday and end of year season by wrapping up 2021 in this gift-wrapped long(er) edition of NewsCuts!

PaperCutter Kieron reads the blog version of our Google and BIG W case study. How does an enterprise Australian retailer manage label printing during the COVID-19 online order boom? They use PaperCut Mobility Print and Chrome OS.

One of our DeepCuts regulars, PaperCutter Jamie, talks to Vuthy and Bez, some of the brains behind our Edge Mesh technology, about how to print in the cloud when the internet's down...

For this installment of us reading the PaperCut blog so you don't have to, PaperCutter Tee walks us through how PaperCut held its first remote working hackathon!

PaperCutters Jamie and Chethana host their first podcast, stepping out of their comfort zone for our yearly hackathon! They're joined by two representatives from one of our Authorized Solution Centers, Taco Technologies—Marketing Specialist Deborah Boyle and Solutions Consultant Stuart Hartshorn. 

In today's ShortCuts episode, Chethana answers the age old question on everyone's lips: "How do I know if my business is suited to cloud print management?"

She shares the 4 signs that tell you you're ready for print management in the cloud. But you'll have to listen to find out what they ar... oh ok, here they are (you are SO pushy):

1. You're already in the public cloud
2. You're new to print management
3. You're embracing hybrid/remote working
4. You're an early tech adopter

Tick some or all of those boxes (ok, they're not boxes, but go with me here), and you're well on the way to enjoying print management in the cloud. Boom!

In this ShortCuts episode, Kieron shares his story from August 25 2021 about why updating your print management software is kind of like getting the latest version of your favorite video game. 

Short Cuts - when a PaperCutter reads the PaperCut blog