Recomendations - Print Management Software

[LukeC]

Im looking at implementing print management software to be used with our existing printers (HP/Kyocera/Brother, Mix of windows 7 / XP clients and moving to 2008 Print server). Id like the software to be able to do the following:

 

1. Prompt a teacher for a PIN so it bills it to that department.
   
2. Stop students printing with out authroisation from teacher. (adds it to a queue with teacher being able to authroise at once)
   
3. When the teacher authroises it, it is then billed to their department.
   
4. History of all print jobs (date & time) PC printed from???
   
5. IT Team to be able to authorise jobs and charge it to specific department
   
6. Software to run a report at end of each month with costs for each department (including student printing)
   
7. Show a breakdown of jobs printed if requested.
   
8. Link with Active Directory
   

 

Hope this is clear, it would be much apreciated if you could recommend me some software that achives all of the above. I will also be keen to come and see it in action as well and get first hand experience, based in Lancashire. Thanks

[MatthewL]

Pcounter and Papercut will do exactly what you want but the smaller desktop machines will not be able to prompt for pin but you can use a thing called teacher release where you can login to a web page and then release the jobs onto the smaller printers if that makes sense.

[shilpi]

One more vote to papercut

[ChrisH]

I like the scripting aspect of Papercut it's very flexible and allows you to tailor it to your requirements eg we have ICT suites that have normal timetabled lessons and bookable sessions so I made a script to charge the department who is in there for that period and on bookable sessions the print jobs go to the release queue, for which each dept has a shared account they release the jobs from.

[synaesthesia]

Papercut. As simple as you need (Default install) or as in-depth as you could ever hope, and then some thanks to it's scripting abilities.

[MatthewL]

Out of the 2 PaperCut is more up to date where PCounter needs some development putting into it to update it but saying that its a really good and powerful product as it is. I have been using PCounter for 3 years now.

[plexer]

I was told by someone from Altman that a pcounter overhaul is on the cards in the not too distant future.

 

I'd agree with what's been said though paper cut does look more up to date.

 

Ben

[MatthewL]

Had heard the same when I was on the phone to them yesterday funnily enough but will try and confirm it.

[LukeC]

Thanks all, does any one know how it compares with print manger plus 2010?

[RTFM]

We use papercut

[SYNACK]

Papercut here too.

[naysweb]

We use papercut too. We was using Impero print system but found for our clients and windows 7 computer just did not work Consistently.

[plexer]

Thanks all, does any one know how it compares with print manger plus 2010?

 

I never was happy with pmp and frequently turned it's service off.

 

Ben

[john]

I use Print Manager Plus and it seems fine, however we just use it for simple needs and simple reporting. Students and staff get a credit limit, exceed it and we add more and charge you for it (students have to come with the £ to us in advance staff are internally charged), the basic main program doesn't have all the feature you have listed that you want but I do know they have release modules and things you can buy as extras which will add some of the features you are wanting.

[timbo343]

Papercut with us, been using since 2008 and not let us down, however we are only using it for detailed reporting but the option is there if we want to use it further which we have thought about. Another plus it will print credentials on the bottom of each paper printed.

[Edu-IT]

PaperCut here too. Brilliant product, flexible to your needs, and support is fab too. :-)

[markwilfan]

+1 for papercut too. Very good. The new print thumbnail has solved the problem of students being able to print silly things and get away with it. We too just use it for monitoring and reporting, "at the moment"

[MordyT]

Surprised no mentioned o and k print watch.

[SYNACK]

Surprised no mentioned o and k print watch.

 

never heard of it, link?

[MordyT]

never heard of it, link?

O&K Print Watch - Printer manager and monitor

 

We use it, works really well.

Trying to switch over to impero for easy print credits, having no luck getting impero to actually see print jobs.

But that is a topic for another time I guess

[russdev]

O&K Print Watch - Printer manager and monitor

 

We use it, works really well.

Trying to switch over to impero for easy print credits, having no luck getting impero to actually see print jobs.

But that is a topic for another time I guess

 

 

PM your details and can get one of support guys to get in touch with you to work out what the issue. The obvious one to remember there is a setting in the group settings tab which disable PCredit and is as a default.

 

Russell

[MordyT]

PM your details and can get one of support guys to get in touch with you to work out what the issue. The obvious one to remember there is a setting in the group settings tab which disable PCredit and is as a default.

 

Russell

 

I pmed you, but that is not the issue here.

The issue is that people don't print to a locally installed printer. In fact, there is no locally installed printer, they simply print to a shared printer on the server. That printer does not go through AD or anything. Those prints are invisible.

 

When we add the printer into ad and install it, then impero sees those prints as well.

 

I suspect impero needs to be enabled on the server.