Uniflow vs Papercut

[dapaulio]

Want to gather your thoughts experience on Uniflow. anyone use Canon copiers with Uniflow.

 

A school has enquired and personally i have been papercut through and through. Never considered switching because well Papercut is everything a school needs. however the person making the noise is attracted by the renewal price not to have papercut installed.

 

TIA

[mrbios]

Had to use Uniflow from about 2010 to 2015/16 or so thanks to my predecessor. In three words: Clunky, overcomplicated and expensive. Papercut is a VASTLY superior product in my opinion.

 

Hope that helps

[MrEprise]

I've used both before, Papercut is a lot more intuitive when it comes to its configuration. Uniflow on the other hand, it was real easy to get lost when trying to do what seemed like the simplest things. The one thing that sticks out in my mind as bonkers was when one of the Canon engineers we spoke to at the time told us to only use IE to configure it as any other browser could potentially cause corruption within its database.

[willtech]

PaperCut is a lot better. We have two schools on Uniflow with Canon and it is a pain to do easy things. where as a site that has PaperCut is so much better and has add bits like mobility print.

[MatthewL]

PaperCut wins hands down over many of the other products and they are keeping up to date where many of other haven't.

 

The other thing with PaperCut cut is that you are not tired to a specific vendor and you can change your copiers and you don't end up reconfiguring everything other than print queues.

 

PaperCut all day long for me, wish their licensing was more kind to be like it is now back in the day and I would of been using it 15 years as apposed to the 10 now.

[paulkerton]

We use Uniflow online with Canon machines. Works very well for us, just needs the extension on the Chromebooks and off we go!

Ultimately Uniflow is Canon's software, so from one aspect you have a single place of failure. If you have a problem with Papercut on a Canon device they can easily start pointing fingers at each other as to whose responsibility it is.

Edited April 8, 2022 by paulkerton

[Wubbalubbadub]

Rather surprised people think Uniflow is complex and Papercut isn't.. I have used both and I find uniflow almost too simple... papercut isn't complicated by any means.. but I also don't think Uniflow is!

 

We have Canon machines and Uniflow.. but that is partly as it is the only system that supports Zero Trust printing. It has been amazing for us and the way it works with Endpoint Manager / Intune.

[AB_IT]

We currently use Uniflow. It's terrible, one of the many things I want to change. I'll be going to PaperCut, it's so much better.

[slugshead]

Have used both in different jobs.

 

Uniflow has a lot more capabilities, but is a lot more complicated

 

Papercut just works and looks nice

[Olliekai]

Had uniflow in my current role until the contact was up then moved to PaperCut. I tried to work with uniFlow but it was over complicated with little to no information on it around. Canon never helped and it was really resource heavy on the print server ; running a report could crash it. Same server with papercut: no issues. Staff love it.

[emiller-ubeo]

Hello All

 

I am a dealer and implementer of all 4 products and will present a non-bias approach: PaperCut / UniFlow (On Prem) / UniFlow Online / PaperCut Hive and understand the pros and cons of those products.

 

PaperCut $$: I agree that PaperCut is simple to configure, and a very stable product compared to UniFlow On Prem. We promote PaperCut when the product matches the customers’ requirements. It does 90% of what schools are asking for and requires minimum maintenance. PaperCut reporting only tracks what goes through the print server so as a dealer, we don't trust the reports as it is easy to bypass and the reports are not accurate due to spooler based accounting. We have a seen a 70% drop in PaperCut sales due to schools migrating to the cloud since PaperCut is server based. There are other cloud based Print Management solutions available that schools are migrating to that have more features.

 

UniFlow (On Prem) $$$: With any application, increased flexibility and customization come complexity which is why it requires a certified engineer to install. That does mean it is a bad product, just means that you need to know what you are doing as it is very powerful. Example: Reporting is log based so all print jobs are reported accurately even if a user prints direct IP to the copier because of firmware level integration instead of just SDK. We have not sold any on prem UniFlow systems since 2020 due to cloud migration and UniFlow Online does more for less.

 

UniFlow Online $$: Has replaced UniFlow On Prem and is a different product so don't conflate the two. This removes all print servers and 100% cloud based: Follow Me Print, Send To MySelf, email, Fax Server Integration, Cloud Scanning (Google, OnDrive, SharePoint, Teams), Direct IP Print, Fleet management, Azure, Google, OKTA identity providers, Zero Trust, High Availability, Log based reporting etc. We promote this product when a customer wants to remove servers, connect all locations without VPN's, maintain reporting and not loose functionality. The print driver can be installed via any software deployment tool and Chromebook extension.

 

UniFlow Online Express (Free) $: This provides a smaller subset of features but for many schools, it addresses basic needs: Log Based Reporting, Send To MySelf Email, Fax Server Integration, Fleet management, Azure, Google, OKTA identity providers, Google Drive Scanning,

 

PaperCut Hive $$$$: We have not been able to sell this product into a school due its cost and lack of features. It is not a cloud product even though it is marketed as such. You still maintain a server called a Super Node on your network (AKA Print Server) to manage spool files. We hope that the core design of the software will change but PaperCut tries to be all thing to all manufacturers which is why their migration to cloud has stalled. For cloud to work, the list of On-Prem features needs to be available in the cloud version.

 

Other Cloud Based Print Management: There are other cloud based print management that we implement that provides UniFlow Online features and flexibility for non-Canon MFP’s.

 

Erick Miller

VP of Tech

UBEO

[email protected]

Edited October 2, 2023 by emiller-ubeo

[dapaulio]

Roll on 6months and uniflow was installed on the canons in two of our schools. The outcome has not been a good experience so far.

 

I can understand in a small school environment but in an average size school it’s been chaos.

 

But by decision of the trust it’s here to stay so

 

How have others made the client work efficiently. My understanding for the printers to work a client is ran in the user context and logged into but this client is easy to close down or ignored on startup causing printing disruption.

 

Has anyone manage to run the client seamlessly and purely in the background without relying on the user input?

Edited October 3, 2023 by dapaulio

[MrEprise]

UniFlow (On Prem) $$$: With any application, increased flexibility and customization come complexity which is why it requires a certified engineer to install.

 

This was the main reason I didn't like UniFlow when we had it in my last place. It meant you had to call out an engineer whenever you needed to do certain configuration changes and depending on your support contract, could sometimes mean a call-out fee each and every time.

 

With PaperCut, the wording they use is more in layman's terms and easier to understand which leads to being able to make similar configuration changes without needing an engineer to walk you through it.

[emiller-ubeo]

Hello Dapaulio,

 

Will break up your points:

 

1. PopUp: The intention of the SmartClient is to be a dynamic universal print driver. Most customers remove all popups as Follow Me Print is the only option they want users to have. If the internet were to go down, then popups would appear for direct IP printing as a failover. If you want both Follow Me and direct print, then the user selects the UniFlow Printer, and they are given choices based upon where they are located. This can be powerful for mobile users moving between locations. The user can select “Don’t ask again for the rest of the day” and it will remember their choice.
   
2. Zero Trust Direct Print: Another reason for the Popup is customer are terminating site to site VPN and circuits. UniFlow allows for Zero Trust Print where a user at Site A can print to Site B and the job comes out as if the sites are connected. Server based products cannot do things like this.
   
3. SmartClient Management: When deploying the SmartClient, some planning needs to be put in place like any software that is pushed out. We recommend using software deployment tools like system center, GPO or Intune to manage install/updates. UniFlow does have a self-update feature but in larger deployments, we recommend software management. We have revisited some customers and changed deployment methods to improve management. Maybe that is what needs to take place here.
   


1. The SmartClient should run in system tray and have the silent switch to auto register and run in the background. Your Identity provider should automate everything to remove all user interaction at startup so if that is not the case, then adjustments should be made.
   

 

[*]Direct IP Printing: UniFlow is using a PDF workflow for direct IP printing to printers. The reason for this is the industry transitioning to driverless printing. This mean that a printer needs to be able to print a PDF natively without a driver. Older printers do not support Direct PDF print and lack the processing power to do so. Most customers who find an old printer use it as an opportunity to promote Follow Me print or use the MFP instead of a printer.

 

I appreciate the feedback and if you want to reach out to me directly you can: [email protected]

PaperCut is a great product built for On-Prem and UniFlow Online is a great product built for the Cloud.

[emiller-ubeo]

Agreed. The ON-Prem version is complicated which is why the industry has moved on.

UniFlow Online has contextual help and there is no server so once you log in, you can click help and go.

https://www.nt-ware.com/uniflowonline/doc/2023.3/contexthelp/#/index/en/help

[Zoom7000]

We ran uniFLOW Online at a school we look after for 3 years. It was implemented directly by Canon. Personally, for me, it was a total disaster. We had no end of issues since day 1. Staff would simply not be able to print, the Windows client would refuse to connect to uniFLOW Online. Even when it did, prints would simply not appear on the printers. I would log calls with Canon who wouldn't have a clue about how to support it and would eventually escalate the call to NT-Ware. It could take between 2 - 4 weeks to resolve issues at times.

 

When the renewal came up, we dumped it as fast as we could and went with PaperCut MF and it's been great ever since. Sad that we can't seem to find a decent alternative cloud solution to PaperCut, but for now, PaperCut works and it works very well.

 

There are other cloud based Print Management solutions available that schools are migrating to that have more features.

 

I'd be interested to know what suggestions you have on cloud based alternatives that aren't uniFLOW Online or Hive, which I agree is not really cloud based at all.

[emiller-ubeo]

You would think getting it installed by Canon would be the safe bet but they are copier people not IT. Cannot troubleshoot reliably.

 

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish as each product is adding features at different rates:

Follow Me Print

Send To MySelf Email

Print Driver Deployment

Budgets

Fax Server Integration

Lock the main panel

Reporting for Copy and Print

Scan to Google/OneDrive

 

What copier manufacture do you have?

Where are you located?

[PotNoodleTech]

I guess it's a lesson to the powers that be that when edugeek says no don't use something as it's rubbish -they should listen!

 

Papercut for me is one of those handful of systems that is nearly flawless - when I ask myself how can it be improved I can't really think of much. There's hardly any other software like that - Veaam may be another one that just works brilliantly and you can't get better really.

[Net_Man]

I am forced to continue using Uniflow on prem because the online version does not support custom workflows

[emiller-ubeo]

What custom workflow are you trying to do?

[Net_Man]

QR code scanning which creates folders and places the scanned .pdf documents into them that reside on a network share.

 

Upgraded Uniflow on prem last year and was considering the online version until Canon professional services confirmed that this feature was not supported so stayed with the on premise version.

 

I have to say that it just works