Papercut Print Deploy client launch issue

[JSpaced]

Hello all,

We're running Intune to manage our Windows devices and we have a deployment of Papercut Print Deploy (currently v1.9.1836)

 

We're noticing a consistent problem with the Papercut client on first login. When the user hasn't used the station before, the UI for Papercut fail start properly.

 

The services run fine. In some cases it connects the printer correctly, in some cases it fails, but the system tray icon fails to start and the user can't view their installed printers etc.

 

The only workaround is to get the user to sign out/ in again and everything works as expected.

 

I understood this to be a problem in a previous version that had been resolved. Has anyone else encountered and solved this problem?

 

Thank you in advance.

[DWilson1997]

We had something similar, we don't use papercut anymore but off the top of my head I'm sure it was calling to run a script that we blocked from running. I think you can change it to run an .exe however we didn't get it to work reliably so ended up using Printix as an interim solution to deploy the follow me queue.

[PaperCutterAl]

Hiya, papercutter here. DWILSON1997 is pretty much spot on.

 

There's a .bat file we use to launch a service that runs the UI. Some AV software or even things like AppLocker can block users from running bat files.

 

We actually ship the client with an .exe version of this .bat file but there is no way to automate its use in our product. It requires changing a registry entry after install, which is not easy / reliable. If you're still dealing with this issue, I suggest opening a ticket at support.papercut.com.

 

Alistair

 

NOTE: I'm just passing on knowledge. I pinched this explanation from a tech. I am not brainy.

[psydii]

Further to @PaperCutterAl and @DWilson1997 I'd look at what you might be able to do with windows scheduled tasks, handy to delay starts of needed applications, and potentially restart them if they aren't running. Generically you could perhaps have a powershell script (signed by a code-signing certificate from your CA) that does the necessary registry shenanigans before calling the .exe or even 'just' re-implementing the entire .bat?

[PotNoodleTech]

Bat files? We were using bat files in the 90s. Can you not move on somewhat since then?

[PaperCutterAl]

A timely question, @PotNoodleTech. And we are moving on from them - later this year I suspect.

[toffee_paul]

@PaperCutterAl What's the new method and is it in available yet? We have the .bat file method in use (Logon script, deployed by Group Policy).  As we use AppLocker I created a Publisher rule to exclude the blocking of the executables. 

[Squelch]

We had the same issue which magically fixed itself some time ago.

[JSpaced]

I ended up writing a scheduled task with a delayed time. Still not 100% proof, but then our stations are doing SO MUCH on startup, I think things get pushed to the back of the queue and beyond their timeout thresholds.

[PaperCutterAl]

On 21/03/2026 at 02:55, toffee_paul said:

@PaperCutterAl What's the new method and is it in available yet? We have the .bat file method in use (Logon script, deployed by Group Policy).  As we use AppLocker I created a Publisher rule to exclude the blocking of the executables. 

Hey, sorry about the tardy response. Looks like this was addressed in the May 2025 release:

Windows - Made changes so that an initialise.exe is used instead of an initialise.bat to bootstrap itself. Customers who block the running of scripts (e.g. .bat files) will now no longer need to troubleshoot why the client does not load on some computers. [PD-1523]

https://www.papercut.com/help/manuals/print-deploy/release-history/#version-19xxxx