Authenticating users and print jobs with PaperCut Hive and Pocket

This page describes authentication-based client linking. To accurately track and secure print jobs, PaperCut Hive and Pocket must identify the user behind every print request. This is achieved through client linking — a process that associates the PaperCut client on a user’s device with their unique PaperCut account.

After the PaperCut Hive or Pocket client software is installed on end-users’ computers, an authentication process “links” the client to the user as part of their onboarding experience.

The authentication process has two phases:

• Linking the PaperCut Hive or Pocket client to a user’s account — This lets Hive and Pocket know which user is performing a print job.
• Releasing a print job by authenticating at the printer — This lets the PaperCut Hive and Pocket mobile app, User Portal, or device app (Hive only) know which user has logged in.

Client linking methods

There are a few different ways to link a client to a user’s account. The method you use depends on whether you:

• centrally manage user devices (bulk deployment via a mobile device management (MDM) tool or admin-only manual installation of software on user devices) or allow users to download and install their own software
• use a Classic Invitation email experience for your users, or if you prefer them to self-access the User Portal (via a User Portal invitation or by sharing your organization’s unique link).

Summary of client linking methods and required admin and user actions

Read on to understand for deeper details about how all these options work!

Client linking methods for user computers

Automatic client linking on user login

This self-service option is great for BYOD environments and enabling guest printing. After users are added to the PaperCut Hive or Pocket Users list (via manual invitation, user sync, user import, or requesting access via Team Signup), they can then install the client software and link the client by themselves.

• Send email invitations to users: Do this via Users in the PaperCut Hive or Pocket admin console (manually adding users or bulk inviting users via importing a CSV or TSV file). You can also sync users and invite them via a user sync Add-on. Of the two invitation types:
  • The Classic Invitation includes instructions and a download link to the client software. This link downloads a customized installer that links the client to the invited PaperCut user after installation completes.
  • The User Portal invitation allows users to log into the User Portal. In the Set up my devices page, they can download the client software directly, and because they’re already logged into the User Portal, PaperCut Hive or Pocket can directly link the user to this client software after installation is complete.
• Instruct users to sign into the User Portal via “Share link”: After users have been added to PaperCut Hive or Pocket, go to Users > Add users > Share link and copy the link. You can share this to your users in many ways, for example by embedding it in your onboarding documentation, or by direct messaging it to them. After the users log into the User Portal, they can use the Set up my devices page to download a customized version of the Hive or Pocket installer. This links the client as soon as installation completes.

In either case, as soon as the installation is complete, users’ jobs will correctly associate with their user account in PaperCut Hive or Pocket, and the client will install any additional print queues you’ve deployed alongside the default PaperCut Printer.

For more information on these options, as well as detailed setup instructions, visit our User Portal and Classic email invitation - overview page.

Authenticate-on-Print (log in to link the bulk deployed client after sending first print job)

This option is available to organizations that centrally manage their users’ devices, and one or more of the following apply:

• You have managed devices with an MDM tool that can enable automatic or self-service installation of packages. (Alternatively, you manually install the client on your users’ devices.)
• Your users do not have permissions to install software on their machines.
• You’re looking to minimize user involvement in the client setup process.

The Authenticate-on-Print workflow allows for admins to either manually install (or automatically deploy) an anonymized version of the Hive or Pocket client software to a user’s machine. This installs the required components and will add the PaperCut Printer as an available printer after the installation is complete. Users can then link this new, anonymized installation to their PaperCut account using the Authenticate-on-Print workflow.

When the user submits a job to the PaperCut Printer, this triggers a browser redirect to the PaperCut Hive or Pocket User Portal login page. After signed in, the User Portal links the installed client to the user’s account to complete the linking process. Users can then re-submit their print job to the PaperCut Printer (if needed), and will shortly receive any other printer queues you’ve configured to deploy to their computers.

Linking methods for iOS and Android mobile devices

After the user has either followed the Classic Invitation or User Portal instructions to install the PaperCut Hive or Pocket app on their mobile device, they need to link the app to their Hive or Pocket user information. This is done in the app by either:

• Entering their PaperCut email and password, or using Single Sign-on (SSO)
• Inputting a linking code

After the user has successfully logged in, the mobile app knows which email address is associated with the app, and can generate a personalized printer profile with a unique user token. This user token is sent with print jobs, so PaperCut Hive or Pocket knows which user owns the print job and user’s can see jobs sent from their computers as available for release on their mobile device

While users on Android devices can submit print jobs directly from their device after completing the above, iOS users require a PaperCut-generated iOS device profile to be installed. For more information, see our Mobile & tablet printing guide .

Releasing a print job

Android and iOS

The complicated part has been done already — identifying which print jobs belong to which user! The release part is relatively simple. As part of the setup process, because the user logs into the Mobile App on Android or iOS, the app now knows which email address is theirs. The cloud now allows them to release or modify the print jobs (through the device or mobile app) that they own. Simple!

Device app (logging into the MFD when using PaperCut Hive)

Along the same lines as the mobile app above — when a user logs into the copier (MFD) either through a code or by swiping their ID card, the cloud identifies who they are by linking, for example, the card ID to their email address. The cloud then tells the copier to display the print jobs they own, so that they can choose which ones to release!

Authentication frequently asked questions (FAQs)

The User Portal isn’t correctly detecting when the PaperCut Hive or Pocket software is already installed on a user’s computer.

This is often caused by browser restrictions that prevent us from seeing the processes present on your network/device. Ensure that local network access is allowed in the browser’s site settings.

Additional print queues aren’t showing up on users' computers.

Consult our Print Queue Deployment Troubleshooting guide for some helpful suggestions on what to do if your user can only see the PaperCut Printer, even when other print queues have been configured for deployment.

If the authentication for the printer is included in the PaperCut Printer client, doesn’t that mean that anyone can print as that user from that laptop or computer?

No! Well.... they could if they could log in as that particular user to the computer, which hopefully they can’t do since they’d then be able to do a lot more than just printing as that user!

The PaperCut Printer runs as a user-based application, which means that it’s only accessible to a user when they log into thier computer as themself. If the user shares their computer with someone else, or if someone else logs into their computer (as them) one day, they won’t see the PaperCut Printer.

If any other user needs to print through PaperCut Pocket or Hive from the same computer, then they’ll need to install the PaperCut Printer as themselves, by following the custom link in their own welcome email.

Sharing is caring — but not necessarily in this case — users must keep their welcome email and your unique code to themself.