PaperCut MF is the edition of PaperCut that integrates with multifunction devices (MFDs) through embedded applications, tracking and controlling copying, scanning and faxing as well as printing. It is licensed by device: “Licensing for PaperCut MF is based only on the number of print devices you have in your organization. It’s a true organization-wide license with no limit on the number of servers, workstations, or printers.”[1] PaperCut does not sell MF directly. It is offered “through our network of Authorized Solution Centers and their authorized resellers”, and prices are quoted by those partners from a global Recommended Retail Price list.[1]
Since PaperCut MF 24.0, customers can choose between two models: a perpetual licence or a subscription. The 24.0 release introduced “unified subscription pricing for PaperCut MF and PaperCut Hive”.[10][2]
Editions
| Perpetual customer | Subscription customer | |
|---|---|---|
| Right to use given by | Uploading a licence file | Submitting an activation key |
| M&S | Additional cost (first year mandatory) | Included in the subscription price |
| Expiry | No expiry date | When all subscriptions expire |
| On expiry | Full functionality (upgrade limits apply) | Limited admin interface; no logins to user web interface or MFDs |
| Device licences | Brand-specific; License Exchange Fees on brand change | Brand-neutral MFD and SFP entitlements |
| Adding a device over the limit | Up to 7 days’ grace | Blocked without a free entitlement |
Sources: Important points to know about PaperCut NG/MF licensing, and Device Count Exceeded.[2][3] Catalog rows: PaperCut MF perpetual licence and PaperCut MF subscription.
Choosing the subscription has contractual consequences. Under EULA 4.3, any perpetual PaperCut MF or NG licence “will automatically terminate upon your being granted a Subscription License”, unless agreed otherwise in writing.[8] A Subscription License is “revocable”. It also ends when the agreement with the Authorized Partner ends.[8] See A Subscription License terminates perpetual licences.
Metrics
The MF device entitlement is the main unit. “The number of devices (listed under the Devices tab) in your PaperCut MF admin interface plays a large part of PaperCut MF licensing.”[3] Subscription entitlements are grouped by device type, not brand:
- MFDs (multifunction devices), also called Full embedded devices.
- SFPs (single-function printers), also called Lite embedded devices.[2]
There are also non-device entitlements: “Print Deploy Zone Packs, Release Stations, Payment Gateways, Fax Connectors, and users”.[4] Print Deploy VDI support is available only for MF.[11]
Counting / floors
Claiming and releasing entitlements
Installing the embedded application on an MFD claims an entitlement. If none is available, “the device will not be created”. Deleting a device releases its entitlement.[4] “Setting a device to Disabled indefinitely (Release Entitlement) releases the entitlement and makes it available to be claimed by another device”; the device then shows as Not Licensed.[4] See Disabling a device indefinitely releases its entitlement.
Over the limit
The two models treat an extra device differently.
- Perpetual. A perpetual customer “can still exceed your available device licenses for up to 7 days, in order to test a new device or add a temporary device”.
- Subscription. On a subscription (24.0 and later), adding a device without an available entitlement produces an error.[3]
PaperCut MF can email the customer or the reseller when a licence or subscription limit is exceeded.[3] See Perpetual MF may exceed device licences for 7 days; subscriptions may not.
Brand changes
Subscription entitlements “cover devices of any brand”. Five BrandX copiers can be swapped for five BrandY copiers without changing the subscription.[3] Perpetual licences “are still issued on a per-brand basis”, and swapping brands incurs License Exchange Fees, available “at a discounted rate”.[3] After an upgrade to 24.0, perpetual entitlements are displayed in a brand-neutral way, but “whenever you add or exchange devices, you still require brand-specific licenses and License Exchange Fees apply”.[2] See Perpetual MF device licences are brand-specific.
Global entitlements per CRN
“For PaperCut NG/MF version 24.0 or later, all Application Servers use one global (central) set of entitlements per CRN (Customer Reference Number).”[2] Before 24.0, a licence file could be loaded on both a live and a test Application Server, each using the full quantity. Now the Global Entitlements Service links the two servers, and they share the purchased devices.[2] Application Servers need internet access to activate and claim entitlements, but can then run offline. An offline server can use only the entitlements it had already claimed.[2][4] See From version 24.0 all Application Servers share one entitlement pool per CRN.
Virtualization & partitioning
A licence entitles “one Application server into your production environment with either multiple sites servers, multiple secondary servers, and/or multiple direct print clients”. Cluster nodes need no separate licence.[7] For sites managed independently, PaperCut expects either a separate licence or subscription for each site, each with its own CRN, or one licence covering all entitlements and shared between the sites. With a shared pool, one region’s administrators can use up devices that another region needs.[7] Multiple sites under one licence are allowed as long as “your license simply needs to cover the sum of the devices at all locations”.[1]
Subscription activation and expiry
Subscriptions are activated with a key from the Accredited Reseller. A paid subscription key “expires in 180 days, maximum use 5 times”. A trial key expires in 30 days.[6] A customer can hold any number of subscriptions, for example one for devices bought later or one for an Advanced Fax Connector, each with its own start and end dates.[2]
“The expiry time is 11:59 pm UTC on the subscription expiry date.” When one of several subscriptions expires, its entitlements disappear and everything else keeps working. When all subscriptions have expired, the following stop:[5]
- the User Client and web logins;
- release stations;
- MFD logins.
Only the built-in admin account can then log in, with restricted access.[5] From PaperCut MF 25.0.5, an “Unlicensed Mode” lets users log in at the device for native functions such as copying while PaperCut features stay disabled.[5] Banners appear 30 days before expiry and for 7 days after it.[5] See Expired MF subscriptions lock devices and user logins.
Cloud / BYOL
The MF subscription and PaperCut Hive share unified subscription pricing, which PaperCut presents as support for organizations moving print infrastructure to the cloud.[10] No public document describes a licence credit for moving an MF installation to Hive.
Programs
- Maintenance & Support: for perpetual MF, the first year is “mandatory” and later years are “strongly advised”. Lapsing ends upgrades, and active M&S “is required for any additions to an existing PaperCut MF license” and for add-on services such as Scan to Cloud Storage and OCR.[1] Subscriptions include M&S, which ends on the latest subscription expiry date.[9]
- Upgrade Policy: subscription customers with at least one active subscription can upgrade to the latest version.[9]
- NFR: partners use time-limited NFR licences for demonstrations. The 40-day trial is for customer proofs of concept.[12]
Out of scope
This article does not cover reseller price lists, hardware card readers and other third-party elements priced by partners, PaperCut NG user licensing, or PaperCut Hive.