PaperCut introduced subscriptions in PaperCut MF version 24.0. For more information about version 24.0, take a look at our KB article: Important points to know about PaperCut MF version 24 . Your Accredited Reseller is also a great resource.
Subscription customers vs perpetual customers
PaperCut MF v24.0 and later support both perpetual customers and subscription customers. The table below shows the differences.
Subscription customer | Perpetual customer | |
Given the right to access by | Submitting an activation key | Uploading a license file |
Functionality on expiry | Limited admin interface functionality. Blocked from logging in to user web interface and devices (MFDs). | Full functionality |
M&S included | Always | First year only |
PaperCut MF expires after | When all subscriptions expire | No expiry date |
Licensing info location in the PaperCut MF admin interface | About > Registration > Subscriptions | About > Registration > License Info (or About > License Info for version 23 and earlier) |
Internet connection requirements
The Application Server only needs to be online when activating and claiming entitlements. Once activated, if your organization requires, you can disconnect the server from the internet. For more details, see When PaperCut MF is offline .
The table below explains the internet connection requirements for different types of existing and new customers.
Type of customer | Internet connection to the PaperCut MF Gateway service required? | If there is no internet connection |
Existing customers upgrading to PaperCut MF version 24.0 or later1 | Yes | Functionality remains unchanged. There's a 30 day grace period to connect to the Global Entitlement Service. After that, access to the PaperCut Admin interface is restricted. |
Existing customers already using version v24.0 or later who need to:
| Yes | Unable to activate the subscription or license. |
Existing customers already using 24.0 or later who need to add or remove entitlements (e.g. add/remove devices) | Yes | Released entitlements won't be reflected on other Application Servers sharing the same entitlements pool. See Entitlements for offline Application Servers. |
New customers trialing PaperCut MF | No | Nothing |
New customers seeking a trial extension | Yes | Unable to apply trial extension so the trial ends at the 40-day mark. |
New customers who have finished their trial period and are purchasing PaperCut MF | Yes | Unable to activate the subscription/license. |
1 Existing licenses will be automatically activated online during the upgrade.
Global set of entitlements
- Prior to PaperCut MF v24.0, each Application Server uses its own individual license file.
- For PaperCut MF v24.0 or later, all Application Servers use one global (central) set of entitlements per CRN (Customer Reference Number).
PaperCut MF v24.0 or later uses the entitlements service instead of the old license file to work out your entitlements allocation. This means more stringent checks on how multi-site environments (multiple Application Servers using the same CRN) use entitlements, by ensuring that each Application Server draws from a single set of entitlements.
Example of how entitlements work
For an example of how this difference affects an organization, let’s imagine your organization has a live environment and a test environment.
Previously, you could use your license file on both Application Servers, and therefore use the same number of licenses in each installation environment.
In PaperCut MF v24.0 and later, when you activate the second server, the Global Entitlements Service will link the two servers together, therefore sharing the total purchased number of devices available across both servers.
Devices/MFDs/SFPs are brand neutral
In PaperCut MF v24.0 and later, the devices/MFDs/SFPs listed in your entitlements are brand-neutral.
For example, instead of listing 10 x Brand A MFDs and 3 x Brand B MFDs, your entitlements will show 13 brand-neutral MFDs to apply across whatever brands you use. In the PaperCut MF Admin web interface (About > Registration page) you’ll see the brand-neutral details for the device type details:
- MFDs (multi-function devices) - sometimes called “Full embedded”
- SFPs (single-function printers) - sometimes called “Lite embedded”
Maximum number of subscriptions for one customer
You can have unlimited subscriptions. For example, you can have different subscriptions:
- for extra devices that you buy after the initial subscription
- when you buy additional features, such as an Advanced Fax Connector
- whenever you make other modifications to your environment.
The start and end dates, length, and included entitlements can be different for each subscription, depending on your organization’s needs.
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