Providing a Print-to-file as requested by support

Please also see Reporting Problems

How to submit a “print to file” to the PaperCut developers.

A “Print to file” allow the developers to inspect the raw printer data sent to the printers as produced your particular driver and network environment.

If the problem relates to a page count issue:

1. Open a problem document in an application (e.g. MS Word or a web page)
2. Select Print. The print dialogue box will open.
3. Select the Print To File option.
4. Press Print, and Save the file to the HD: i.e. C:\testprint-5pages.prn (Important: record the number of “expected” pages in the file name)
5. Repeat 1 to 4 with another document that has a different page count.
6. Email both files for analysis, including details on the model and make of printer through support.papercut.com.

If the problem relates to a “copy count” problem:

1. Open a problem document in an application (e.g. MS Word or a web page)
2. Select Print. The print dialogue box will open.
3. Select the Print To File option.
4. Press Print, and Save the file to the HD: i.e. C:\testprint-5pages-1copy.prn
5. Repeat 1 to 4 with the same document but changed the “number of copies” setting.
6. Email both files for analysis, including details on the model and make of printer through support.papercut.com.

If the problem relates to color detection or another attribute detection problem:

1. Open a problem document in an application (e.g. MS Word or a web page)
2. Select Print. The print dialogue box will open.
3. Select the “Print To File” option
4. Press Print, and Save the file to the HD: i.e. C:\testprint-3pages-2color-1bw.prn
5. Repeat 1 to 4 with the same document but changed the attribute that is failing detection.
6. Email both files for analysis, including details on the model and make of printer through support.papercut.com.

Alternate Method

If the application does not support “Print to file”, the following alternate method (for Windows servers) can be used:

1. Manually power down the printer or pause the queue so printing will stay held in the queue. (If your Windows printer has a “Keep printed documents” or “Keep documents after they have printed” setting then you may be able to use this instead of powering down your printer.)
2. Print a document that demonstrates the problem (normally using a workstation).
3. On the server, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\Spool\PRINTERS\
4. Take a copy of the SPL and SHD files who’s creation date matches the time of the print.
5. Rename the files to a descriptive name like “testprint-3pages-2color-1bw.spl”.
6. Zip the files and email both files through support.papercut.com for analysis.

Apple Mac users may find the following related article useful: Capturing a Mac Spool File