PaperCut's Upgrade Policy

Check out our frequently asked questions below:

• Can I upgrade to the latest version of PaperCut MF/NG with my current license?
• What is PaperCut Software’s full upgrade policy?
• How do I renew my Maintenance and Support coverage?
• I’m a customer with current M&S (Maintenance and Support), am I eligible to upgrade to PaperCut version 22?
• What happens if I don’t renew my Maintenance and Support (M&S)?
• What happens if I don’t renew my PaperCut MF subscription?
• How do I tell if I have valid Maintenance and Support (M&S) or not?
• I purchased version 18 just before the release of version 19. Can I upgrade?
• The ‘Software updates available until’ date in the ‘About’ tab suggests that I can’t upgrade - is that true?
• Should I upgrade?
• How do I upgrade?

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If you are a perpetual license customer:

If you have valid M&S (if your ‘Support valid until’ date listed on the ‘About’ tab in the PaperCut MF/NG admin interface is in the future) then you can upgrade to the very latest version, without any license changes needed.

If your M&S has expired (if your ‘Support valid until’ date listed on the ‘About’ tab in the PaperCut MF/NG admin interface is in the past) then you may still be able to upgrade to the latest version, with your current license if:

1. You are running the same major version as the latest release. For example if you’re on version 20.0.1 and the latest version is 20.1.2 (or 20.anything) - you can safely upgrade with the same license because you’re running the same major version (20). Basically if you’re licensed for version xx.something then you can run version xx.anything - you get access to all maintenance releases for the major version you’re licensed for - even if they’re released the following year.
2. The very first version of the latest release was released before your Support end-date (listed on the ‘About’ tab in the PaperCut MF/NG admin interface). For example if you are currently running version 21.x.x and your Support end-date was 1st July 2022, you can still upgrade to version 22.x.x (22.anything!) because the first version of 22 came out on 29th June 2022 - which is before your support end date of 1st July (see the 22.0.1 release history ). You can even upgrade to 22.1.3, which came out in 2023 - because that first version of 22.0 came out prior to your Support end-date. 
   • As another example, if your M&S has lapsed and your ‘Support valid until’ field shows 4th July 2019, then you would only be able to upgrade to version 19.x, since your software updates doesn’t cover version 20 which was released in 2020. However, if you were running version 19.0.1 and your updates ran out on 4th July 2019, then because minor point releases are free (see above), you would be able to upgrade to the latest version of 19 which is 19.2.7 - even though that was released in 2022 .

If you are a subscription customer:

If you have an active subscription for PaperCut MF (if you’re running PaperCut MF 24.0.1 or later, and you have a Subscriptions section under About > Registration) then if at least one subscription expiry date is in the future, you can upgrade to the very latest version without any subscription changes needed.

If you have no active subscriptions (if all of the expiry dates listed under About > Registration > Subscriptions are in the past) on PaperCut MF, technically you would be able to install the upgrade, however with no active subscriptions, you will also be locked out of the majority of screens within the PaperCut admin interface - and the expired subscription will also limit print system functionality like device logins. If you have an expired subscription you’ll need to purchase an updated subscription to continue using all functionality. See When subscriptions expire for more information.

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Major upgrades are released approximately annually with a number of minor enhancements offered throughout the year. We have a well established upgrade policy first introduced in 1999:

• Upgrades are optional, and older versions are fully supported during their life. See our End of Life Policy for more information.
• There are no mandatory annual fees for perpetual license holders.
• Minor point releases within a version are free (e.g. version 22.0.1 to 22.1.1 to 22.1.3)
• Current Maintenance and Support (M&S) customers (or customers with an active PaperCut MF subscription) will always be able to upgrade to new major versions (e.g. 22.x to 23.x etc).
• Customers who purchase within three (3) months of a major release receive a free upgrade - see below .

If you have any questions about your eligibility for upgrades, please contact the Sales & Licensing team.

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It differs depending on which product you’re using:

• PaperCut MF - contact your PaperCut Partner to renew your M&S or your PaperCut MF subscription (or for any other licensing questions). You can find your PaperCut Partner’s contact information in the PaperCut MF admin interface, under the Help tab > Sales and solutions contact (or the About tab if you’re using an older version of PaperCut MF).
• PaperCut NG - you can use the online quote and purchase tool here (you’ll need to upload your current license) to see pricing, and renew your M&S coverage online.

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All customers with current Maintenance and Support (M&S) or MF customers with an active subscription, can upgrade immediately. You can tell if your M&S is current by checking the ‘Support valid until’ field in the “About” page. If your M&S is still valid, then your existing license will also work with whatever version is the latest available from our website.

If you have any questions about your eligibility for upgrades, please contact the Sales & Licensing team.

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If your Maintenance and Support lapses you’ll revert back to the standard upgrade policy (see above).

The software as currently installed will continue to work, with the exception of subscription based features such as Scan to Cloud Storage. These features will be unavailable if M&S lapses.

If your M&S does lapse you will need to purchase an updated license to install any future upgrades. Support services also we be limited to the standard level. If you have accidentally let your M&S lapse please contact your PaperCut Partner (if you’re using PaperCut MF), or the PaperCut sales team (if you’re using PaperCut NG) - see ‘How do I renew my Maintenance and Support coverage’ above.

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If you are on a PaperCut MF subscription model and you allow your subscription to expire, key functionality will be impacted - for example users/admins will no longer be able to log into the web interface, and users will not be able to log into MFDs/devices. See When subscriptions expire for more information on what happens when your subscription expires.

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You can tell if your M&S is current by checking in your PaperCut Administration Console, under About > Registration > License Info > Support valid until (or About > License Info > Support valid until on versions earlier than 24.0).

If your M&S is still valid, then your existing license will also work with the latest version. For example if you’re thinking about upgrading to version 19.x, and your License Info says that your Support is valid until available until Dec 31, 2020 then you’re good to go ahead an upgrade to version 19!

If you’re using PaperCut MF with a subscription (you will see a Subscriptions section under About > Registration) then M&S is included in your subscription. As long as you have an active subscription then you have active M&S, and your M&S will expire on your subscription expiry date. If you have multiple subscriptions, your M&S expires on the latest expiring subscription date. If all of your subscription expiry dates are in the past, you no longer have an active subscription and your M&S is no longer valid. See When subscriptions expire for more information.

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If you purchased a PaperCut license within 3 months of major release then you are eligible to run this new version with the exception of subscription based features such as Scan to Cloud Storage. You need an active M&S to use these features. You can check the date your license was issued in the “Issued On” field in the “About” page. If you purchased a version 18.X license within 3 months prior to the date of the release of 19.0 you are eligible to run version 19.0, and your license will automatically work with any version 19 release. However, any subscription based features such as Scan to Cloud Storage will be unavailable if M&S lapses.

If you have any questions about your eligibility for upgrades, please contact the Sales & Licensing team.

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No - this field is a bit misleading!

There are two relevant fields listed in the About tab:

• Support valid until (e.g. Jun 30, 2023)
• Software updates available until (e.g. Jun 30, 2023)

Both of these fields normally show the same date - the Support end date (the date that your Maintenance and Support expires).

In the example above, the ‘Software updates available until’ date suggests that you wouldn’t be able to install updates produced later than 30th June 2023. This is not correct - as long as you have confirmed that you can upgrade by matching one of the scenarios in Can I upgrade to the latest version of PaperCut MF/NG with my current license? , then you’re ok to upgrade!

As an example, if your ‘Support valid until’ and ‘Software updates available until’ both show June 30th, 2023 then that means that you’re licensed for version 22.x - and because you can upgrade to any minor version within that major version - that means you can update to version 22.1.3 , even though 22.1.3 came out in July 2023. However, when version 23.x is released, you would not be able to upgrade to that version, since your Maintenance and Support expired before version 23 was released.

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From a “business” point of view, we are keen to see our customers upgrade. However we always leave the choice in your hands. Many software companies charge a yearly fee for access to updates. We prefer to provide the choice.

We recommend considering the upgrade when:

• You want to keep current with Security patches and updates - see our PaperCut MF release history and PaperCut NG release history pages for more information on security updates. 
• You find the new features useful and a worthwhile. Check out our PaperCut MF release history and PaperCut NG release history pages.
• You are considering a hardware or server upgrade. Use this period to also upgrade PaperCut and bring your server up-to-date.

We’d also like to point out that money raised from upgrades goes back into product development and new features. Also once you have upgraded, you’ll automatically gain access to all future point release updates in that given version.

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The upgrade process is pretty simple, and can be done by installing the upgrade over the top of your current install. All your data and history will be retained.

• Upgrading PaperCut NG or MF
• Upgrading PaperCut ChargeBack

If it’s your first update on a production system, you may find some of Matt Lee’s practical advise useful: See his blog post on managing updates