PaperCut Hive Embedded - Best Practices

“Hello! I’m wanting to embed a Multi-Function Printer with the Hive app. What points should I consider when planning and undertaking this task?”

First things first - the Multi-Function Printer, is it supported?

Before you start the process of installing an embedded, please be sure check our printer compatibility list and find out which Hive app your printer supports: Supported Devices

The environment - All things firewall and networking

Please check the PaperCut Hive Full Release App Multi-Function Printer firewall ports section here: System Requirements.

Some MFP brands require inbound connections from our client software. For more information, see below.

The environment - Inbound connections

Due to limitations in some MFP brands firmware, our cloud service is not able to directly perform a number of key tasks. They therefore require inbound connections from a computer on the network running our client software to perform these tasks. While the tasks requiring clients to perform differ per brand, they primarily consist of swipe card authentication, integrated scanning authentication and job log collection tasks.

This means that for these actions to occur, the cloud service must select a client that can communicate directly with the printer. The clients then opens a connection to the embedded application on the printer and performs the task for the cloud.

The MFP brands that this impacts are the following:

• Fujifilm
• Fuji Xerox
• Konica Minolta
• Toshiba
• Xerox
• HP*

* HP has an optional feature that can be enabled called “On-printer API”. This removes the requirement for client inbound connections and is highly recommended.

How does PaperCut Hive select a client to perform these tasks?

By default, PaperCut Hive will use the Autopilot feature for finding a client that it believes should be able to successfully complete the required task. Autopilot is our default automatic system for locating clients to perform print tasks. Therefore, if a client performs a print action successfully, it has a high chance of succeeding in performing an embedded task also. Please note that some of the brands above use different inbound ports, which can be found here.

Recommended setup steps

Autopilot will select a reliable client in the vast majority of environments. However there are some scenarios where Autopilot may not pick the correct client to perform the task. We have found this the be true in the following scenarios:

• Customers with highly restrictive networks
• Networks where only a single client is able to successfully perform these tasks (often zero trust networks where the printers and clients have no direct communication)
• Environments where you cannot guarantee that a client will be online and available to perform the task. These may be satellite offices or highly mobile workforces

For consistent reliability for these brands we recommend setting up a dedicated client that is always available to perform these tasks. Then using the Print Delivery Profile feature, you can set the “Individually Selected Clients” to your designated, reliable client or clients.

The benefit of using a Print Delivery Profile to create this link is that it gives you full control over exactly how PaperCut Hive will direct both print and embedded tasks. You are explicitly telling PaperCut Hive to pass all tasks to a specific client or clients that you know will successfully action them.

What are the endpoints the Multi-Function Printer needs to reach?

It’s important to remember that each OEM has a distinct endpoint.

PaperCut Hive Full Release App Multi-Function Printer URLs

• Pocket/Hive can use a wildcard for the following URL:
  • United States - \*.printerapp.papercut.com.
  • Europe - \*.eu.printerapp.papercut.com
  • United Kingdom - \*.uk.printerapp.papercut.com
  • Australia - \*.au.printerapp.papercut.com
• If you are unable to use a wildcard, you can find the Platform specific URLs and ports on the System Requirements page here
  • Please note that some OEM’s require inbound ports. These can be found on the System Requirements page here

PaperCut Hive Lite Release App Multi-Function Printer URLs

The PaperCut Hive and Pocket Lite Release App URLs can be found on the System Requirements page here

Integrated Scanning

US - send.papercut.com

EU - eu.send.papercut.com

UK - uk.send.papercut.com

AU - au.send.papercut.com

Discovering your Multi-Function Printer - remember to probe!

Here’s how: Discovering printers on your network.

Installing the embedded application

Currently, PaperCut Hive allows for two embedded installation methods.

• The One-click Installer
• Manual Method - Instructions via the Hive console or embedded manual.

Manufacturers compatible with the One-click method

• Fujifilm
• Sharp
• Konica Minolta
• Xerox
• HP
• Epson
• Toshiba
• Lexmark
• Kyocera

Manufacturers compatible with the manual method

• Canon
• Ricoh
• Brother

Having problems during or after the setup process? Let’s take a look at some common issues and causes.

Something else? Check our PaperCut Hive Known Issues Page: Hive Known Issues.