Hold/release queues & Print Release Stations

In a standard network printing environment, when a user prints from an application, the job is sent directly to the printer and starts printing immediately. In some environments it might be advantageous to place the job in a holding state prior to printing. Some common examples include:

• Secure printing—In a secure printing environment jobs are only printed when the user arrives at the print area and confirms his or her identity. This ensures the user is there to collect the job and other users can't "accidentally" collect the document.

• Approved printing—In some organizations it might be appropriate to hold jobs until they are approved by selected individuals. A good example would be a teacher approving printing on an expensive color printer.

• Authentication—use hold/release queues as a form of authentication in an unauthenticated environment. Users must authenticate prior to releasing their jobs allowing PaperCut NG to confirm their identity.

PaperCut NG provides the framework and software interface to implement hold and release queues.

Users can interact with the hold/release queues (e.g. release their jobs) in a number of ways. This normally takes the form of a Release StationPrint Release Stations place a print job on hold and allow users to release it when required. Often a Release Station is a dedicated PC terminal located next to the printers, however, Release Stations can take other forms such as a web browser based interface. Some common examples where Release Stations can be used include secure printing, approved printing, and authentication. In a secure printing environment jobs are only printed when the user arrives at the print area and confirms his or her identity. This ensures the user is there to collect the job and other users can't "accidentally" collect the document. In some organizations it may be appropriate to hold jobs until they are approved by selected individuals. A good example would be a teacher approving printing on an expensive color printer. Hold/Release queues can be used as a form of authentication in an unauthenticated environment. Users must authenticate prior to releasing their jobs allowing PaperCut NG to confirm their identity. - a dedicated computer terminal located next to the printers, however, other interaction methods include access via a browser-based interface. Hold/release queues are used for a wide variety of purposes depending on the requirements of the organization. This section outlines a number of these scenarios, and also how to install and configure the release interface.

The simplest way to get started with hold/release queues is to read through the scenarios below (see Hold/release usage scenarios), and decide which best suits your needs. These scenarios outline the steps required to configure and manage a queue.