Printing to a PaperCut printer

Questions

  • How do I print to a PaperCut printer?
  • How do I print from my Bowdoin computer to a campus printer?
  • Are all campus printers PaperCut printers?
  • Why am I being asked for my username and password when I print?
  • What happens after I click Print — where does my document go?
  • How often do I have to sign in when printing?
  • How do I get my printed document out of the printer?
  • How do I print a document from Word, a PDF, or my browser?

Environment

This article applies to:

  • Bowdoin faculty, staff, and students
  • Bowdoin-issued MacBook Pro computers (macOS Sequoia 15.x or Tahoe 26.x) and Bowdoin-issued Windows 11 computers
  • All campus printers — every printer on campus is a PaperCut printer

Printing from personal devices, mobile devices, or off-campus uses a different workflow. See the Related Articles section for the correct guide for those situations.

Resolution

Before you start

  • The PaperCut Client must be installed and running. It is pre-installed on all Bowdoin-issued computers.
  • At least one PaperCut printer must be installed on your computer. If you don’t have a printer installed yet, see How to install or delete a Bowdoin printer in the Related Articles section.

Print a document

  1. Open the document you want to print in any application (Word, a browser, Preview, a PDF viewer, etc.).
  2. Print as you normally would — File > Print, or press Command + P on a Mac or Ctrl + P on Windows.
  3. Choose a campus printer from the printer list and click Print.
  4. The first time you print during a session, a PaperCut Client window opens and asks for your Bowdoin username and password.

    PaperCut Client sign-in window with fields for username, password, and a Remember drop-down menu.

  5. Enter your Bowdoin username and password.
  6. From the Remember drop-down, choose how long PaperCut should remember your sign-in for. If you plan to print several documents, selecting a longer option saves you from re-entering credentials on every job.
  7. Click OK.
  8. PaperCut confirms your job has been submitted and is being held for release.

    PaperCut notification dialog confirming that the print job is being held in the queue and is waiting to be released at a printer.

Note: Jobs stay in the queue for 48 hours. If you don’t release a job within that window, it’s automatically deleted and you’ll need to print it again.

Release your job at the printer

Your document isn’t printed until you release it at a PaperCut printer. You can do this three ways:

  • Tap your OneCard on the card reader at any campus PaperCut printer
  • Sign in at the printer’s touchscreen with your Bowdoin username and password

For step-by-step release instructions, see Releasing a held document in the Related Articles section.

Optional: charge a department instead of your personal balance

If you are printing on behalf of a department or grant and have been granted access to a shared account, you can choose to charge the job to that account at the time of printing. See Charging a department code when printing in PaperCut in the Related Articles section.

Additional Help

If you need further assistance, you have several options:

  • Bowdoin Bot: Chat with Bowdoin Bot directly from any KB page for instant answers.
  • Phone: Call the Bowdoin College Service Desk at (207) 725-3030.
  • In person: Visit the Tech Hub in Smith Union during business hours.
  • Submit a ticket: Request assistance through the Service Catalog.

Additional Resources

Print Article

Related Articles (17)

How to charge a print job to a department or shared account instead of your personal PaperCut balance. Faculty, staff, and authorized student workers can select a shared account at the time of printing, once their access to that account has been set up by IT.
How to check your PaperCut printing balance at Bowdoin College. Students, faculty, and staff can view their current balance and recent printing activity by signing in to the PaperCut web portal from any device, on or off campus.
How to switch between color and black & white (grayscale) when printing from a Mac to a Bowdoin campus printer, how to save reusable presets for each mode, and how to have macOS remember your last print choice. Includes guidance on the Find-Me-Print-Color queue for student color printing. Applies to macOS Sequoia and Tahoe.
How to switch between color and black & white (grayscale) when printing from a Windows 11 computer to a Bowdoin campus printer. Covers selecting the print mode in the Windows print dialog for Find-Me-Print and Find-Me-Print-Color, and how to save default settings for a printer. Applies to Bowdoin-issued Windows 11 computers.
How to install or delete campus printers on a Bowdoin-issued Mac or Windows 11 computer using the Print Deploy application. Covers printers that are installed automatically, how to manually add additional printers, and how to remove printers that are no longer needed. Requires being on campus or connected to the Bowdoin VPN.
How to print to a Bowdoin campus printer from off campus using the Bowdoin VPN. Covers connecting to the VPN, sending a print job, and releasing it through the PaperCut web portal when you return to campus or release remotely. Applies to all Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff on Bowdoin-issued computers.
Troubleshooting the PaperCut print workflow on a Bowdoin-issued Mac, iPad, or Windows 11 computer. Covers jobs that won't print, jobs stuck in the queue, releasing from the web portal, balance or quota errors, blank pages, and unresponsive release stations. For PaperCut Client software problems, see PaperCut Client Troubleshooting.
How to prepare a large-format poster file and submit it to the Bowdoin Copy and Print Center for printing. Covers sizing your design in PowerPoint, Google Slides, or other tools, exporting to PDF, and submitting your job through the Copy Shop website. For Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff printing posters for classes, symposia, or events.
Instructions for printing to Bowdoin campus printers from a personally owned Mac or Windows computer. Covers installing PaperCut Client and the Mobility Print printer, sending a print job, and releasing the job at a campus printer or through the PaperCut web portal.
Explains PaperCut's 48-hour print job hold policy at Bowdoin. Covers why jobs are held, when they expire, what happens to charges when a job expires, and what to do if a job disappears before you could release it. Applies to all Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff.
Information on printer names and locations as they are added in to PaperCut.
Reference list of printers available to Bowdoin students on campus, including building locations, PaperCut printer names, and printer types (black and white, color, or multi-function). Explains the difference between Find-Me-Print and individual printer queues, and notes which printers support scanning and copying.
Step-by-step instructions for releasing a held print job to a campus printer. Covers three methods: releasing at the printer using your OneCard or Bowdoin ID, releasing through the PaperCut web portal, and releasing from a mobile device. Applies to all Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff
How to release a held print job using the PaperCut web portal at papercut.bowdoin.edu. Covers signing in, viewing queued jobs, selecting a physical printer, and using the mobile release site on a phone or tablet. Useful when releasing at the printer is not possible or when you want to choose which printer your job prints to. Requires a Bowdoin account and connection to the Bowdoin network or VPN.
Instructions for setting a default printer on a Mac running macOS Sequoia or Tahoe, and on Windows 11. Also covers how to stop the OS from automatically switching your default printer. Applies to all Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff.
How to staple documents when printing from a Mac to a Bowdoin multi-function printer through PaperCut. Covers selecting Find-Me-Print, opening Printer Features, and choosing a staple location in the macOS print dialog. Useful for anyone printing multi-page documents on campus who wants them stapled when the job releases.
Overview of the PaperCut print allocation for Bowdoin students. Explains the $60/semester allocation, printing rates, how color jobs charge to OneCard rather than the allocation, what happens when the allocation runs out, how to request additional funds through Bowdoin Bot or the Service Catalog, and when unused funds clear. Faculty and staff printing is not covered here.