Summary
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.
Body
Issues
- My print job disappeared before I could release it.
- I sent a document to print but it's gone — where did it go?
- How long does PaperCut hold a print job before it deletes it?
- Was I charged for a print job that expired?
- My print job expired — do I need to print it again?
- How do I make sure my print job doesn't expire before I get to the printer?
- PaperCut says I have no jobs pending release, but I just printed something.
- How do I check whether my print job is still in the queue?
Environment
This article applies to all Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff who have sent a document to a campus PaperCut printer.
- Who: All Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff
- Applies to: All PaperCut print queues including Find-Me-Print, Find-Me-Print-Color, and department printers
Resolution
How the 48-hour hold works
When you send a document to a campus PaperCut printer, it is held securely in the print queue — it does not print automatically. You must release it at a campus MFD or through the PaperCut web portal.
PaperCut holds jobs for a maximum of 48 hours from the time they were sent. After 48 hours, the job is automatically and permanently deleted from the queue. There is no way to recover an expired job — you will need to send it again.
Note: You are not charged for a print job that expires without being released. PaperCut only deducts from your balance (or OneCard) when a job is actually released and sent to the printer.
Checking whether your job is still in the queue
To see your current queued jobs before heading to the printer:
- Go to papercut.bowdoin.edu and sign in with your Bowdoin username and password.
- Click Jobs Pending Release in the left sidebar.
- Your queued jobs are listed with the time they were sent. If a job is not listed here, it has either already been released or has expired.
My job expired — what now?
If your job has expired, you need to print the document again. Simply open the file and send it to the printer as you did before — the new job will be held in the queue for another 48 hours.
Job not in the queue but you just printed it? If a job sent within the last few minutes doesn't appear in Jobs Pending Release, the PaperCut Client may not have been running when you printed. The job may have been sent without being linked to your account. See PaperCut Print Troubleshooting in the Related Articles section for steps to fix this.
Tips for avoiding expiry
- Release your job the same day you send it — don't rely on the 48-hour window as a buffer.
- If you know you won't be on campus within 48 hours, wait to send the job until you are closer to your release time.
- Use the PaperCut web portal or mobile release site to release jobs remotely if you can't get to a printer in time — see Releasing a print job from the PaperCut portal 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.