UA PaperCut Client for Linux

This is a guide to install the PaperCut User Client for Linux, dedicated to all University of Aveiro users who want to use the printing system. The current app is configurated to use the UA printing server. For reference, the original app files can be found in DEEC - UC Papercut installation guide.

⚙️ Setup

Ensure that the required libraries are installed

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install cups cups-filters cifs-utils smbclient printer-driver-all system-config-printer

Fedora:

sudo dnf makecache
sudo dnf install cups cups-filters cifs-utils samba-client gutenprint system-config-printer

RHEL/CentOS (older releases):

sudo yum makecache
sudo yum install cups cups-filters cifs-utils samba-client gutenprint system-config-printer

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -Syu
sudo pacman -S cups cups-filters cifs-utils samba gutenprint system-config-printer

openSUSE:

sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper install cups cups-filters cifs-utils samba-client gutenprint system-config-printer

Package names can vary between distributions. If gutenprint is unavailable, install the printer driver package recommended by your distribution instead.

Add both UA printers

Easiest via the CUPS web UI — go to http://localhost:631/admin, click "Add Printer" (you'll need to authenticate with your local Linux sudo user), then:

• choose Windows Printer via SAMBA

• URI:

smb://printers.ua.pt/Preto
smb://printers.ua.pt/Cores

(do this twice, once per queue)

When it asks for authentication, use your UA credentials (Universal User, UU) — or leave it prompting per-job if you don't want to store the password in the queue config.

For the make/model driver, pick Generic → Generic PostScript Printer.

Setup PaperCut app

Some of the information presented in this section can also be found in PaperCut User Client Linux installation guide.

Extract the linux folder from the PaperCut client archive

tar -xJf papercut-client.tar.xz

Create the app directory

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/papercut/client

Inside the current repository, copy linux folder to the app directory

sudo cp -ir ./linux /usr/local/papercut/client

Assign permissions to executable script

sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/papercut/client/linux/pc-client-linux.sh

Add the app to the startup applications inside ~/.config/autostart

mkdir -p ~/.config/autostart

cat > ~/.config/autostart/papercut-user-client.desktop << EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Name=PaperCut User Client
Exec=/usr/local/papercut/client/linux/pc-client-linux.sh
Icon=/usr/local/papercut/client/linux/lib/logo.png
StartupWMClass=biz-papercut-pcng-client-uit-UserClient
Type=Application
Categories=Settings
Terminal=false
EOF

Assign permissions to autostart file

chmod 644 ~/.config/autostart/papercut-user-client.desktop

This startup method works in graphical desktop environments that support the XDG autostart specification. It does not apply to headless systems or terminal-only sessions.

🚀 Enjoy

Now, reboot your system and you are ready to rock!

⚖️ License

This project is licensed under the MIT License, which allows anyone to use, modify, and distribute this software for free, as long as the original copyright and license notice are included. See the LICENSE file for more details.