Known issues with uPrint


OVERVIEW

Target audience: Entire McGill community

uPrint is the campus printing service that allows you to print from any location and pick your jobs at any uPrint device.

In this article:

Login problems

Why can't I log in to a uPrint device by entering my credentials OR swiping my McGill ID card?
  1. Verify that you are eligible to use the uPrint service
  2. If you were attempting to log in by swiping your McGill ID card, try to manually log in using your McGill Username or Short Username and password (or the credentials of the resource account associated with the uPrint card).
  3. If you have tried the above steps and still cannot log in, contact the IT Service Desk.
I can't log in to a uPrint device with my McGill ID card, but I can manually log in using my McGill Username or Short Username and password. Why?

If you just got a new or replacement McGill ID card, it may take up to 4 hours for it to be active in the system. If it has been longer than that, contact the IT Service Desk and provide them with your ID card badge number (located on the bottom right of the back side of the ID card).


Printing problems

I'm being charged for extra pages when I print.

This is a known issue with Internet Explorer (IE). Due to a glitch in the software, you will be charged for an extra page if you print anything from IE. We recommend using Firefox or Google Chrome instead if you need to print from the web. If you are attempting to print a pdf or other file that is open in IE, first save it to your computer and then open the file to print it.

I pressed the Print button on the uPrint device screen, but my job(s) never printed.
  1. Click on the Job Status button and verify that your job doesn't appear in the Active Jobs tab. If your job uses a paper size that is different than the available paper on the printer, it will not print out. uPrint devices do not recognize document sizes other than the standard Letter (8 1/2 x 11) or Legal (8 ½ x 14), and on devices that offer it, Tabloid (11 x 17). While the Xerox devices convert the European A4 and A5 sizes to fit, it cannot do it for other sizes. Before printing out a document, make sure to check that it has been formatted to use one of the standard sizes.
  2. If the printer jammed or printed out blank sheets of paper, you can fill out the uPrint Refund request form.
I can't see my document in the list of Active Jobs.

This is a known issue that occurs when printing from Internet Explorer (IE). IE uses the complete URL of the website as the print job name, and when printing websites with extremely long URLS and/or those with special characters, the print job does not appear in the uPrint Active Jobs list. Instead it gets stuck in an intermediate queue, which prevents subsequent print jobs from getting to the Active Jobs queue as well.

You will have to contact the IT Service Desk to have the print job removed from the system or wait 72 hours for the job to auto delete from the print queue.

To avoid this issue, use another browser, such as Firefox or Google Chrome, which provides all print jobs with a generic name and avoids special characters.

I sent print jobs to the uPrint queue but when I log in to print them, I don't see them on the screen.
  1. Check which uPrint queue you are using:
    • If you are sending your print jobs to the uPrint Mono [popup] or uPrint Colour [popup] queue, make sure you are using the correct McGill Username or Short Username
    • If you are printing to the normal queues (uPrint Mono or uPrint Colour) ensure you are logging into the computer with your own McGill Username and Password.
  2. Make sure you are connected to the McGill University network either by wired, wireless or VPN connection when sending print jobs.
  3. If you have tried the above steps and still cannot see your print jobs, contact the IT Service Desk.
I'm being charged for colour even though I sent my print job to the Mono queue.

Mac users: This is a known issue with Adobe Acrobat on Mac computers. Acrobat ignores the uPrint driver settings and sends print jobs with the colour attribute instead of black & white. If you end up releasing your print job on a uPrint device that can print in colour, you will then be charged the price of colour.
Workaround: Go to the Print menu, click Advanced, and place a checkmark next to the Print as Image option. This will force the job to print as expected.

If you have this issue outside of Adobe PDF, it persists after trying the workaround, or occurs on a Windows machine, you must uninstall your uPrint driver and install the latest version.

I printed from HIPPO but don't see my print job when I go to the printer.

This is a known issue with HIPPO, as it sends the print job in a format that the printer cannot process.
Workaround: Install a PDF printer, print from HIPPO to the PDF printer and then you can use uPrint to print out your newly created PDF.

The McGill Short Username popup does not appear for Mac OSX 10.7 & 10.8 users when they attempt to send a print job to the Mono or Colour Popup queue.

If login items are not added successfully when the drivers are installed, you may not see the popup when you send a print job to the uPrint Mono [popup] or uPrint Colour [popup]queue. As a result, your job will not be sent to the print queue. To correct this:

  1. Press on the Apple icon on the top left side and select System Preferences.
  2. Select Users & Groups > Login Items.
  3. If you do not see Notify and Popup press the + button to add new items.
  4. From Library > Application support > Pharos, select Notify and Popup together and then click the Add button to add them to the list.
Windows 8 users get an error message when they try to print .PDF files from the built-in PDF viewer (Windows Reader).

Windows Reader is not currently compatible with the uPrint drivers. To print a .PDF on Windows 8, you must open it in Acrobat Reader and print from there.


references

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES:

uPrint - campus printing (service description)