Both uniFLOW and PaperCut are considered the leading print management software applications, both having been developed in 1998.

Since we've installed both in client environments, often as part of our managed print services (MPS), we've pulled together this guide so that you can compare and contrast uniFLOW and PaperCut to determine which one is right for you.

The Main Difference: Vendor Support

With its universal driver, Canon claims that uniFLOW can be used with all major printer models. While this technically may be true, uniFLOW will always work best with Canon – fully featured with optimum performance and no degraded speed. However, uniFLOW has increased support for HP, Konica Minolta, Oki, Samsung and Xerox. Every vendor has different call-outs for paper and finishing, so uniFLOW can be hit or miss with this advanced functionality.

Originally called "CanoFLOW," uniFLOW was initially developed by NT Ware for use with Canon printers. Canon acquired a 35% stake in uniFLOW in 2006, which increased to 70% in 2008.

PaperCut is and has always been independent and currently supports the following vendors: Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, Xerox, HP, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lanier, Lexmark, Ricoh, Riso, Oce, OKI, Olivetti, Samsung, Sharp, and Toshiba.

Another Key Difference: Reporting

uniFLOW monitors the output of a device instead of the output of the print spooler, while PaperCut is the opposite. The problem: if you submit a 100 page print job and it jams on page two, PaperCut registers the entire 100-page job as having been printed when it hasn't. UniFLOW only registers that two pages have been printed. As a result, and because this is a common situation, you can't rely on accurate printed page counts with PaperCut.

This often isn't an issue for educational users, for which PaperCut was initially developed, but can be a big issue for HR, businesses in general and some other organizations.

Also, in our example above, after the jam is cleared, the remaining 98 pages then print out and may sit, unsecured on the printer. We had one client that experienced this exact situation and an executive became upset when he learned that sensitive information was just sitting on the printer.

Other uniFLOW & PaperCut Differences

Licensing: uniFLOW licensing is per device or per concurrent user while PaperCut licensing is per fixed name user (though licensing is also per device if using Secure Print)
Operating Systems: uniFLOW supports both Windows and Mac OS X; PaperCut does as well but also supports Linux

Key Similarities

Both uniFLOW and PaperCut offer the following:

Printer/MFP Tracking: instantly see who is printing, what they are printing or copying, when they printed and on which device; also track scanning and faxing
Cost Controls: track costs by user, department, client or custom shared accounts.
Secure Print Release: known as "pull printing" and called "Find-Me Printing" by PaperCut, this is a roaming print solution where users print to a single queue and jobs will be "pulled" to any printer where they authenticate
Print Policies: create intelligent rules to limit user behavior and enforce sensible printing policies
Job Routing: the ability to dynamically add text to printed documents, invoke forms, change destinations or number of copies, schedule jobs, notify users, or re-route the job to printers/MFPs used for large print jobs
Mobile Printing: allow your employees to print with smartphones and tablets

What Print Management Software Is Right for You?

Genesis Technologies offers 30 years of experience cutting costs and increasing management visibility with print management software, with PaperCut, uniFLOW, HP Access Control, Pharos Systems, and other applications. Contact us to request a print management assessment, which will identify the right software for you.