PCounter Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Below are the answers to some of the most common PCounter questions. If you have a suggestion or think of another FAQ which you'd like to see here, please let us know.

What and Where?
How do I print using Pcounter?		Where can I use Pcounter?
What printers are available?		How do I print to other printers?
I can't see any printers in my list		How do I know which printer is which?
Money Matters
How do I pay for printing?		How much does it cost to print?
Can I buy credit online?		How can I get my money back?
How do I know how much money I have left?		I'm leaving and I still have money on my account, can I get it back or transfer my balance to my friend?
I didn't get a receipt, what do I do?		Are discounts available?
How do I ....?
How do I delete jobs in my print queue?		Can I print on both sides?
How do I print Adobe Acrobat PDFs?		How do I print on A3?
Can I print from Linux?
Problems?
Nothing has come out of the printer, where's my print?		The display on the printer is 'Paused', HELP!
I've been charged for my prints but nothing was printed, what happened?		My print is faded, can I have my money back?
I've printed to the colour printer by mistake, can I have my money back?		I've printed in colour on the wrong size, what can I do?
I've got an urgent assignment to print but don't have any money - is this possible?		My print is coming out with 'funny' characters on it and is not printing how it should, what do I do?
Other Questions
Why is my job not displayed on the MFD card reader?		Can staff use Pcounter?
I'm a visitor - how do I print/photocopy?

If you still need help, click here.

What and Where?

How do I print using Pcounter?

Have a look at the instructions about how to use PCounter.

Where can I use Pcounter?

See the list of Pcounter printers and MFDs.

How do I print to other printers?

When you log on, the PC that you are sitting at will decide which is your default printer or Multi Function Device (MFD) but will also connect you to a backup printer in case of a problem. The printers are named so you can work out easily which is which. For example MI101-PRT01 is the first printer in MI101. Anything with 'PQ' in the name is an MFD.

When you are ready to print, always go to File then Print instead of just clicking Print from within your program.

This way you can choose which printer to send your work to by clicking the drop down menu where you see the printer name. The other print and MFD queues should be available under your current printer.

I can't see any Printers in my Printer list

If you can't see a printer in your printers list with a name like 'MI102-PRT01' for example, one of several things may have happened:

You may not be in a PCounter area, click here to check where you can use PCounter
The machine you are using may not have detected your location correctly
The machine you are using may not be named correctly
The script which locates you and connects you to a printer may have failed
The print servers may be down or temporarily unavailable

Please try logging off from the PC you are using and log back in again. If the same problem occurs, please try restarting the computer or try a different PC. If the same problem occurs, please call the IT Service desk.

How do I know which printer is which?

Every PCounter printer should be clearly marked with a blue name plate. If there is no name plate on the printer, this printer is either currently out of service or is not attached to the PCounter network

Money Matters

How do I pay for printing?

You can either do this with cash using an AutoLoader machine, or by paying online with a credit/debit card.

When you pay in money using the AutoLoaders, you will receive a receipt as shown:

Sample PCounter Receipt

How much does it cost to print?

See the latest prices.

Can I buy Credit Online?

Yes, you can, click here to open a secure connection to make a web payment for your PCounter account.

How do I get my money back?

You don't. ALL money paid into the AutoLoader cash machines or any payment made via the web payment gateway are non-refundable. No money or credit can be transferred, refunded or exchanged. The AutoLoaders do not give change or refunds. Only pay money which you intend to use into the system. Final balances cannot be redeemed or transferred.

How do I know how much money I have left?

When you logon to a PC that is configured to use Pcounter, you should see a '£' symbol in the bottom right hand side of the screen (the system tray).

If you double click this you can see how much credit you have left.

You can also see this information online.

I'm leaving and still have credit on my account, can I transfer my balance to a friend or have my money back?

No, you can't. ALL money paid into the auto loaders or any payment made via the web payment gateway are non-refundable. No money or credit can be transferred, refunded or exchanged. Only pay money which you intend to use into the system. Final balances cannot be redeemed or transferred.

I didn't get a receipt, what do I do?

If you didn't get a receipt when you paid money into the AutoLoader, you won't be able to afterwards. To print a receipt, you must add your credit, press the 'finish' button to end your session, then press the 'finish' button again to print a receipt.

Are discounts available?

No. All credits, regardless of the amount you pay for, are the same.

How do I....?

How do I delete jobs in my print queue?

There is a web-based client that you can use to cancel your print jobs.

Can I print on both sides?

The default is for printing on both sides (duplex printing) on the MFDs, but you can't do this on the smaller printers.

How do I print Adobe Acrobat PDF's?

It is important that you select the print icon from within a PDF and not the printer icon in a browser when you are printing PDF files.

How do I print on A3?

The MFDs print on A3 automatically if you select the A3 paper size, so this is the cheapest and easiest option to choose.

To print on A3:

select the MFD from your list of printers
choose Preferences then the Paper tab
check the box titled 'Print On'
select A3 from the dropdown list
select OK > Print

Alternatively, the colour LaserJet printers can print A3 sheets. You will need to put A3 paper in the 'manual feed' tray when the printer asks for A3. The 'manual feed' tray is the large pull down tray that folds out in front of the printer.

Make sure you take out the A3 paper when you have finished printing or else the next person will print on A3!

Remember, if you print on A3 using the colour printer, you will be charged colour printing rates (80p per sheet).

Can I print from Linux?

Black and white printing is available from Linux in MI Building; please ask help with colour printing at the IT Help Desk on the first floor of the Technology Centre (MI Building).

Problems?

Nothing has come out of the printer, where's my print?

If nothing has come out of the printer, please check your email. If there is any fault with the system or if your balance is not high enough, you will receive an email. IT Services log every print and every transaction, whether it is successful or not, so they can check if your print has come out.

The display on the printer is 'Paused', HELP!?

If the printer display looks like the picture on the right, then press the red button on the printer and the printer should start printing.

If you press the red button you will pause the printer and it will not print until it is pressed again.

I've been charged for my print but nothing's come out?

IT Services log every print and every transaction, whether it is successful or not, so they can check if your print has come out. If the system shows that you have printed, you will not receive a credit. It may be that another student has picked up your work by mistake.

My print is faded, can I have my money back?

Take your print to a member of staff on the IT Help Desk in the area where you are working, and they will arrange a credit for any pages which have failed due to toner problems. Please ensure you have your ID card with you as you will be asked to verify your identity.

I've printed in colour by mistake, can I have my money back?

No, you can't. ALL money paid into the AutoLoader cash machines or any payment made via the web payment gateway are non-refundable. No money or credit can be transferred, refunded or exchanged. When you request colour on an MFD your job is paused to prevent you printing by mistake. If you accept the message or release your job, you agree to pay for the print.

I've printed in colour on the wrong size, what can I do?

Nothing, you will have to print that document again. When you request colour printing your job is paused to prevent this from happening. If you accept the message or release your job, you agree to pay for the print at the price displayed to you on screen. This screen tells you how much the print will cost and you should be able to work out if you are about to print on A3 or A4 by the amount you are being charged.

I've got an urgent assignment to print but don't have any cash - is this possible?

Yes, the web payment gateway allows you to pay money into your PCounter account from any Internet-connected PC using a credit/debit card (any that you can use PCounter on, you can use to add credit). Click here to add credit to your account using a secure payment page.

My print is coming out with 'funny' characters on it and is not printing how it should, what do I do?

If you have printed your work and the first page or so print properly but subsequent pages print 'funny'/hex characters on the pages which are not in your document, there may be a fault with your file.

We have found that this error occurs under a number of circumstances:

You have copied and pasted information from a web page into Word
You have unusual characters in your document such as formulas or form objects
You are trying to print a document directly from Wolf

We have fixed the bulk of these issues by updating drivers and system software; however, not all problems can be avoided.

If you experience this problem, try:

Saving the document as an alternative format such as Rich Text or Plain Text and printing again
Remove unusual characters from the document
Avoid copying and pasting directly from the internet (save the content in a plain text file then copy it from there into Word to remove unusual formatting codes created by Word and HTML)

If you experience a faulty print, please take your entire document to the nearest IT Help Desk and one of the staff will be able to assist you further.