Find-Me vs Direct Printing: Which one should I use?

📘 Overview

LETU offers two ways to print to campus printers and copiers: Find-Me printing, where your job waits until you release it at any PaperCut copier with your ID card, and direct queues added from \\printers, where your job prints right away on the specific printer you chose. This article compares the two, lists what you need for each, and explains when to use which.

In this article:

  1. At a glance
  2. When to use Find-Me printing
  3. When to use a direct queue
  4. What you need for each
  5. How your printing is charged
  6. Common questions

📊 1. At a glance

  Find-Me printing Direct queue
Printer you choose One of two Find-Me printers,LETU-FindMe-BlackandWhite or LETU-FindMe-Color A specific printer, named by building, location and model, for example AFSC-123-CIF-C3126
When it prints When you sign in at a copier and release it Right away
Where it prints Any PaperCut copier on campus. You pick when you get there. Only the printer you sent it to
What you need at the printer Your LETU ID card Nothing; just collect your pages
Which printers PaperCut MF copiers with card readers Any campus printer or copier you have access to, including small office printers
Choosing an account At the copier, when you release the job Charged automatically to your department account, or chosen in a PaperCut pop-up on your computer if you charge more than one account
Color Black & white Color on -C queues (if you have color access); black & white on -B queues
Change your mind? Yes. Change copies or 2-sided, or delete the job, at the copier before it prints. No. Once sent, it prints.
Privacy Nothing prints until you're standing there Pages sit in the tray until you collect them

✅ 2. When to use Find-Me printing

  • Confidential documents: student records, HR or financial paperwork, anything you wouldn't want left in an output tray.
  • You're not sure which copier you'll be near, or you move between buildings. Print from your office and pick it up wherever is convenient.
  • A copier is busy, jammed or out of paper. Walk to another copier and release the job there. You don't have to print again.
  • You print to more than one account and want to pick the account at the copier.
  • You want a last check before printing. You can lower the copies, switch to 2-sided or delete a job you sent by mistake, and nothing is charged.
  • Your Mac is university-managed. Find-Me is the standard way university Macs print to the copiers.

🖨️ 3. When to use a direct queue

  • You need color. Find-Me prints in black & white. Use a -C queue for color.
  • The printer is in your office and you'll collect the pages straight away.
  • The printer isn't a PaperCut copier, for example a small HP office printer. Find-Me jobs can't be released there.
  • You're sending a job for someone else to collect, such as a print for a colleague's office printer.
  • You don't have your ID card with you. You need your card to release a Find-Me job.
💡 Tip: You can have both. Keep the Find-Me printer and your nearest direct queue installed, and choose in the print dialog each time.

🔑 4. What you need for each

Find-Me printing

On your computer The Find-Me printer installed. On university Windows PCs, add it from the LETU print server (see Add a campus printer on Windows). On university Macs it comes through Universal Print (see Add a campus printer on a Mac).
At the copier Your LETU ID card, and a PaperCut copier with a card reader.
Account Access to at least one of your department's print accounts. You pick it at the copier.

Direct queue

On your computer The specific printer installed (see the same setup articles). Most color printers appear twice: -C for color and -B for black & white.
At the printer Nothing. Your job prints as soon as it arrives.
Color Color access for that printer, if you want the -C queue. If you only see -B, request color access through the IT Help Desk.
Account Your department account is charged automatically. If you can charge more than one account, the PaperCut client on university Windows PCs shows a pop-up asking which one.

💰 5. How your printing is charged

Both methods charge the same department accounts. The only difference is when you choose the account:

Method When the account is chosen What you see
Find-Me At the copier The job shows Account needed. Open it, tap the pencil next to Account, and pick from your list (see Release your print jobs with Find-Me printing).
Direct queue On your computer, when you print Usually nothing; your department account is charged automatically. If you charge more than one account, a PaperCut pop-up appears after you click Print. Choose the account and confirm, or the job waits and doesn't print.
📝 Note: Copying works like Find-Me: you choose the account at the copier after tapping Access Device. Scanning to email doesn't ask for an account.

❓ 6. Common questions

Question Answer
I printed to Find-Me. Which copier do I go to? Any PaperCut copier on campus. Sign in with your ID card and tap Print Release.
I sent a job to the wrong direct queue. Can I move it? No. Collect it from that printer, or print again to the right one. With Find-Me this can't happen, because you choose the copier when you release.
Can I release a Find-Me job on a small office printer? No. Find-Me jobs can only be released at PaperCut copiers with card readers.
I need color. Can I use Find-Me? Not at the moment. Find-Me prints in black & white. Use a -C direct queue.
My direct job didn't print. Check for a PaperCut pop-up on your computer asking you to choose an account; the job waits until you answer it. Then check the printer's screen for paper or toner messages.
I don't have my ID card. Use a direct queue. Find-Me jobs can't be released without your card.
Is one method cheaper? No, both charge the same rates. Find-Me can save money by letting you delete jobs you don't need before they print.
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