What’s New in PaperCut MF 26: A Complete Guide to the 2026 Release

PaperCut MF 26 has arrived, and it is one of the most security-focused and identity-driven releases in the platform’s history. If your organization runs a self-hosted print management server for printers and multifunction devices (MFDs), this is a release worth understanding in detail. The headline theme is clear: enterprise-grade identity, next-generation hardware compatibility, and proactive security controls that harden your environment automatically. In this guide we walk through everything that is new in PaperCut MF 26, why each change matters for system administrators and IT managers, and what you should plan for before you upgrade.

Whether you are already managing a large mixed fleet or you are evaluating print management for the first time, the “What’s New in PaperCut MF 26” story centers on a handful of major pillars: SAML 2.0 single sign-on, unified authentication, ARM64 print deployment, a rebuilt Ricoh embedded application, a Modern UI dark theme, and tighter end-of-life device and licensing controls. Let’s break each one down.

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At a Glance: What’s New in PaperCut MF 26

Before we go deep, here is the short version of the release. PaperCut MF 26 delivers:

SAML 2.0 single sign-on (SSO) — integrate with corporate identity providers like Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, PingFederate, and JumpCloud.
Unified (centralized) authentication — a persistent “sign in once” session across the web interfaces, Print Deploy, and the User Client.
ARM64 print deployment — Print Deploy is now architecture-aware and delivers the correct driver to x64 or ARM64 laptops automatically.
A rebuilt Ricoh embedded app — the new Ricoh SmartSDK-V2 application with faster logins and simpler setup.
A Modern UI dark theme — a refreshed embedded interface aligned with the PaperCut Hive look and feel.
Proactive security — end-of-life (EOL) devices are disabled by default on upgrade, plus cloud features are aligned with active Maintenance & Support.

Now let’s look at each pillar in the depth it deserves.

Log In Once, Access Everything: Modern Authentication

Identity is the biggest story in PaperCut MF 26. Two related changes work together here: unified authentication and SAML 2.0 federation.

Unified (Centralized) Authentication

PaperCut has redesigned the underlying authentication architecture so that users authenticate once and then enjoy a seamless session across the platform. In earlier versions, a user might be prompted to log in separately at the web interface, again in Print Deploy, and again in the User Client. That repeated friction is exactly the kind of small annoyance that generates help-desk tickets and erodes user goodwill.

With centralized authentication, a single authenticated session now carries across the login web interfaces, Print Deploy, and the User Client. For end users this means dramatically less login fatigue. For system administrators it means simpler identity management, because there is now one authenticated session to reason about instead of several disconnected ones. This is one of those quality-of-life improvements that sounds modest on paper but changes the day-to-day experience for everyone who touches the system.

SAML 2.0 Single Sign-On (SSO)

The bigger enterprise story is SAML 2.0 federation. PaperCut MF 26 can now authenticate users through your existing corporate Identity Provider (IdP). Supported providers explicitly called out by PaperCut include Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, PingFederate, and JumpCloud, and the standard-based approach means broad compatibility with SAML-capable IdPs generally.

Why does this matter so much? Because it brings print management into alignment with the rest of your enterprise identity infrastructure. When you federate authentication to your IdP, you inherit the security features you have already invested in — most importantly, multi-factor authentication (MFA). Instead of print being a separate island with its own credentials and its own login flow, it becomes just another application behind your single sign-on portal. Users get a consistent login experience across all PaperCut touchpoints, and administrators get to enforce the same conditional access, MFA, and identity policies they apply everywhere else.

For security teams, this is a meaningful reduction in attack surface. Print environments have historically been a soft target precisely because they often sat outside the central identity perimeter. SAML 2.0 SSO closes that gap. In the release notes this capability is tracked under the identifiers PO-4158 and PO-638, and it applies across both PaperCut NG and PaperCut MF.

Unblock Printing for the ARM64 Laptop Revolution

The second major pillar of PaperCut MF 26 speaks directly to one of the biggest hardware transitions the enterprise world is currently navigating: the rise of ARM64 laptops.

Why ARM64 Matters Right Now

The timing here is not accidental. Windows 10 reached its official end of support on 14 October 2025, which means Microsoft stopped shipping security patches, feature updates, and technical support for it. Organizations that cannot safely stay on an unsupported operating system are refreshing their PC fleets, and a large share of that refresh is landing on ARM64 devices optimized for AI workloads — the Copilot+ class of machines. PaperCut’s own 2026 outlook expects ARM64 to move from “interesting” to “standard for enterprise fleets” over the course of the year, which creates mixed-architecture environments where x64 and ARM64 machines coexist.

That shift creates a very practical problem for print management. New endpoint architectures frequently change driver compatibility. If a user picks up a shiny new ARM64 laptop and the print drivers were only ever packaged for x64, they simply cannot print — and native manufacturer ARM64 drivers are not always available on day one.

Print Deploy Becomes Architecture-Aware

PaperCut MF 26 solves this by turning Print Deploy into an architecture-aware deployment engine. It automatically detects the CPU architecture of the device and delivers the correct driver, so users can print whether they are on an x64 or an ARM64 machine. There is no manual sorting, no guessing, and no separate provisioning workflow for the new hardware.

Just as importantly, you do not have to wait for a hardware manufacturer to publish native ARM64 drivers. If a native driver is not yet available, the PaperCut Global Print Driver steps in so your users can print from day one on their new devices. And to reduce administrative overhead, you can now house all of your drivers within a single, unified print queue, eliminating the redundant work of maintaining parallel queues for different architectures.

For any organization mid-refresh — and in 2026 that describes a very large number of them — this is arguably the most immediately useful feature in the release. It removes a real, painful blocker: the new laptop that arrives on someone’s desk and cannot talk to the office printer.

A Faster, More Modern Experience for Ricoh Devices

PaperCut MF 26 introduces a completely rebuilt Ricoh embedded application based on Ricoh SmartSDK-V2. Embedded applications are the software that runs directly on the multifunction device’s panel, giving users secure print release, copy tracking, scan workflows, and authentication right at the machine. A dated or sluggish embedded app is something every user in the building notices, several times a day.

The new Ricoh embedded delivers the full PaperCut MF experience with a modern, intuitive interface that matches the look of your other embedded apps. That consistency is valuable in mixed fleets: when the Ricoh device behaves and looks like the Xerox, HP, or Sharp device next to it, users do not have to relearn anything as they move around the office.

Under the hood, the practical wins are speed and simplicity. Logins are quicker and screens load faster, which directly reduces the time users spend standing at the panel. Setup is dramatically simpler too — one-click installation and CSV-based bulk deployment let administrators roll the app out across many devices without repetitive manual configuration. In-product upgrades round it out, letting you update legacy applications directly from the PaperCut MF admin interface rather than touching each device by hand.

At the time the 26.0 release notes were published, PaperCut was inviting testers to trial the new Ricoh embedded app, with the full general release planned for PaperCut MF 26.0.3 at the end of July 2026. If Ricoh hardware makes up a meaningful part of your fleet, this is a rollout timeline worth tracking.

Refresh Your Screens with the Modern UI Dark Theme

PaperCut MF 26 brings a visual refresh to the embedded interface in the form of a Modern UI with a dark theme. This new look aligns the self-hosted MF embedded experience with the interface used across PaperCut Hive, giving the whole product family a more consistent, contemporary feel that suits modern office hardware and user preferences.

The most important thing to understand about this change is that it is a skin, not a redesign. The features, buttons, and workflows are unchanged — only the appearance is different. That distinction matters enormously for administrators, because it means users do not need to be retrained on how to print, copy, or scan. Nothing about the actual task changes; it just looks fresher.

The rollout is deliberately conservative. For brand-new installations of PaperCut MF 26, the Modern UI is enabled by default. For existing systems that upgrade to MF 26, the Classic UI is retained automatically, so nothing changes visually unless you actively choose to switch. When you are ready, you can transition devices to the Modern UI at your own pace using a simple, system-wide configuration under Options > General > Device Options. The switch requires no device restarts, so there is no disruptive downtime to schedule. This opt-in-at-your-own-pace approach is a sensible way to introduce a visual change to a fleet that people rely on every day.

Proactive Security and Service Alignment

PaperCut MF 26 does not just add features — it also makes the platform safer and more predictable by default. Two changes stand out here, and both reflect a broader “secure by default” philosophy.

End-of-Life (EOL) Device Management

Old hardware that no longer receives manufacturer security updates is a genuine risk. It sits on your network, it speaks to your print server, and it may harbor unpatched vulnerabilities that will never be fixed. To harden your environment against these known risks, PaperCut MF 26 disables legacy end-of-life devices by default.

During the upgrade, administrators are required to acknowledge this change, because any EOL devices in your fleet will be disabled as part of the process. This is intentional friction — it forces a conscious decision rather than letting risky hardware quietly persist. If you genuinely need to keep an EOL device running during a transition period, perhaps because a replacement is delayed, there is an audited “break-glass” path. You can re-enable support for these device types via a toggle under Options > Advanced, subject to a risk disclaimer and a System Log entry that records the decision. Once re-enabled, legacy devices resume communication.

Even when you re-enable them, persistent “EOL” status banners and indicators remain visible in the admin interface, giving you a constant reminder of which hardware should be on your replacement roadmap. This behavior is tracked in the release notes under PO-3930. The overall effect is that your print environment trends toward a safer default state over time, without depending on any single administrator remembering to disable obsolete devices.

Cloud Feature and Maintenance & Support Alignment

The second security-and-service change is more about predictability than defense. PaperCut MF 26 programmatically aligns cloud-dependent features — such as Scan to Cloud and OCR — with your active Maintenance & Support (M&S) status. If your M&S lapses, these features are gracefully hidden from the device screen rather than presenting users with options that will fail. That prevents confusing errors at the panel and the help-desk tickets that follow them.

PaperCut has also built in a sensible allowance for real-world procurement delays. If your renewal is caught up in paperwork, your PaperCut partner can apply a temporary trial license to instantly restore cloud services while the M&S renewal is finalized. It is a pragmatic touch that keeps a lapse from becoming an outage.

Fixes and Under-the-Hood Improvements in PaperCut MF 26

Beyond the headline features, the 26.0 releases include a solid set of fixes and technical refinements that administrators will appreciate:

Authentication performance: Internal user authentication is now significantly faster. The password hash encode strength had been set too high, and the default has been lowered to 12. Administrators can still tune this value between 4 and 31 by editing user.internal.hash-encode.strength in the security.properties file, balancing speed against hardening to suit their environment.
Mobile print release fix: An issue where logging out of the Mobile Print Release or Web Client interface could trigger an unintended background login request has been resolved (PO-1411).
Payment gateway: A new payment gateway version is available for TouchNet customers (PO-4327, PO-4404).
HP OXP: Fixed an issue where the native HP footer was visible when using the Modern Embedded Interface, which prevented the PaperCut MF application from displaying full screen (CDSS-7082).
Xerox EIP 1.5+: Fixed an issue where the “Select Account” list showed accounts by name when “By Code” was set as the default, and corrected an incorrect device status shown when invalid administrative credentials were provided during installation (CDSS-7059, CDSS-6899).
Sharp OSA N2: Fixed an issue where the macOS printer auto-configuration tool failed to run on certain versions of macOS (CDSS-7042).
Security dependencies: PaperCut NG/MF version 26 includes upgrades to core dependencies and several third-party libraries, keeping the platform current against known issues.

For reference, the 26.0.2 release (published 30 June 2026) shipped as build 76096, with Print Provider version 111.2.16.9615 and Print Deploy server version 1.10.4178. It also contains a database upgrade, which is an important detail to note in your upgrade planning.

How PaperCut MF 26 Fits the 2026 Technology Landscape

PaperCut MF 26 is not just a bundle of features; it is a direct response to the forces reshaping enterprise IT in 2026. Looking at the industry trends helps explain why this release is built the way it is.

The Windows 10 end-of-life event in October 2025 kicked off a wave of PC refresh cycles, and ARM64 devices are leading that wave. That is precisely why architecture-aware print deployment sits at the heart of MF 26 — mixed x64 and ARM64 fleets are quickly becoming the norm rather than the exception, and print solutions have to behave reliably across both.

Security is the other defining theme. The broader industry is moving toward zero-trust principles, where perimeter-based trust is replaced by authentication at every step. PaperCut’s own outlook treats zero-trust printing as an emerging baseline expectation, involving authentication at the point of print, encrypted job transmission, strict access controls, and multi-factor authentication. Seen through that lens, the SAML 2.0 SSO and MFA support in MF 26 are foundational building blocks for a zero-trust print environment, and the secure-by-default EOL device handling reinforces the same posture.

Cloud print management continues its steady climb toward the mainstream as well. While many organizations still favor a hybrid mix of cloud and on-premises print servers — often for data-sovereignty reasons — the trajectory is clear, and MF 26’s cloud feature alignment reflects a product that increasingly assumes cloud services are part of the picture. Finally, with device competition between Microsoft, Google, and Apple intensifying, platform-agnostic print management that works across a mixed-device fleet is more valuable than ever. MF 26’s driver flexibility and unified queues are built for exactly that reality.

Should You Upgrade to PaperCut MF 26?

For most organizations, the answer trends strongly toward yes — but with careful planning. The identity improvements alone make a compelling case for any enterprise that wants to bring print into its SSO and MFA strategy. If you are actively refreshing hardware and buying ARM64 laptops, the architecture-aware print deployment can remove a real and immediate blocker for your users. And if security posture is a priority, the secure-by-default EOL handling and dependency upgrades move you in the right direction with minimal ongoing effort.

That said, this is a release that rewards preparation. Version 25 and above introduced significant changes that may include breaking changes, new internet connection requirements, and mandatory updates for some optional components. If you are upgrading from version 24.x, review PaperCut’s guidance on the important points for version 25. If you are coming from version 23.x or older, you should review the important points for both version 24 and version 25 before proceeding. Remember also that 26.0.2 contains a database upgrade, so plan your maintenance window, take backups, and test in a staging environment first where possible.

If you are an existing customer, the upgrade path runs through your PaperCut reseller. If you are new to PaperCut and want to see how it can transform your organization’s print management, our team can help you get started quickly.

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Frequently Asked Questions About PaperCut MF 26

What is new in PaperCut MF 26?

PaperCut MF 26 introduces SAML 2.0 single sign-on, unified authentication across the User Client, Print Deploy, and web interfaces, architecture-aware ARM64 print deployment, a rebuilt Ricoh SmartSDK-V2 embedded app, a Modern UI dark theme aligned with PaperCut Hive, and stronger security defaults including end-of-life device management and cloud feature alignment with Maintenance & Support.

Does PaperCut MF 26 support ARM64 laptops?

Yes. Print Deploy in PaperCut MF 26 is architecture-aware. It detects the device’s CPU and delivers the correct driver automatically for both x64 and ARM64 machines. If a native manufacturer driver is not available, the PaperCut Global Print Driver lets users print from day one, and all drivers can live in a single unified print queue.

Which identity providers work with PaperCut MF 26 SSO?

PaperCut MF 26 supports SAML 2.0 federation with corporate identity providers including Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, PingFederate, and JumpCloud. This lets you apply your existing security controls, including multi-factor authentication, to print management.

Will upgrading to PaperCut MF 26 change the interface my users see?

Not automatically. New installations of MF 26 use the Modern UI by default, but existing systems that upgrade keep the Classic UI. You can switch devices to the Modern UI at your own pace under Options > General > Device Options, with no device restarts required. Because it is only a visual skin, users do not need retraining.

What happens to end-of-life devices when I upgrade to PaperCut MF 26?

End-of-life devices that no longer receive manufacturer security updates are disabled by default during the upgrade, and administrators must acknowledge this change. If you need to keep an EOL device active temporarily, you can re-enable it through an audited “break-glass” toggle under Options > Advanced, subject to a risk disclaimer and a System Log entry.

Do I need to review anything before upgrading to PaperCut MF 26?

Yes. Version 25 and above may include breaking changes, new internet connection requirements, and mandatory component updates. Review PaperCut’s important points for version 25 if you are on 24.x, and the guidance for both version 24 and 25 if you are on 23.x or older. Note that 26.0.2 contains a database upgrade, so back up and test before upgrading.