Commontray for serviced offices
Serviced office printing, kept separate for every client.
Ten companies, one printer by the kitchen. Commontray lets every client print from their own devices without touching their laptops, keeps their documents private until they’re at the printer, and puts each page against the right person.
How it works
Shared printers, private printing.
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Clients print from anything
A browser on a phone, a managed company laptop or a tablet. No drivers to approve, nothing to add in settings.
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Documents wait
Each document stays in its owner’s list until they scan the code at the printer or tap Print now.
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Pages are recorded
After the printer confirms what it printed, the job is recorded against that person, priced if you charge.
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You bill or report
With Nexudus, charges go on each client’s invoice. Without it, the CSV gives you one row per job to recharge from.
Tenant printing without the IT ticket.
In a serviced office, the laptops belong to your clients, not to you. Their IT departments lock them down, and installing a printer driver means a ticket with someone else’s helpdesk. Commontray avoids the question: the print page runs in the browser, and nothing changes on the client’s machine.
- No drivers on client laptops. Nothing for their IT to approve or block.
- No access to your network. Clients reach the print page, not the printer. With remote access on, that works from their own network or VLAN too.
- Their documents only. People only ever see their own jobs, and secure release keeps pages off the tray until they’re there.
Recharge printing to clients, page for page.
Business center printing is usually billed from a page counter and a guess. Commontray records each job when the printer reports it finished, so a client pays for the sides that came out, with color charged only on the pages that have color.
- Prices per page and per paper size, A4 and Letter, black & white and color.
- Never charged for failed, cancelled or uncollected jobs.
- Printing credit used first, where clients have it (through the Nexudus integration today).
- A CSV with one row per job: who, when, which printer, pages, color pages and amount.
Printing · MarchSuite 4
- A4 black & white × 412
- $41.20
- A4 color × 38
- $19.00
- Failed or uncollected
- $0.00
To recharge$60.20
Each printer its own way
A setting for every printer in the building.
The printer inside a client’s private suite and the one in the shared corridor shouldn’t behave the same. In Commontray, each printer has its own release option.
| Printer | Release | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Inside a private suite | Direct | Only that client uses it, so documents print as soon as they’re confirmed. |
| Shared corridor or kitchen | Secure (scan) | Documents only print when their owner scans the code at the printer. |
| Reception, for visitors’ hosts | Release in the app | Staff tap Print now when they walk over. |
Flexible workspace printing that reception doesn’t have to babysit.
When a shared printer runs out of paper, the first person to know is usually a client standing in front of it. Commontray checks every printer once a minute and tells you in plain words: “Out of paper”, “A door is open”, “Ink is low”.
- Alerts by email, Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Chat, only after two checks in a row, then a “resolved” message.
- People see a stopped printer before they confirm, so nobody pays for a job stuck in a jammed printer.
- The Commontray Box at the printer shows its state and ink levels on its screen.
The details
What operators of business centers ask about.
One install per location
One computer or one Box covers every printer on the site’s network. Priced per location, not per client. See pricing.
Printers off the shared network
Plug printers into the Box’s printer port and nobody can reach them except through Commontray.
Email to print
Clients forward attachments to your print address and release them at the printer. Email to print.
Nothing kept
Documents are deleted as soon as their job ends. See security.
Separate client networks
Remote access gives the print page a secure address that works from any network, with no ports to open.
Looks after itself
Commontray updates itself at night, one location at a time, never in the middle of a job.
Questions
Serviced office printing questions
Can one client see another client’s documents?
No. People only ever see their own documents and jobs on the print page. With secure release, a document only prints when its owner scans the code at the printer, so nothing sits in the tray for the next person to read.
Can we recharge printing to each client?
Yes. Set prices per page, and Commontray records every job against the person who printed it, after the printer confirms the pages. With the Nexudus integration, charges go on their account and are invoiced with everything else; otherwise the CSV report has one row per job to bill from.
Our clients are on separate networks. Will it work?
Yes. Turn on remote access and the print page has a secure web address, so a client on their own network or VLAN reaches it like any website. You don’t need to route anything between client networks and the printers, and you open no ports.
Do we need to install anything on client laptops?
No. Printing happens in the browser. There are no drivers to approve on a client’s managed laptop and no printer to add in their settings.
Some clients need stapling or special trays. What then?
Commontray prints the essentials: paper size, black & white or color, one- or two-sided and copies. Finishing such as stapling and hole-punching still needs the manufacturer’s driver, so keep a driver queue for the clients who need it and use Commontray for everyone else.
What do we need at the site?
A computer that stays on (Windows, macOS or Linux) or the Commontray Box next to the printer. One install per location covers all its printers.
One printer, ten companies, no arguments.
Start with one shared printer for free and see who prints what before you set a single price.