Hey everyone! We've recently rolled out a bunch of Canon MFPs like the iR-2425i and MF655, and we're running into a challenge. We want to enable users to scan directly into their personal SMB folders without having to enter their credentials for each device every single time. Currently, we have a ready-shared root (`\srv-scanScans$`) with around 400 subfolders set up for individual users, and a service account (`Document_Scan`) that has write access to all of them.
Right now, to register users on each printer, I have to go through the Address Book menu and manually enter the SMB path and credentials for each user. This workflow is pretty tedious since I need to do this for over 40 users per device.
What I'm looking for is a way to bulk-push or synchronize all users from a specific AD OU into the MFP's Address Book at once. Ideally, I'd like to use LDAP or a CSV import to automate things, so the printer can directly pull in the usernames and fill in the paths like `\srv-scanScans$%sAMAccountName%`.
If there's any hidden menu or firmware hack that would allow me to set generic SMB credentials globally, so I don't have to re-enter them, that would be great too. I'm also open to any other ideas or methods we haven't considered to improve the scanning management for all users. Any suggestions would be hugely appreciated—thanks!
4 Answers
Have you considered using Papercut? It’s a pretty solid solution for managing print and scan jobs, including SMB folder management.
You might want to look into using LDAP to sync your Active Directory directly with the MFPs. There’s a user guide available for the Canon models you’re using, and it should walk you through that setup process. It lets you set user home directories, making things a bit easier. Here’s a link to the user guide: https://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/7/0300038877/03/iR2425i_UsersGuide_EN_2.pdf
Yeah, we do it this way too, and it works smoothly!
You could also use the imageWARE Enterprise Management Console, but be aware that its 'Synchronize Custom Settings' feature has some limitations, especially with subnet restrictions and printer count. It might work for smaller setups though!
Another option could be PrinterLogic; it might offer what you're looking for.
Definitely seems to be the way to go!