---
title: "Paper-based exam printing"
slug: "paper-based-exam-printing"
tags: ["admin", "scheduler"]
updated: 2026-05-28T11:24:08Z
published: 2026-05-28T11:24:08Z
canonical: "help.cirrusassessment.com/paper-based-exam-printing"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.cirrusassessment.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Paper based exam (printing)

***Find out how to print paper-based exams in Cirrus. This article also introduces the Print & Scan feature.***

Exams can be printed directly from Cirrus. Combined with the [Print & Scan feature](/v1/docs/print-and-scan), printed exams can be assessed in Cirrus and results accessed in Reports.

### How to create a paper-based exam

Go to Assessments and [add a new assessment](/v1/docs/step-1-create-new-assessment).

To set up a paper-based exam, select **I want to be able to print this assessment**.

![Screenshot 2022-11-17 at 11.46.31.png](https://cdn.document360.io/cdfc20c8-6721-4154-b0a1-9f49f139d107/Images/Documentation/Screenshot%202022-11-17%20at%2011.46.31%281%29.png)

#### Adjust an existing assessment

Assessments not originally set up with the print option can still be changed, but some steps must be repeated:

- Open the existing assessment.
- If the assessment is already published, [create a new version](/v1/docs/assessment-versioning).
- Remove the Forms.
- Remove the questions in the **Question selection** tab.
- Click the three-dot menu at the top right.
- Select **Settings**.
- Enable **I want to be able to print this assessment**.

#### Supported question types

Not all question types are supported for paper-based exams. The following are supported:

- Multiple Choice
- Multiple Response
- Either/or
- Section

When selecting questions on the **Question selection** tab, only these supported types will be available; others are filtered out.

### Downloading paper-based exams and answer sheets

#### Step 1: create a printable assessment

Create an assessment with **I want to be able to print this assessment** enabled, as described.

#### Step 2: Schedule this assessment

Create and publish a schedule based on this assessment.

#### Step 3: print the exam

After publishing the schedule, select candidates on the **Candidates** tab and choose from the **Action** drop-down:

![](https://cdn.document360.io/cdfc20c8-6721-4154-b0a1-9f49f139d107/Images/Documentation/Screenshot%202021-09-29%20at%2010.31.06.png)

1. **Print candidate list**: Downloads a list of candidates with their names and user IDs.
2. **Download answer form**: Downloads a personalised answer form for each selected candidate. For example, selecting three candidates generates three unique answer forms. By default, 60 answers are shown.

[Embedded object](https://cdn.document360.io/cdfc20c8-6721-4154-b0a1-9f49f139d107/Images/Documentation/Example-AnswerForm.pdf)

1. **Print assessment**: The paper-based version with questions. The version may differ between candidates when using question randomisation or random forms.

### Add-on: print & scan

The Print & Scan add-on, developed with [Ecobit](https://ecobit.nl/), enables scanning of completed answer forms. The answers flow back into the Cirrus Marking module for assessment.

Without this add-on, results cannot be imported into Cirrus. See [enabling print settings](/v1/docs/print-and-scan#create-a-paper-based-exam) for more information.