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I have been asked to see if it is possible to count the number of print outs that are handle by our file server

Background: we have a “Wall Board” for the amount of phone calls we take and now management are trying to push the green agenda (in a good way). They would now like to show the amount of print outs that we print out during a day (Before any one comments about the engery usage of the computer to handle this it is powered by solar power :). All our printers are on the same print server (Windows 2008 R2). I have been doing some Google-ing and seem to be coming up with a stumbling block if this is at all possible. How would one accomplish this?

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  • You can clear the page count on the actual printers themselves and tally that way. A bit cumbersome, though. Or use a print account tool like pcounter or papercut. Not a real answer, which is why I left it like a comment, but it might be worthwhile nonetheless.
    – MDMarra
    Jul 18, 2012 at 19:27
  • I'll take a look. Can't do it on the print counters on the devices, don't ask... But I'll look into the suggestions.
    – Zapto
    Jul 18, 2012 at 19:28
  • Caution. Clearing the page count might be a problem if that information is used for servicing or warranties. Jul 19, 2012 at 1:27

4 Answers 4

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If you need more granularity than Chopper3 suggested you might want to consider this method. You can enable "Log spooler information events" in the Print Spooler's "Server properties" and you will get a System Event Log entry, source "Print", type "Information", event ID 10, each time a print job completes. This event will contain detail about the submitting user, printer, job size, and number of pages printed.

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    The information about the submitting user might just be the most important piece, especially when people start denying they are the culprit. Jul 19, 2012 at 1:26
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In Perfmon select 'Print Queue' and choose 'Total Pages Printed' - then either graph or log that, you can even send that output to something else if you like but the data's there if you want it.

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  • Thanks chopper. I will look at that when I'm back in the office. But that's sounds just like what I need!
    – Zapto
    Jul 18, 2012 at 19:32
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For a native solution, there's a way to log print spooler events to the event log:

Event Viewer > Applications and Service Logs > Microsoft > Windows >
  Print Service > Operational (right click -> Enable log)

The native event logger leaves a lot to be desired, and would require some creative scripting or manual counting to get any use out of if your volume is more than a trickle.

I have also heard good things about PaperCut print logger (link), but don't have any personal experience with it.

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We've used some software here for years called PCounter. Works great, and users can see their individual print counts any time. A recent move from Server 2003 to 2008 R2 made us update, and this time we went with PaperCut. It has all the same features as PCounter. Both are still available and actively developed, and very reasonably priced.

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