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As the headline says: Does anybody know how to read out the service ID and the model number from HP printers via PJL?

In general, I am familiar with the process of using PJL for such tasks (e.g. reading out the serial number). I just could not find the variable names for the model number and the service ID.

If it matters, I am especially interested in doing this with color laser printers like the CP5225 and the bigger ones.

For those who haven't done this yet:

1) Install your networked printer normally (port 9100).

2) Open bash (Linux) and do the following:

> nc <IP of your printer> 9100 <-- Type this in bash
@PJL INFO PAGECOUNT            <-- Type this when being connected
4589                           <-- This is the printer's response
...                            <-- and so on

I have tried all sorts of INQUIRE and INFO commands which have come to my mind without success, so further guessing seems to be a waste of time.

Does anybody know the respective variable names, or can I somehow make the printer report all variables it supports?

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  • What's the use case?
    – ewwhite
    Nov 16, 2017 at 15:05
  • There are multiple use cases. For example, imagine a big company which has several hundreds of those devices distributed all over the world (of course, all subsidiaries are connected via VPN), and somebody has been assigned the task of collecting the model numbers, serial numbers and service IDs of all of them. Doing this manually is not an option.
    – Binarus
    Nov 16, 2017 at 15:24
  • Nothing in the PJL manuals say that this is possible. Nov 16, 2017 at 15:27
  • I am aware that we are talking about undocumented PJL variables here. If they were documented, I probably would have found them :-)
    – Binarus
    Nov 16, 2017 at 15:28
  • It seems I have found out the answer to one part of my question myself: With the printer I have tested, @PJL INFO ID returns the model number, while @PJL INFO MODELNUMBER (as mentioned in many articles) did not work. So only the service ID is left ...
    – Binarus
    Nov 16, 2017 at 16:16

2 Answers 2

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  • Regarding Model Number :

Regarding your comment, it seems what you are really looking for is the Model Name.

This is returned by the ID category from the INFO command :

@PJL INFO ID<CR><LF>
"LASERJET 4"<CR><LF>
<FF>

This is documented here : http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/bpl13208.pdf

  • Regarding Service ID :

Some other undocumented PJL commands are referenced here : http://www.undocprint.org/formats/printer_control_languages/pjl

It shows that @PJL INFO PRODINFO could return the Service ID :

@PJL INFO PRODINFO
ProductName = HP LaserJet Professional P1102w
FormatterNumber = Q910CHL
PrinterNumber = Q1234A
ProductSerialNumber = VNB3600454
ServiceID = 20127 <------------------------------------------------- HERE!
FirmwareDateCode = 20091029
MaxPrintResolution = 600
ControllerNumber = Q910CHL
DeviceDescription = HP LaserJet Professional P1102w
DeviceLang = ZJS PJL ACL HTTP
TotalMemory = 8388608
AvailableMemory = 4993912
Personality = 7
EngFWVer = 15
IPAddress = 192.168.1.15
HWAddress = 0025B3EDFFD0

Not tested by myself...Give it a try and let us know.

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  • Thanks and upvoted. But I had already found the references you linked, and unfortunately, most things did not work. Notably, none of INFO LOG, INFO SUPPLIES and INFO PRODINFO seems to be understood by the newer printers.
    – Binarus
    Nov 17, 2017 at 6:57
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I asked about the use case because I wanted to avoid this from becoming an X-Y Problem question.

I understand that you're looking for undocumented PJL. My question is what you want to do with it. If the goal is to collect model numbers, serial numbers and service IDs of all of your printer devices, there are likely better options.

If sites are all reachable, use something like HP's printer fleet management software.

Unfortunately, SNMP won't give you serial numbers, but all of the higher-end HP printers have a telnet interface. Serial and model info can be obtained from those sessions.

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  • Thanks for bothering. I think that both the PJL method and HP's software are valuable, but in different situations. I didn't know the Web JetAdmin software, but after a look at the website you linked I got the impression that you can't use it in a command line environment. This is where PJL comes in very handy.
    – Binarus
    Nov 16, 2017 at 16:12
  • It's Windows software... but it's what large installations use.
    – ewwhite
    Nov 16, 2017 at 16:25

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