Printer Log Application?

I am hoping someone out here can help me out.

I love to have things logged ;) What good IT person doesnt. I have a need for an application that can work on a range of printers/copiers HP, Ricoh, Xerox, Lexmark, etc.

I want to be able to see:

• who printed to the printer (user ID)
• How many pages they printed
• Whether it was Color or B&W
• I would like to be able to hone in on a specific printer.

I want to be able to drive down costs by identifying who my high volume printing people are and we have a need on occasion to see who printed something that shouldnt have been printed.

Any help or suggestions for an application would be great.

PS this is a windows environment all printers are centralized off one windows 2k3 print server

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I love to have things logged ;) What good IT person doesnt

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Those who indulge in CP, or those who believe that a 9mm Parabellum security solution is more effective?

Logging = reading = work = :mad:

Google is your friend .....


http://www.softperfect.com/products/pinspector/

the ranger software we have has an addon that does this nicely.

www.rangersuite.com but I suspect it might be overkill for what you need. there are others out there.

failing that, it is all there in the standard logs on windows server.

Seriously, I haven't looked at these applications for a while, but what I have used in the past are those that provide a "billing system"

They are generally used by consultants and professional firms such as accountants and lawyers.

All you do is set up your users or cost centres as "clients" and cost the print types rather than a charge out rate.

Something along the lines of this: (it is aimed at schools)

http://www.gaiacomputing.com.au/

or this:

http://www.printaudit.com/

:)

If you are looking for an open-source solution, due to cost.

Setup a linux box with syslog-ng.
Enable syslog messages on all the printers and point them to the linux box.
Configure syslog-ng to write a seperate log for each hostname
Or
Configure syslog-ng to write the events to a database

Write a php script to read the logs or database and create reports, etc.

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Originally Posted by Net2Infinity

Google is your friend .....


http://www.softperfect.com/products/pinspector/

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I use this, very nice app!

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Originally Posted by WolfeTone

I use this, very nice app!

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I am in the process of Beta testing this utility. I am trying to have as little impact on the end user as possible and just give me a guage for my troublesome print people.

Thanks for the link... When I googled the crap I came up with some stupid programs but this one looks decent and is pretty cheap.

Ill update with my findings after testing it

Install it on a client PC that is on the whole time, maybe not a server. I use it in work and have not noticed any issues with regards to printing or traffic congestion on the network as a result.