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I am curious if windows print servers can keep a count of the printed pages sent to it? Can an individual PC (WinXP+)? Is there some secret command you can send it (with telnet, dos, etc)? I searched & couldn't find any questions similar to this here so lets keep this open-ended for future people who are curious. Is this more suited towards server fault? Maybe, but this is more about printers & local PC's have print servers now-a-days.

Anyhow in my situation I have the following printers (yes old) I am curious on page-counts:

  • HP Laserjet 1300 (using some kind of PC-card to LPT/Parallel adapter, then a network adapter on top of that [Netgear PS101 print server])
  • Canon Faxphone L80
  • Epson LX-300+
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2 Answers 2

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The "self test" page of many printers will show how many total pages have been printed. This is usually accomplished by holding down a menu button (possibly while powering on the printer.) Check the manual (or google "{mfr} {model} self test") for specifics.

The Netgear print server may also have some info in it's interface...

Just to round it out... If you happen to have a Linux/Mac based print server try the C.U.P.S. web interface, usually located at http://{localhost}:631 it has an amazing amount of detail.

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  • Awesome summary to start (thanks for the links), I did have manuals for Epson & Netgear print server. I have only had time to look at the netgear one & the web-gui & it has nothing
    – gregg
    Commented Sep 25, 2012 at 21:21
  • I am still looking for other answers, Chris's answer was valid but relies on a physical command at the printer. I am wondering if there is some remote and/or windows way to do this? Do you have to setup a counter? Do most HP printers have secret telnet commands?
    – gregg
    Commented Sep 28, 2012 at 15:10
  • Most "networked" printers have some sort of HTTP GUI or Telnet based commands. Since your's is wired to an adapter I would guess that the adapter may have similar. Try and telnet to its IP. If the device has an HTTP GUI it would likely appear on port 80 or 631. If it's windows printer sharing, try the 'net print' command and see what that yields. microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/…
    – Chris Nava
    Commented Sep 29, 2012 at 18:47
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Many low-cost printers do not keep track of the number of pages printed, so there is no way of asking them. With those printers, the only way is to use some type of print management software like Papercut (and many others; try a Google search). This will report how much each user prints, it can distinguish between colour and mono, it can be used to set print quotas, etc.

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  • I just find it odd that you couldn't setup a counter within some built-in windows tool to do this? I am not gonna lie, I haven't spent more then 30min researching this (as I don't have the time at my workplace)
    – gregg
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 21:13
  • It's very hard for Windows or anything else to figure out how many pages a printer has printed. Especially with printers that can print multiple copies of a page without resending it from the PC (e.g. all laser printers).
    – hdhondt
    Commented Oct 9, 2012 at 4:53
  • If you are using Print&Share, similar application like Papercut as @hdhondt mentions, you can go to Sent Items dialog > Options > Enable reporting.
    – juFo
    Commented Nov 15, 2017 at 12:57

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