The Ultimate Guide to Printer Monitoring: Top 10 Tools Unveiled

In the modern office environment, where efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and security are prevalent concerns, managing print infrastructure has become a critical task, and effective printer monitoring tools play an important role in ensuring smooth office workflows. Whether it’s tracking ink levels, detecting paper jams, or monitoring printer usage, these tools provide invaluable insights that help organizations streamline their print processes, cut down on unnecessary expenses, and enhance security measures.

In this comprehensive guide, we will dig deep into the realm of printer monitoring, exploring the many tools available in the market today. From centralized administration to proactive maintenance, we uncover the many benefits of investing in printer monitoring solutions. Additionally, we provide essential insights into what to look for when selecting the right tool for your organization’s needs and offer practical advice on how to effectively implement printer monitoring strategies.

Join us as we navigate through the world of printer monitoring, unveiling the tools and techniques that can revolutionize the way you manage your print infrastructure. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, harnessing the power of printer monitoring can elevate your operational efficiency, enhance security protocols, and drive cost savings.

Frequently Asked Questions About Printer Monitoring

What are Printer Monitoring Tools?

Printer monitoring tools are software solutions designed to continuously monitor the health, availability, and performance of printers in a network. These tools help organizations manage their print infrastructure effectively by providing insights on optimizing printer usage, cutting down costs, and ensuring security.

Most printer monitoring tools automatically discover printers in the network and provide live status and error messages for each printer. They monitor important metrics like paper jam, low toner, printer doors left open, and amount (or lack of) paper, and set printer monitoring thresholds for interface errors and other issues.

These tools also enable network administrators to perform remote printer maintenance tasks, receive instant alerts about faults, and automate fault-corrective actions. By using printer monitoring software, organizations can ensure smooth daily office operations and reduced print costs.

Why Should You Invest in Printer Monitoring?

There are many reasons to invest in Printer Monitoring. Here are five of them, in no particular order.

1. Centralized administration: Printer monitoring software provides centralized and remote administration for IT professionals, allowing them to manage print fleets of all sizes without having to be physically present near the printers.

2. Efficiency: Printer monitoring software helps businesses save money by providing precise data on ink, toner, and paper usage, enabling informed decisions on expenses and helping to reduce costs. It also streamlines printing processes, reducing waste and improving overall efficiency.

3. Resource allocation: find out where resources are being underutilized or overutilized, allowing you to redistribute them according to real needs to ensure the most effective usage of your systems.

4. Proactive maintenance: monitoring allows you to detect and fix potential issues, like printers out of ink, paper or simply broken, before they become critical and result in outages that may affect the performance of your employees or even the profitability of your business.

5. Regulatory compliance: businesses that handle sensitive information, like financial or healthcare data, need to meet strict regulatory standards that specify how this information is stored and handled. This includes controls on which information can be printed, and by whom. Monitoring will allow you to prove compliance with these standards and secure approvals that may be crucial to keep your business running.

What to Look for When Choosing Printer Monitoring Tools?

Broadly speaking, there are 5 main features you need to look out for when choosing Printer Monitoring Tools. Keep in mind that this may vary according to your specific needs.

• The capability to monitor many aspects of your printers at once, like availability, supply levels, print queues and more.
• A centralized display of information from many sensors for better observability.
• Customizable alerts and automated notifications when alerts are triggered.
• Native and automated reporting features, so you can keep co-workers and management “in the loop”.
• A free trial period, so you can attest to how the tool works with your network infrastructure.

How to do Printer Monitoring?

Broadly speaking, when choosing a printer monitoring tool you should consider aspects such as scalability, ease of use, ease of integration, features (such as real-time tracking and usage reports), automation capabilities and security measures, such as access control and user authentication.

Don’t forget about operating system support: some tools only run on Windows, which may be a problem if your print server runs on a Linux or UNIX-based system.

That said, there are many printer monitoring tools, from as many different vendors, which may focus solely on a single aspect of the task or offer this capability as a subset of a broader range of features, like device or infrastructure management. We present a few of our favorites below, in no particular order.

The Best Printer Monitoring Tools

PRTG

Paessler PRTG is a powerful and versatile tool based on monitoring elements called “sensors”. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, e.g. the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, the free space of a disk drive, and so on.

PRTG includes more than 250 built-in sensors for various tasks, device types, and use cases. These sensors can be combined as needed, with information displayed on customizable dashboards showing all the data you need. It is also possible to deploy custom sensors, thus creating a specialized monitoring solution tailor-made to your businesses needs.

Among others, PRTG includes an SNMP Printer Sensor, capable of reporting data on any printer compatible with the Simple Network Management Protocol, including models from HP, Ricoh and others. This data includes cartridge levels, cover status, downtime and page count.

Another is the Windows Print Queue sensor, which can monitor all print queues on your Windows print server and report data such as paper jams, printer errors, toner or ink levels, job age, etc. For any sensor, it is possible to define individual thresholds for each monitored parameter and configure alerts accordingly, ensuring that administrators are promptly notified about critical issues.

PRTG Network Monitor is available either with perpetual licenses (starting at US$ 1.899) or subscription licenses (starting at US$ 159 monthly), a flexible and affordable pricing scheme when compared with other tools. A 30-day free trial is available. There is also a free version for personal use that lets you monitor up to 100 sensors at no charge.

ManageEngine OpManager

ManageEngine OpManager offers comprehensive printer monitoring capabilities, including automatic discovery, performance monitoring, visualization, alerts and notifications, and automated fault management, helping organizations optimize printing efficiency and reduce costs.

Like other tools mentioned in this article, OpManager uses the SNMP protocol for multivendor printer management. It can automatically discover all printers in your network, showing real-time status information and monitoring critical performance parameters like pages printed, cartridge levels, etc. With the Business Views feature, OpManager can even show you a floor plan of your office, helping your team to quickly locate faulty printers.

Eight status indicators can be monitored (Ready, Printing, Paper Low, Toner Low, Door Open, Paper Jam, Offline and Service), with alerts based on user-defined thresholds delivered via SMS, email or communication platforms such as Slack. It is also possible to create workflows to automate actions such as restarting the spooler service or raising a service ticker.

ManageEngine OpManager is SaaS available in three editions (Starter, Professional and Enterprise), starting at US$ 245 per month for the Starter edition, covering up to 25 devices. There is a free 30-day trial available.

Checkmk

Checkmk is a comprehensive IT infrastructure monitoring solution that offers a free, open-source Raw Edition alongside an Enterprise Edition with more advanced features. For printer monitoring, it can check the status of printers and print jobs, and also the level of consumables such as paper, ink and toner.

This can be done using manufacturer-specific plugins for devices from manufacturers such as Canon, Zebra, or Ricoh, or by integration with a CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System) server on Linux or Unix systems. There is also a Windows agent, that can transfer data from the Windows printing service to the monitoring server.

The source code for this tool, written in Python, is freely available and can be modified to your needs, giving advanced users unlimited customization options. There is also an API for plugin development, with more than 2,000 plugins already available.

Besides the free Raw edition, Checkmk offers a free trial of the Enterprise edition, which includes enterprise-level support, starts at US$ 225 monthly and can monitor around 100 hosts. Keep in mind that this tool only runs on Linux-based operating systems, such as Ubuntu, Debian, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and Red Hat. There are packages for Docker and virtual appliances for VMWare, and also a cloud-hosted version.

MPS Monitor

MPS Monitor offers a comprehensive cloud-based solution for printer monitoring and print fleet management, boasting industry-leading cybersecurity posture and compliance with ISO/IEC 27001 and GDPR standards. It is designed for dealers and resellers of printers and multifunction devices, seamlessly integrating into their ERP and CRM systems via an advanced API system.

Its features include remote monitoring of network printers of any brand and model, with data collection from the printing devices, automated meter reading and detection of consumables (ink, toner and paper) levels and alert management and reporting of low consumables.

It also offers automated management of supply processes for toner and consumables, management of cost-per-page and toner-based contracts and automatic provision of contract dashboards, closing balances, timetables and reports, with data integration via API with external systems, like ERPs CRMs, service and ticketing systems, and external databases.

MPS Monitor is SaaS available in two plans: Mini Cloud, for monitoring up to 100 devices, and Small Cloud, for up to 200 devices. Customers can opt for billing every 3, 6 or 12 months, and prices start at €195.00 for 3 months on the Mini Cloud Plan. There is a free demo available.

Site24x7

Site24x7 offers a printer monitoring tool that tracks printer components like toner and ink levels, enabling quick resolution of performance issues and ensuring high throughput. It can monitor any printer compatible with the SNMP protocol, including models from HP, Canon, Kyocera, Xerox, Toshiba, Epson, Lexmark. Konica Minolta, Zebra and much more.

This tool can automatically discover network printers and show network structure using topology maps, offers customized monitoring of printer performance metrics and multivendor support with predefined templates for various device vendors.

Among the metrics monitored are current toner level, total simplex or duplex pages printed or scanned, printer status, error status, number of pages printed, average marker life count, memory utilization, amount of paper in the trays, total number of scanned and/or copied pages, how much toner remains in the cartridge, and more.

Site24x7 is SaaS available in many subscription plans and tiers, depending on the features you need. The Pro tier of the All-In-One plan starts at US$ 35 per month, paid annually. A 30-day free trial is available.

Zabbix

Zabbix is a comprehensive and 100% open source monitoring solution that covers the entire IT infrastructure stack, offering features such as flexible metric collection, smart problem detection, powerful alerting capabilities, extensive data visualization, seamless deployment options, enterprise-grade security, and unlimited scalability.

Its main claim is the capability to collect metrics from “any source”, including printers. This includes models from Ricoh, Sharp, Kyocera, Brother, Canon and others, any printer compatible with the SNMP protocol and those connected to CUPS servers. Smart thresholds, anomaly detection and trend prediction ensure quick detection of issues, and root cause analysis helps with resolution.

Widget-based dashboards (with support for custom widgets), graphs, geo-maps, infrastructure maps, and scheduled reports allow for comprehensive data visualization. Zabbix integrates with various alerting systems and communication platforms such as Slack, Teams and Telegram, and webhooks are available for integration with ITSM and ticketing systems.

You can use every feature on Zabbix free of charge. Technical support, however, must be purchased and is offered in five tiers, each one with its own coverage limits and SLAs. Prices are only available by quote.

PrintVisor

PrintVisor offers real-time monitoring of printer usage and ink/toner levels, aiding in efficient printer management and ensuring uninterrupted printing workflows. It provides monitoring and logging capabilities for local, virtual, and network printers, collecting data on the status of all printing devices within the organization.

This tool enables monitoring of printer availability and workload, and can generate daily, weekly, and monthly print statistics. It tracks ink, toner, and paper consumption across the office, displaying data on printer status, errors, print queues, total printed documents/pages, average wait/print times, etc.

It also facilitates management of recently printed documents, can send notifications on print-related events (such as low ink levels, print queues exceeding limits, new printer detection, etc.) and allows full control over printing devices, providing insights into print load distribution and printing history for security purposes.

PrintVisor is available for Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 and 11, and provides a web dashboard for remote monitoring. Pricing starts at US$ 100 per year for monitoring up to 10 printers. There is also a free version available for monitoring up to three printers, but without notification support and limited data visibility on the admin panel.

AggreGate Network Manager

AggreGate Network Manager offers an enterprise-grade IT infrastructure management, monitoring, and supervision system that provides extensive capabilities for network, server, performance, traffic, printer and service monitoring.

It supports various printer vendors out-of-the-box, including Brother, Canon, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Dell, HP, Epson, and more, and utilizes SNMP to gather detailed information from network printers, consolidating it into a clear and concise format.

The software offers customizable mappings for constructing a consolidated printer status based on indicators like printer state, current printing state, and detected error conditions. Key details presented include general printer information (name, description, serial number, MAC address), capabilities (ink count), consolidated printer status (Normal, Printing, Standby, etc.), and current marker supplies (toner remainder).

There is also real-time tracking and customizable alerts for printer problems, helping prevent disruptions in office operations. Administrators can be notified upon critical printer events, with pre-defined alerts for low supplies, cover/door state, and critical events like printing stoppage.

Aggregate Network Manager is offered on a perpetual licensing model in two editions, Standard and Premium. Prices vary with the number of devices being monitored, starting at US$ 1,300.00 for 10 devices on the Standard edition. This edition can also be used free of charge for monitoring up to 10 devices.

PaperCut Print Logger

PaperCut Print Logger is a free print logging software for Windows systems. In contrast to other tools mentioned in this article, it does not monitor printer status or consumable levels, focusing instead on producing activity logs detailing printer usage.

The software is unobtrusive, requiring no modification of the printing process or printer configurations. With an easy-to-use, HTML-based interface, it supports multiple languages, including English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Italian, and Spanish, can automatically detect printers added to your system, and can monitor printing on all major printer makes and models.

The information collected includes the time of print, username, total number of pages, document names, paper size, color mode, and more. Print logs can be exported in Excel format, so you can use the data to build custom reports. However, this is left as an exercise to the user, as there are no built-in report generation tools.

PaperCut Print Logger only runs on Windows Server (2003, 2008, 2012 R2) or desktop editions (XP, Vista and 7). It is completely free, but is marked as “legacy” software, so don’t expect updates and new features along the way. For users with more advanced needs, the developer recommends other tools such as PaperCut NG and PaperCut MF.

4Office

4Office Automation offers free print monitoring software that can be used to monitor useful information about your printer fleet such as monthly volumes and meters, toner levels, and device status.

Compared to other tools mentioned in this article, it has a limited set of features. With it, you can determine how many printers are active on your network, monitor the status of each device, view meter reads and print volumes for color and B&W printers, monitor toner levels present on each device and easily view each print device displayed by model, serial number and IP address.

The developer offers no support, and says that it “shall not be held liable for any damage(s) resulting from or relating to the use of this software” (though we doubt that it may cause any). This tool is completely free, but only runs on Windows systems.

Conclusion

Among all these, our favorite Printer Monitoring Tool is Paessler PRTG, mainly due to its flexibility. It “ticks all the boxes” in our list of desired characteristics, and streamlines your workflow by enabling you to monitor all of your infrastructure with a single tool. Besides that, the flexible pricing scheme ensures it can fit into the budgets of companies of all sizes, a claim that few other tools can make.

The built-in sensors cover many of the main use cases, without the need to purchase extras, so it can monitor your printers, but also your network, services, servers, IoT devices, cloud infrastructure, and much more.

And it is extensible, which means you can deploy third-party sensors, or even develop your own, turning it into a completely bespoke solution for your monitoring needs. That means you can do away with having to rely on a variety of individualized solutions, which can carry potential risks such as conflict with your current workflow and even network security issues.