You can do a lot more with Print Audit 4 than the product name would imply. In addition to finding out who's printing what, when and where, the software can also be used to limit and direct print output. Added to which it lets you charge for printing with facilities to allocate costs to custom projects or job codes and export these amounts for use in accounting packages if required.

Print Audit can be used with any version of Windows from 95 onwards, with an Apple Mac (OS/X) implementation also available. Installation is straightforward as Print Audit is a client-based application with no server component or network changes required.

A shared database is needed, but an Access-compatible Jet implementation comes as standard and this can be installed and run on any Windows PC. Of course, that PC needs to be available all the time so it makes sense to install the database on a server anyway. For large networks (50+ users), there's support for both MSDE and SQL Server (6.5 and above).

On a small LAN the client software can be installed manually. However, for more than a handful of users that's going to be very time consuming, in which case you can create a custom network install to help automate deployment of the Print Audit client. On a Windows or Novell network that can be done using a network login script while on a network with Active Directory available there's an MSI file for use with Group Policy. Usefully, installation can be done completely silently so as not to influence user behaviour when trying to analyse printing activity.

The data collected by clients is stored in the central database with a couple of Windows tools included to help analyse the results. The first of these, the Print Audit Viewer, can be used to quickly sort, filter, and total print jobs with facilities to export the sorted results for use in Excel. The Print Audit Reporter then adds a number of pre-formatted reports, for viewing on screen or printing, ranging from simple usage records to sophisticated return-on-investment reports.

A separate administration tool is used to manage the Print Audit setup, with options to transparently track printing or ask users for additional information via an on-screen pop-up every time they send a document to print. That information can be a PIN code, to more precisely identify the user concerned, and/or user-defined job, customer or project codes to charge for output.

The administrator can also set a default cost per page for printing, with facilities to modify that cost based on the type and size of paper being used and the printer involved. Colour can be charged at a higher rate and the software can track any printer with a Windows driver, whether locally attached or on the network. It can also track printing to files and PDF utilities such as Adobe Acrobat.

Plotting, too, can be tracked, with plug-ins for use with AutoCAD and Bentley Microstation, making the package of interest to architects and design engineers wanting to charge for the drawings they produce.

Another useful option is a declining balance whereby users can be allocated a set amount of money to use on printing. When this is used up all printing is blocked until the account involved is "topped up" by the administrator. This is an option that could be very useful in schools and other organisations wanting to keep a firm lid on printing costs.

On the downside, duplex printing isn't tracked at present (it will be in the next release due mid-2005), plus there's no Linux support. But those niggles aside, this is a package that really does make it easy to monitor and manage printing costs.

More than just an auditing tool, Print Audit can be used to find out how much printing really costs and to charge for that output. The software is client based and easy to deploy and can track local and network printing plus plotting from popular CAD applications. Tools to analyse the collected data are also included.