HARD COPY COST RECOVERY SYSTEMS, AN APPARATUS FOR TRACKING USAGE INFORMATION FOR A HARD COPY DEVICE, HARD COPY DEVICES, AND A USAGE ACCOUNTING METHOD

摘要

An apparatus for tracking usage information for an image forming device is provided which includes an image forming device, processing circuitry and memory. The processing circuitry is associated with the image forming device and is operative to detect consumable usage information at the image forming device. The memory is coupled with the processing circuitry and is operative to store a data file containing the user information, the output job information, and the usage information. A method is also provided.