The spooler can accept requests from anyone and then will blindly print each request in turn. However in a lot of situations this is not good enough. Consider a company where the managing director and a data entry clerk both use the same printer. The MD wants to print off important documents while the clerk is just printing off a email from a friend. The MD should get access to the printer first, that is, should have priority. Special print management software will allow the network manager to specify which documents get printed first.

When a document from a higher priority user is received then the management software will place that document at the top of the queue. Each user is given a priority. The higher the priority the higher in the queue you will be placed.

Management software can also do the following -

• Monitor how much a individual or department use the printer
• Limit the number of prints each department can use a month.
• Produce reports about how much a printer is used each month.

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