Patent ID: 7050182

Claim:
A printer having an embedded marking agent consumption rate test capability, the printer comprising: a user accessible control panel having a plurality of controls for controlling the printer, said plurality of controls comprising at least a first marking agent test page control; a print engine module for producing a printed page from a formatted data file; a formatter linked to said print engine module, said formatter for formatting incoming unformatted print data files and transmitting said formatted print data files to said print engine module for printing; a memory module linked to said print engine module with a linkage that bypasses said formatter, said memory module storing at least a first marking agent test page data file, said first marking agent test page data file comprising instructions for printing a marking agent test page, said memory module linked to said first marking agent test page control whereby selection of said first marking agent test page control will cause said memory module to print said first marking agent test page; and whereby the marking agent consumption rate may be determined by measuring the marking agent consumed in producing said first marking agent test page.