Patent ID: 8554692

Claim:
A method to track a consumable serial number at a time of shipping for comparison to an installed serial number of at least one customer replaceable unit in a printer system, the method comprising: creating a storage structure containing an identification code for at least one customer replaceable unit and a destination code for an intended printer system to which the at least one customer replaceable unit is assigned for use; receiving from a user printer system in which the at least one customer replaceable unit is installed for use an identification code of the at least one installed customer replaceable unit; analyzing with a processor that references the storage structure the received identification code from the user printer system to determine whether the at least one installed customer replaceable unit is being used in the intended printer system to which it is assigned; enabling the at least one installed customer replaceable unit when it is determined that the at least one installed customer replaceable unit is being used in the intended printer system to which it is assigned; determining with the processor whether the user printer system in which the at least one installed customer replaceable unit is being used is a managed printer system when it is determined that the at least one installed customer replaceable unit is not being used in the intended printer system to which it is assigned; determining with the processor for a managed printer system whether the at least one installed customer replaceable unit can be reassigned to the user printer system; and reassigning with the processor the at least one installed customer replaceable unit to the user printer system when it is determined that the at least one installed customer replaceable unit can be reassigned to the user printer system.