A banner page, also called a burst page, job sheet, or a printer separator, is used in computerized printing in order to separate documents (or "print jobs") from each other and to identify the originator of the print request by username. These pages are typically used in office environments where many people share a small number of printers. In some cases, print jobs are sent to a central processing area where messengers take the printouts back to the owner, but the usual practice in modern office environments is for the user to retrieve his or her own documents. The banner page makes it clear who printed each job.
Depending upon the configuration, the banner page may be generated by the print spooler—software running on a computer which buffers and prioritizes print jobs— by a print server—a computer or device that is connected to one or more printers and to client computers over a network— or by the printer itself.
This sheet typically contains information such as:
Some printer spoolers allow the user to set up custom burst pages, and in the days of time-sharing systems it was fashionable to include ASCII art in a custom burst page.
Similarly, a title page is frequently included (or even required) when sending a document using a fax machine.