The Total Counter value is coming directly from the printer/MFD and is not simply a calculation of the Mono and Color Counters.

Some printers only begin to update the Mono or Color Counter after ten pages, which means if the print job is only five pages and then the printer is powered off, the Total Counter will be updated but not the Mono or Color Counter.

In other cases, some printers may have a counter stored in a replaceable hardware component.  When the component is replaced, the counter stored there will reset to zero – unless manually updated after installation. We recommend a manual update of counters after a change of component, but sometimes this step is skipped.

A third scenario is when counters are counted in different ways. Some counters might be set to count only A4/Letter equivalent pages (also known as normalized page count) which means other page sizes will be counted as a fraction of, or a multiple of one A4/Letter page (ex: A3 is counted as two A4 pages).  Other printers count pages without taking page size into account (also known as engine count). Mono and color are almost always counted as A4/Letter equivalent pages. 

It's very important to note that we deliver the counter information exactly as it is reported by the printer. The defaults are the same mono and color counters found printed on the configuration page, Usage page or the menu, but not all printers actually report the same numbers as specified (but often they deliver something very close).

The Total* Counter is something special. This is also known as the Marker Life Count, Life Count, Engine Count, etc. Almost all models provide us with this number, but it can be different from model to model - therefore we have marked it with an asterisk to remind you that this is a special counter.

Do not use the Total* Counter in JetAdvice Manager as your billing counter as it is not weighted for billing. For billing use the Mono and Color counters in JetAdvice Manager as they are equivalent page counters.  

Example from an HP printer.

Total* = Engine Cycles (MLC)

Mono and Color = Total Printer Usage