With the release of Windows 10 21H2, Windows offers inbox support for Mopria compliant printer devices over network and USB interfaces via the Microsoft IPP Class Driver. This removes the need for print device manufacturers to provide their own installers, drivers, utilities, and so on. Device experience customization is now available via the Print Support Apps that are distributed and automatically installed via the Windows Store. This framework improves reliability and performance by moving customization from the Win32 framework to the UWP software development framework. Finally, print device manufacturers no longer have to rebuild their software since this solution is supported across all Windows versions and editions.
With these advancements in the Windows print platform, we are announcing the end of servicing of the legacy v3 and v4 Windows printer drivers. As this is an impactful change, end of servicing will be staged over multiple years.
Printer drivers used to be an absolute hell on Windows. Whereas on Linux you just plug the printer in and Linux will find and use the printer without much issue, on Windows, you had to trawl vendor websites using obscure device names and minor version variations just to get the right driver installed – usually accompanied by a whole boatload or crapware. Things got better as Windows eventually started downloading printer drivers and accompanying OEM management software by itself, and it seems this is the next step in the process by moving the functionality from these often crappy printer management applications into Print Support Apps.
When running anything involving Windows Server or Windows LTSC, Print Support Apps are a nightmare because of the lack of a Store in Server/LTSC. They’re almost never distributed out of band to allow manually sideloading, for example, and the ongoing management is painful even if you can get them installed somehow.
By comparison, a Type 3 and Type 4 drivers have several well defined management interfaces through both GUI and CLI.
I can’t see that MS deprecating support here is in any way a good thing. All I can think of is that it’s a way to brush aside the fallout of the print driver security issues they faced a couple of years ago (which were never properly fixed) but they’re throwing the baby out with the bathwater here.
I’m not convinced this is a good thing, although I admit I only moderate a relatively small and very diverse network, in my experience the MS IPP Driver often causes more problems than it cures. Many weird issues have been resolved by going the other way and replace the IPP drivers with the vendor specific drivers, I find this to be the case most often with multifunction type devices which as each year passes are forming a larger part of the inventory.
Perhaps in the difference between classic print and multifunction are issues that aren’t fully considered as part of this article. I sort of get that read in the comments about Linux “just plug the printer in” which is true but only for basic print which is less and less valid. With our networks now we want universal duplex and booklet to reduce paper waste, conversion to grayscale and miserly ink usage, scan to email, duplex scan, almost none of which is “just plug the print in” no matter which OS you use!
cpcf,
I was going to say the exact same thing! With multifunction printers, I’ve always needed to go install the manufacturer’s drivers from their website to unlock full functionality. The drivers installed by Microsoft update didn’t cut it.
I wonder if microsoft intends to kill the manufacturer installable win32 drivers and make them all use UWP via their app store? If/when this happens I suspect many owners will be stuck with printers reverting to basic functionality and loosing advanced features. I’ve had this happen before with an HP printer after a windows upgrade.
If third-party drivers are indeed being discontinued, then the manufacturer has to make their printer work with the MS IPP driver, with any special functionality will be offered via the UWP app, otherwise they will see lots of returns for missing functionality.
kurkosdr,
(my emphasis).
There will be manufacturers who will not do this for their older unsupported products.
At least microsoft’s lite version of drivers should continue to provide basic printer functionality. But every scanner & multifunction printer I’ve had has lost operating system support over time because old drivers stopped working and HP/epson/whoever refused to ship a new driver. So I expect this will be another round of hardware going in the heap over software breakages. At least there’s this…”end of servicing will be staged over multiple years.”, but each time it happens to me I resent that my working hardware is being reduced to waste on account of upstream software breakages.
Afaik there is no requirement (anymore) for UWP apps to be installed via the Store – UWP can now be embedded in “normal” desktop apps via “XAML islands”. Afaik examples of apps that do this are Widows Powertoys and Windows Terminal, both of which are desktop apps that are written in large part with UWP and the WinUi 2 toolkit. And as far as I can tell this is not about apps, though, but rather extended printer functionality like print queue and the printer options dialog, not being allowed to be its own thing anymore but instead offered as an extension to the standard Windows driver UI.
Moochman,
I agree with your take on things, but it does make me wonder if microsoft plans to start pushing OS policies to limit certain functionality to apps distributed through microsoft’s store. It’s easy to assume microsoft gave up on a windows walled garden after metro, but they might still have this ambition even if it means breaking win32 programs here and there to get developers incrementally roped in.
Not sure if I understand this correctly, but if I do, it’s amusing on two levels.
1. The printer manufacturers established a new standard that, once it becomes the only option, older printers will conveniently no longer work.
2. It’s another power grab by MS to drag users into the Windows Store whether they want it or not.
Linux and Unix printing was a complete disaster before CUPS.
CUPS is great, been built into Mac OS for years also, plug in the printer and 99 percent of the time boom it’s in CUPS and works just fine.
WTF – UWP? In every other area of Windows development for Windows 11 this has been essentially deprecated in favor or WinUI – what gives?
To clairify – I am referring to WinUI v3 as opposed to WinUI v2 (which is for UWP). But at least it shouldn’t have to look all out of place/Metro-esque like in the screenshot on the linked webpage. Manufacturers can and hopefully will use WinUI 2 to provide the “native” Win11 look. Just a shame MS doesn’t provide any guidance on that, and still kinda strange that they are moving forward with recommending UWP for any new development.
I didn’t use/support Windows much for the past years, but I remember I could typically avoid installing any special printer drivers by picking a PostScript or PCL driver from the list that shipped with the system. (It would have a label like Apple LaserWriter, HP LaserJet or Blabla PS output.)
Slowly but steadily Microsoft learns from Linux…
Nope, that’s not how it works, there is no guarantee that a Linux driver exists for your particular printer (Canon printers, scanners, and multifunction printers in particular used to be a big issue on Linux). So, stop lying Thom: Unless there is a standard interface for printers (think USB disk drives or High Definition Audio), then every OS needs a driver, and there is no guarantee such a driver exists for your OS unless specifically mentioned by the manufacturer that it does.
Which brings me to my question: Do we have such a standard interface for printers, scanners, and multifunction printers? The linked page is unclear.
Seconded. Its always been a fight to get printers to work on Linux for me. Its always also been a fight to get printers to work in Windows. And in Mac. Basically Printers are evil. Maybe this fixes the issue for windows, who knows.
Bill Shooter of Bul,
Really surprising we don’t have a universal printer standard.
Regarding linux, I only buy printers that are specifically supported on linux by the manufacturer, otherwise I expect it could be a game of roulette (personally I haven’t tried using random printers with linux).
Can’t help but think we could have done this 20 years ago with PostScript.
I say the hell with third party Printer drivers. For my Brother AIO, this included crapware that sent Ads for Brother’s toner subscriptions, even though I purchased Toner and loaded it into the printer. Found the offending service (forgot the name) in the Task Scheduler and disabled it. That was a relic of Epson. The thing is, this service survived the complete uninstall of the driver and software through Windows uninstaller and the third party uninstaller. I wonder if HP is worse. If not, I may go bck to purchasing a HP AIO in the future.