Is Universal Print Worth Implementing?

Just a heads up, we occasionally deal with long wait times for print jobs to render. It's something to keep in mind, especially in busy environments.

We jumped on Universal Print as soon as we got the license. It's worked well, especially with Intune integration, though we do have some issues with Mac users losing connection occasionally. We run a print server with Universal Print, and it performs better than our previous setup with the built-in agent on the Konicas, which kept disconnecting.

I deployed Universal Print and it's been great! At first, I wasn't sure if it really had an impact, but when I considered getting rid of it, several departments mentioned how important it was for their workflows across different offices. They really rely on it!

We utilize client-side printing with Citrix's Universal Driver. It makes the whole process smoother since the drivers are managed centrally. Just be aware that you might still face quirks with certain printer features not working as expected. I had a Canon that sent an 'on fire' error code when it was out of ink—now that's dramatic!

If your printers are basic and you're okay with defaults for color and quality, it's great. But I had issues with a Canon MFP defaulting to Letter instead of A4, and I wanted to use the stapler feature which was a hassle.

Honestly, it's amazing when you get printers that connect natively. If you rely on those that need a connector, you're kind of stuck with limited functionality. Just make sure your setup supports direct connections whenever possible!

We've actually moved on from Universal Print and decided to use Vasion Print. It had its shortcomings for us, so we opted for something else entirely.

I've had a mixed experience with Universal Print. If you're using printers that can staple, be aware that it's a major issue; staples often don't work as expected. Plus, how well it functions hinges on how your printers connect to the cloud. I had older printers hooked up via the Universal Print Connector that performed pretty good aside from the staple issue, but the newer Sharp printers connected directly to Universal Print were a headache—jobs would error out, and they sometimes even unregistered themselves. I wouldn't recommend Sharp or Lexmark for this.

Keep in mind, some HP and Xerox models have serious compatibility issues with Universal Print drivers on Mac OS. I had to create custom drivers for color printing because the standard options only allowed for black and white. Also, using QR code printing can be clunky since it requires users to download a companion app. If you're running everything through Intune on Windows devices with compatible printers, it's okay though.