I'm curious if there are significant reasons for standard users to continue printing through a centralized Windows print server besides just auditing who printed what. Given that the point-and-print security controls require elevation to install printers, I'm questioning the value of using print servers when we could preinstall printer drivers directly on workstations and connect them as IP printers. What are your thoughts?
3 Answers
Using a print server can really simplify things! For instance, if someone accidentally sends a huge print job, you can easily clear the queue from the server instead of hunting down each workstation. Plus, you can manage drivers centrally which reduces the headache of dealing with driver issues across various users. Have you considered following guides to pre-deploy drivers? That could alleviate some of the elevation problems you mentioned.
There are some big changes happening with Windows printing, especially with the shift away from traditional drivers toward IPP-based printing. It's worth looking into the Modern Print Platform. A lot of organizations are moving towards Universal Print, which may change the need for print servers, especially if you’re already using cloud services like M365.
Print servers are especially useful for larger setups. If you've got hundreds of printers in multiple locations, having a centralized management system is key. It really helps when things scale up because you can monitor and manage all printers from one point. Direct setups are fine for smaller offices, but once you hit that bigger scale, a server makes everything way easier!
I understand that but using Universal Print means you might have to pay per job. It’s something to factor in for budgeting.