Managing Printers

Windows Server 2008 includes the Print Services server role, which provides sophisticated
printer management capabilities using the Print Management snap-in.

To install the Print Services server role

Launch Server Manager from the Start Menu, expand the local server's name, and then
expand the Roles item right-click on Roles and select Add Roles from the context menu.

Enable the checkbox on Print Services, then click Next.

After clicking Next, "Introduction to Print Services" is displayed. Review, then click Next

Print Server — this provides normal ordinary Windows printing support.

LPD is an older UNIX-style printing that's not commonly used in Windows environments. If
not sure, leave unchecked.

The Internet Printing Protocol is likewise not commonly used.

This final dialog confirms what's about to be performed, and though it warns that a system
reboot may be necessary.
Network printers may be added either manually or using auto-detection. Under auto-
detection, Print Management scans the subnet on which the server resides and searches for
any devices it can identify as being printers. As printers are detected on the network they are
displayed in a list where they may be selected and added to the print server.
To add network printers using auto-detection, open the Print Management tool via

Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools > Print Management, unfold the Print
Servers from the list in the left pane, right click the local or remote print server to which the
new printer is to be added and select Add Printer....

This will display the Network Printer Installation Wizard.

The pages that follow will vary depending on the printer installation method you chose.

Run through the wizard

On the Printer Driver page, choose whether to use an existing driver, install a new driver,
or use the printer driver that the wizard selected. Then, click Next.

If you choose to install a new driver, the Printer Installation page appears. Select a driver
by first selecting the appropriate manufacturer and then selecting the printer model.
Click Next.

On the Printer Name and Sharing Settings page, type a name for the printer. To immediately
share the printer, select the Share This Printer check box and type a name and
location. Click Next.

On the Printer Found page, click Next.

On the Completing The Network Printer Installation Wizard page, click Finish.

Sharing Printers

The simplest way to share a printer is to right-click the printer in Control Panel and then
choose Sharing. In the Print Management snap-in, right-click the printer, and then choose
Manage Sharing.
Select the Share this printer check box to allow other users to connect to the printer.
Select the Render print jobs on client computers check box to allow clients to handle the
processor-intensive rendering process or clear the check box to push the processing to the
print server.
Select the List in the directory check box to allow the printer to be found in Active
Directory.

If the client’s operating system uses the same driver as the server, the client can
automatically download the driver the first time the client connects to the printer. If a client
requires a different driver for example, if a client computer uses a 32-bit version of Windows
and the server uses a 64-bit version of Windows—you should install the additional driver on
the server to allow the client to automatically install the driver. From the Sharing tab, click the
Additional Drivers button, select the check boxes for the platforms you want to support.
Configuring Printer Permissions

In a manner that is similar to configuring NTFS file permissions, you can configure printer
permissions to control which users can print and manage printers from the Security tab of a
printer’s properties dialog box. For example, you could use printer permissions to grant only
your Human Resources group access to print to a departmental printer and grant IT the right
to manage the printer.

By default, everyone can print to a printer. Users can manage their own documents in the
print queue but not other users’ documents. Administrators can manage any user’s
documents in the print queue and configure the printer itself. You can configure the following
permissions in the security tab.

Print Users can print.

Manage Printers Users can change printer configuration settings.
Manage Documents Users can remove documents submitted to the printer.

Printer Pooling

A printer pool is a logical printer that supports multiple physical printers. When you create a
printer pool, users’ documents are sent to the first available printer, the logical printer
representing the pool automatically checks for an available port.
Typically, you should physically locate the printers next to each other having multiple printers
reduces the likelihood that users will need to wait for a large print job to complete before
retrieving their print jobs.

Printers in a printer pool should use the same print driver. Although the printers do not have
to be identical, client computers will install only a single driver for all printers in the print pool.
Sometimes a single printer driver will work with multiple printer models from a single
manufacturer, allowing you to use different printers as part of a single printer pool.
To create a printer pool

1. Install each of the printers that will be in the pool.

2. In Server Manager, select Print Services\Print Management\Print Servers\<Server-
Name>\Printers. In the details pane, right-click one of the printers in the pool, and then
choose Properties.
The printer properties dialog box appears.
3. Click the Ports tab and select the Enable Printer Pooling check box.
4. Select the port check box for each printer in the printer pool, Click OK.

Internet Printing

If you install the Internet Printing role service, you can manage printers by using a Web
browser to visit the URL http://<ServerName>/Printers. The Webpage lists the printers
shared by a server and their current status.

Internet Printing Allows clients to print using Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) and creates a
Web site where users can manage print jobs using their Web browser.
This role service requires Internet Information Services (IIS).

Generating Notifications

You can use custom filters to generate e-mail notifications or to automatically run scripts
when specific conditions are met on a printer. For example, you could send an e-mail to a
printer administrator when a printer is out of paper or jammed.

First, create a custom filter

In Server Manager, right-click Roles\Print Services\Print Management\Custom Filters,

and then choose Add New Printer Filter.
The New Printer Filter Wizard appears.
On the Printer Filter Name And Description page, type a name for the filter, and then
click Next.

On the Define A Printer Filter page, configure the Filter Criteria

Field Defines the criteria being compared. The most useful Field is Queue Status, which
indicates the printer’s current state.
Condition Conditions vary depending on the value you select for Field, but they can be “is
exactly,” “is not exactly,” “begins with,” “contains,” and many others.
Value The value Field and Condition must match for a printer to meet the filter criteria.

On the Set Notifications (Optional) page, choose whether to send an e-mail notification,
whether to run a script when a printer matches the criteria you defined or both.
Deploying Printers with Group Policy
Enterprise environments should use Group Policy settings to deploy shared printers.

To deploy a printer with Group Policy settings

In Server Manager, select

Roles\Print Services\Print Management\Print Servers\<Server-Name>\Printers.
In the details pane, right-click the printer, and then choose Deploy with Group Policy.

In the Deploy with Group Policy dialog box, click the Browse button to select the Group
Policy object (GPO) where the printer connection will be deployed select per user and/or per
machine and press Add then click OK.
You should now receive a message stating that the deployment operation was successful.
Click OK

The next time computers refresh Group Policy settings, the printer will be added to the list of
available printers. You can view the deployed printers by editing a GPO in the Group Policy
Management Editor and selecting the Policies\Windows Settings\Deployed Printers node in
either the Computer Configuration (for printers deployed to computers) or User
Configuration (for printers deployed to users) node.
Migrating Printers
To migrate a print server you can export a list of printers and drivers from the current print
server and then import them into the new print server. You can automatically migrate all
configuration settings, including whether a printer is published in the Active Directory.

Exporting Printers

To export print queues and printer settings to a file, follow these steps: In Server Manager,
right-click Print Management, and then choose Migrate Printers.

The Printer Migration wizard appears.

On the Getting Started with Printer Migration page, select Export printer queues and
printer drivers to a file. Click Next.

On the Review the list of items to be exported page, click Next.

On the Select a print server page, select a server, and then click Next.

On the Select the file location page, type a filename, and then click Next.

On the final page, click Finish

Importing Printers

In Server Manager, right-click Print Management, and then choose Migrate Printers.
The Printer Migration wizard appears.
On the Getting Started with Printer Migration page, select Import printer queues and
printer drivers from a file. Click Next.

On the Select The File Location page, type the name of the exported file, and click Next.
On the Review The List Of Items To Be Imported page, click Next.
On the Select A Print Server page, select a server, and then click Next.

On the Select Import Options page, click the Import Mode drop-down list to choose whether
to keep or overwrite existing printers. Then, choose whether to list the imported printers in
the Active Directory. Click Next.
On the final page, click Open Event Viewer to review any errors that might have occurred
during the import process (all errors will have the source PrintBRM). Then, click Finish.

You can also simply double-click the .PrinterExport file created when you exported the
printers and follow the prompts that appear.

Adding Print Servers to Windows 2008

To add a print server in the Print Management console right-click on the Print Servers node
and select Add/Remove Servers. Using Add/Remove Servers you can browse for new
printers or enter the name of a print server.