In general, printing in Windows 7 is the same as it has been for the past several Windows operating systems. You still perform the same installation and user actions to execute a print job. But there are a few new enhancements that strive to eliminate common user and IT hassles:
- Easier printing to devices found in multiple, recurring locations such as the home and office
- Access information about installed print devices and have an easy way to take action
- Achieve greater stability around print drivers
Let’s look at a few of these new features.
Location Aware Printing
New with Windows 7, the OS (operating system) automatically sets and remembers your default printer based on your current network location. So now when you go between the office and home, your default printer will change automatically, making it simple to access and use the printer you have in each location. Say farewell to manually changing printers every time you move from one place to another!
Device access and management
As with previous OSs, a device icon will show up in your Devices and Printers folder when you install a new device. But with Windows 7, you can now access helpful product information and take action on the device by simply double clicking the device icon. This new service provides you with whatever information the printer manufacturer has made available, which can include documentation, tutorials, configuration and setup, supplies re-ordering and support access.
Driver isolation mode
This tip is mostly for IT folks, but anyone who has to administer printer drivers will also appreciate this feature. With Windows 7, print drivers can be loaded in driver isolation mode; ensuring print drivers don’t crash the print spooler (which is pretty much the most common source of failure). HP drivers can help you increase stability and reduce the support issues associated with spooler crashes. You can also avoid issues with corrupt application and file or other driver actions, especially for shared spoolers on a server.
Windows 7 and HP’s Universal Print Driver
While exploring some of the new printing features in Windows 7, it is a good time to look at some of the innovative print solutions that HP delivers for LaserJet printers, AiOs (All-in-Ones) and MFPs (multifunction products). One of those key solutions is HP’s UPD (Universal Print Driver), which is a free download that allows users to utilize a single driver to discover, connect to and print to a broad range of networked and direct-connected LaserJet devices. The UPD supports PCL5, PCL6 and PS and is now available for Windows 7, including 32-bit and 64-bit versions. It provides the same driver features as HP’s product-specific drivers and allows your users to easily achieve their desired output across the HP LaserJet product family.
Shortcuts, Eco-print and enhanced security
To help make printing easier, the UPD allows users to save settings of recurring print jobs as shortcuts for easy re-use. Simply configure your settings for the intended output and click Save As on the Printing Shortcuts tab of the UPD. This will save the settings for that job type for future use. And the UPD comes standard with the Eco-print (two-sided print) shortcut, which makes two-sided printing a snap.
Additionally, if you want to enhance the security of your print job and reduce the waste of uncollected output, you can configure the UPD to print each job with a Personal Identification Number (PIN). This will enable the device to prompt you for a PIN in order to retrieve the print job. And this can be saved as a shortcut for convenient re-use.
HP EasyColor, available in the UPD, can even make smart decisions for you, so you can just hit print. When you’re printing a document that has several color elements of different types (think bar charts, company logos and photos, all in a presentation), the technology analyzes each section and automatically adjusts print output for the best results.
For more information including a demo video or to download the UPD, please visit the Universal Print Driver site.
