A global find-me print queue, combined with secure print release, provides convenience to end-users. On the flip side it poses a number of technical challenges for the system administrator. One challenge is print driver selection in a mixed brand environment.
A single global queue means one print driver, whose output must be compatible with N possible target printers. Finding a suitable driver is often a difficult trial and error exercise. The available solutions are:
If your organization has a mix of printer brands, the PaperCut Global Print Driver is the most straightforward solution.
A brand independent maximum compatibility signed print driver.
Designed to work on the widest possible range of printers out of the box.
Supports all main print features (duplex, color, paper size and tray selection).
If your organization has one predominant printer brand, it may be appropriate to use this brand’s driver for the global queue, and use PaperCut’s adaptive transforms to enable compatibility on other brands.
The PaperCut Global Print Driver should not be confused with "universal drivers" offered by leading printer manufacturers. Manufacturer universal drivers are designed to work with multiple models across a single brand. PaperCut’s Global Print Driver works across both multiple models and multiple brands.
The PaperCut Global Print Driver is a brand neutral, maximum compatibility PostScript driver developed by PaperCut for Microsoft Windows. As a signed driver, it can be deployed and installed like any standard Windows print driver. You can find the driver at:
[install-path]/providers/print/drivers/global/win/
At this time PaperCut is not supplying a Global Print Driver for Mac and Linux, and instead recommends the use of the "Generic PostScript Driver" included within these platforms. PaperCut’s server software is designed to use the output of the generic driver and complement it with adaptive transforms, to give maximum compatibility with a wide range of popular printer brands.
The PaperCut Global Print Driver is a standards compliant PostScript driver developed to produce PostScript output that is as widely compatible as possible. If vendor specific extensions are required to achieve functionality, the PaperCut server software works transparently in conjunction with the driver to apply these extensions to each job. This is done in the background using in-built Print Description Language (PDL) transforms.
Easy to deploy
Consistent user experience across brands
Familiar Windows print dialog design
Devices connected to the global queue must support PostScript (other languages are in development)
Advanced vendor specific extensions (e.g. color profiles) are not available via the Global Queue
The broad set of capabilities available to the Global Print Driver may not be available on the destination printer.
For example, an A3 or Tabloid job can be sent to a device that prints only A4 or Letter. Depending on the target printer, the job may be scaled to A4 or Letter, cropped to size, or rejected by the device entirely.
Setting up Find-Me printing with the PaperCut Global Print Driver on Windows is done as follows:
| Step 1: Set up each device queue using the manufacturer’s standard driver (important). |
| Step 2: Set up the Global Virtual Queue using the PaperCut Global Print Driver. |
| Step 3: Configure Secure Print Release and Find-Me Printing. |
| Step 4: Test the Global Print Driver with your printers, following the guidelines in the section called “Compatibility Testing”. |
Important
Make sure the Enable Advanced Printing Features option is disabled in the virtual queue's properties dialog.
Important
The PaperCut Global Print Driver should not be used on the individual device queues. It should only be used on the global virtual queue(s). It is important that the manufacturer's own driver is installed on the device’s direct print queue. The reason for this is that PaperCut uses the manufacturer's driver to identify the device and determine the type of output required.
The Global Print Driver should satisfy the vast majority of end users’ standard printing requirements. Should a user require device-specific functionality such as color profile settings, they can achieve this by printing to the direct device queue, which should be set up with the vendor’s driver (see Step 1 above).
Best practise is to set up the Global Virtual Queue as the desktop default printer.
An alternative to using the PaperCut Global Printer Driver is to use a Vendor/Manufacturer driver and adapt its output if required. This setup may be preferred if there is a single dominant vendor on the site and there are reasons to use the vendor’s own driver. In some cases, vendor specific output will not work on another brand, such as differing tray names. PaperCut adaptive PDL Transforms can be used to solve this problem.
This is an advanced subject. Unlike the PaperCut Global Print Driver, vendor specific transforms need to be configured on a site by site basis. Transforms are defined via a transform script, as documented in Appendix F, PDL Transform Language. Professional services are available via Authorized Solution Centers and certified resellers.
PDL transforms on remote target printers are only supported on Windows. In addition, transforms are only applied when the virtual queue and the target printer are set up on the same operating system type e.g. Windows to Windows, Mac to Mac.