Still mapping printers the hard way? And by “hard way,” I mean printer mapping using group policy objects, or GPOs.
Of course, the hardest way of all is expecting end users to perform manual printer mapping themselves. Forcing end users to hunt through directories and identify printers by vague naming strings is just a recipe for trouble.
But that’s why many admins try to make their print management solution assume that responsibility instead. So they initialize printer mapping using GPOs and try to automate the process, only to find that the GPO framework, with all its hierarchical overrides, is restrictive, confusing and unreliable. It’s no surprise to find that there are entire flow charts devoted to making sense of GPOs.
GPO rights also prevent IT support staff from adding and removing printers. That means when a user who’s unable to initialize printer mapping themselves calls the service desk for assistance, the support staff usually has to file a ticket and wait for admin authorization. That laborious printer mapping process ends up frustrating the end user, diverting the support staff from more pressing IT issues, and unnecessarily complicating print management as a whole.
All of that changes with PrinterLogic’s next-generation print management solution. With PrinterLogic, you can eliminate GPOs (and scripts too) while actually increasing flexibility, functionality and precision when it comes to mapping printers.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how PrinterLogic allows you to ditch GPOs in printer mapping and expands what’s possible in enterprise print management:
Zero GPO rights: Because PrinterLogic doesn’t require GPOs to initialize printer mapping, you can entrust the adding and removal of printer deployment assignments to anyone you choose—including non-admin IT support staff and service desk personnel. That empowers them to carry out routine print management tasks in the event that they get installation-related calls to the service desk, saving time, headache and ultimately money.
Default options that stick: It’s not just printer mapping that can be problematic. Getting the right printer default settings can be tricky too. With PrinterLogic, you can set a default printer upon initial installation, each time a user logs on, or based on the user’s location. It’s as simple as ticking a checkbox in PrinterLogic’s powerful and intuitive centralized admin console.
Accurate, reliable printer deployments: Speaking of PrinterLogic’s admin console, it also allows you to deploy printers using the same Active Directory (AD) criteria on which group policy is based. It integrates seamlessly with your AD setup, providing deployments according to user, computer, group, container, organizational unit (OU), MAC address and IP range. Where PrinterLogic excels is in simplifying those deployments, so you can get the right printer to an individual user or an entire pool of users every time.
The flipside of mapping printers is un-mapping, or removing printers. PrinterLogic gives admins and authorized support staff the ability to remove printers as easily as they’re deployed with none of the residual “ghosting” that orphaned printers can cause.
Whether your ideal implementation is on-premises or cloud-based, PrinterLogic’s print management solutions take the hassle out of enterprise print management. Not just by eliminating GPOs in printer mapping, but by eliminating multiple pain points throughout the print environment—up to and including print servers. Once you’ve had a chance to demo our solutions, you’ll realize there are two ways to approach print management: the hard way or the PrinterLogic way.