Universal Print Driver Problems: What You Need to Know

Posted by Jordan Pusey

Universal print drivers are meant to be one-size-fits-all solutions to common printing problems. And in many cases, they have the potential to be. That’s because universal print drivers are able to overcome many shortcomings of manufacturer-provided print drivers such as incompatibilities with (or lack of support for) certain operating systems, 32- and 64-bit confusion, and variations when printing to and from different devices.

In ideal situations, universal print drivers offer:

A consistent printing experience: Regardless of whether an end user is printing locally or remotely, from a Mac desktop or a Windows laptop, to a legacy printer or a new enterprise-grade multifunction device, the functionality is the same when using a universal print driver. This is especially useful in an environment with diverse software and hardware.
Less hassle for end users and IT: Because universal print drivers are designed to be more adaptable and require less device-specific configuration, there are fewer printing errors during routine use. That means increased productivity and fewer calls to the service desk.
Reduced burden on the network: Universal print drivers generally make better use of bandwidth by compressing files before relaying them to the printer, which improves overall network performance and also translates to speedier printing.

But universal printer drivers can sometimes fall short. They don’t always replicate the features of native printer drivers, effectively limiting the features of multifunction machines that are otherwise capable of scanning and faxing as well. Universal print drivers can also produce artifacts if they aren’t fully compatible with your printers, so your end users could end up printing strings of odd symbols and characters in place of perfectly readable text.

Fortunately, PrinterLogic solves universal print driver problems by giving you the best of both worlds. Right out of the box, it supports all native and universal printer drivers, allowing you to choose whichever option best suits your print environment—or even a particular micro-environment within the organization. Thanks to its versatility, you can mix and match to choose the right driver from user to user. For example, by using PrinterLogic’s intuitive centralized management console, you can easily assign custom or manufacturer-supplied drivers to certain devices, or you can opt to default to a universal print driver in given situations.

That fine-grained customization applies to virtual environments as well. With Citrix sessions, for instance, PrinterLogic enables you to seamlessly use native printer drivers, or you can opt for driverless printing when using session printers or the Citrix Universal Printer. PrinterLogic also supports the Citrix Universal Printer Driver.

PrinterLogic actually leverages the flexibility of universal print drivers to provide additional functionality. When the optional Pull Printing module is installed, users are able to send print jobs via a universal print driver. Once the job is initiated, they can then “pull” (i.e., execute) that print job at any enabled printer at their discretion. It’s an intelligent, cost-effective and versatile way to maximize printing security within your organization.

Universal print drivers can occasionally be problematic, but that shouldn’t force you to sacrifice their many benefits. With PrinterLogic, you can easily tailor your enterprise print environment to enjoy the advantages of native and universal printer drivers.