So we’re using Windows 10. And we’ve previously implemented Applocker, which prevents security threats such as Ransomware.
Today’s challenge though? Adding a local Canon Inkjet printer.
And I’ll need Administrator Rights for that.
Though, it’s not the driver itself which needs admin rights, rather the Canon Inkjet status software:
Did a quick search over at the Microsoft Update Catalog, for my Canon Inkjet. No stand-alone driver for it.
Perhaps it’s time for a new printer?!?
So I need to get a list of print servers and printers in the domain.
Using Powershell.
Looking around the interwebs, I found a PowerShell commandline here which formed the basis of this commandline:Get-ADObject -LDAPFilter "(objectCategory=printQueue)" -Properties cn, drivername, location, printername, portname, servername | select portname, cn, drivername, location, printername, servername | Format-Table -Property * -AutoSize | Out-String -Width 4096 | Out-File C:\wisefaq\printerlist.txt
Which outputs to a text file, like this:portname cn drivername location printername servername
-------- -- ---------- -------- ----------- ----------
{101.112.138.188} PRT001-APPLELWR001 APPLE LASERWRITER II US/UT/Boort/10 Anytown St APPLELWR001 PRT001.noddyland.com
{112.142.229.22} PRT001-LZR960-2 Dataproducts LZR 960 PS US/UT/Boort/99 Anytown St LZR960-2 PRT001.noddyland.com
{101.192.107.56} PRT001-LZR960-1 Dataproducts LZR 960 PS US/UT/Boort/99 Anytown St LZR960-1 PRT001.noddyland.com
{101.192.107.56} PRT001-LZR960-3 Dataproducts LZR 960 PCL US/UT/Boort/99 Anytown St LZR960-3 PRT001.noddyland.com
{101.46.14.220} PRT001-LZR960-4 Dataproducts LZR 960 PS US/UT/Boort/99 Anytown St LZR960-4 PRT001.noddyland.com
{101.46.14.220} PRT001-LZR960-5 Dataproducts LZR 960 PCL US/UT/Boort/99 Anytown St LZR960-5 PRT001.noddyland.com
So why did I use Out-File instead of Export-CSV?
Export-CSV is refusing to output the {ip.addresses}. I don’t know why, and I’ve wasted an hour trying to work around the issue.
Update: December 2015
Adrian suggests that I could use Powershell Custom Objects to fix the issue of ip.addresses not outputting.
References:
PowerShell Quick Tip: Creating wide tables with PowerShell
Searching for Specific Printers in a Domain (Attributes for the printQueue Object)
PowerShell print server inventory script (looks very useful, but you need admin access to each of the printers)
On higher-end laser printers, the printer is smart enough to know what size paper you’ve just loaded into the tray. And the real smart printers won’t try to print from the tray.
“How do you know this?”, asked the customer.
‘Oh, just experience.’
The longer answer is that I remember fixing printers when they weren’t so smart. Printers which would try and grab 20 pages from a misadjusted paper tray. Invariably leading to an expensive repair.
Under Utility –> User Settings –> Printer Settings – Print Reports
Not under the Admin option, as most people would expect.
The complete list of reports in the Printer Settings –> Print Reports screen:
This is a copy of a post which was on Ask MetaFilter, August 2, 2006.
In a Windows Server 2003 domain environment, is there a way to push printers to client machines if they are not shared printers? What about changing printer settings over the network?
I often need to setup networks of about 40 machines with 4 IP printers. They are all identical printers but with different IP addresses. I split them up in groups of 10, with each group printing to one of the printers. I would like to automatically push the printers to client machines.
My first thought was to create a share on the network, ie \\server1\Printers, and then create a login script that installs the printer. The problem with that is, it will attempt to install the printer every time the users log on unless I get rid of the script after the first login, which seems like it’d be counter-intuitive.
The other problem with this is that I need specific printer settings… paper size is Envelope Comm #10, landscape, paper source is Tray 1 (Manual Feed). Even if I could push an installation of the printer with a script, how would I push down these settings?
For my script to install the printer, I had something like this:
start /wait rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /if /b “printer_name” /f \\server1\Printers\4350\hpc4x50b.inf /r “IP_192.168.0.252” /m “HP LaserJet 4250 PCL 5e” /z
I’ve read that with Windows Server 2003 R2 there is a new print management tool but I’ve also heard it’s only for network/shared printers.
(Client machines are XP Pro)
posted by Ekim Neems to computers & internet (2 answers total)
The printer share with mount on login (through login script) is the only real way to do this. You can map directly to the IP, but it doesn’t download the drivers to the workstation, configure the default settings of the printer, or allow you to manage who has access through permissions (which is what you’re doing when you mount the share on the workstation).
That is how print admins manage all those complex driver settings for individual users, manage permissions on the printers, and update/downgrade drivers when there are issues.
If you’re still worried about installing the printers every time, through VBScript (or more specifically, WSH) you can enumerate the printers on the workstation and then determine if you want to install the printers. Here’s some sample script:
‘ Declare variables.
Dim intInstallPrinterFlag, strPrinterName, WshNetwork, clPrinters
‘ This flag will determine if you want to remove the installed printer first (updated drivers, new settings etc.)
intInstallPrinterFlag = 0
‘ First argument to the script. Should be in the format \\SERVERNAME\PRINTERSHARENAME strPrinterName = WScript.Arguments.Item(0)
‘ Declare the WSH object to handle network printer connections.
Set WshNetwork = Script.CreateObject(“WScript.Network”)
‘ Enumerate all the printers on the local workstation.
Set clPrinters = WshNetwork.EnumPrinterConnections
‘ Install the printer, there are none on the workstation.
If clPrinters.Count <> 0 Then
WshNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strPrinterName
WshNetwork.SetDefaultPrinter strPrinterName
‘ Now, if there is a printer installed and the install printer flag is set, then remove the existing printer and re-install it.
ElseIf clPrinters.Count > 0 And intInstallPrinterFlag = 1 Then
WshNetwork.RemovePrinterConnection strPrinterName
WshNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strPrinterName
WshNetwork.SetDefaultPrinter strPrinterName
End If
Save the above in a .vbs file and add to the login script for a user.
This can obviously be built upon (for instance, the duplicate AddWindowsPrinterConnection calls could be wrapped up into a function or sub to prevent duplication.
Extra logic could be added to handle multiple printers on the workstations and how to assign the default printer etc.
If there are any bugs in the script I apologize. I wrote it quickly and from memory. You can find a lot of information about WSH at devguru.
posted by purephase at 12:03 PM on August 2, 2006
As for doing the settings: Open the printer’s Properties sheet, click the Advanced tab, then click the Printing Defaults button. This brings up a window that looks exactly like the usual Printing Preferences window except that the window title is “blah blah Printing Defaults” instead of “blah blah Printing Preferences”. Any settings you make here will become the defaults for any new installation of or connection to that printer.
posted by flabdablet at 9:09 PM on August 2, 2006
“Have you got any idea on why this stupid postscript driver for the digital printer/copier keeps spitting out the output below?”
‘Yes, the printer does not have the postscript option fitted, and is dumping out the raw postscript language code.’
It’s a variant of the “Case Of The First Problem”, where we had a customer order a printer without the postscript card* fitted.
* – I say card, but most likely these days, the postscript option is installed, but requires an expensive visit from the copier tech to enable the option.
PDF, as a document format, I find really useful. I find it useful because I can share a document with you, and it will be formatted as I intended it. In other words, you’ll see the same page layout as I see.
To create PDFs, I use CutePDF Writer. I love it so much, that in the past, I deployed to over 10,000+ computers I managed. But if you’ve tried CutePDF Writer, and didn’t like it, well here are some other choices.
| Program | 64-bit support? | Free? |
| BullZip PDF Printer | Yes | (up to 10 users) |
| CC PDF Convertor | ? | Yes |
| CutePDF Writer | Yes | (non-commercial use) |
| doPDF | Yes | Yes |
| gDoc | Yes | Yes & No. |
| PDFCreator | ? | Yes |
| PDFTools | No | Yes |
| PrimoPDF | Yes | Yes |
| Print2PDF – Free Edition | Yes | Yes |
| qVPDF | No | Yes |
Got Open Office or Microsoft Office 2007 SP2+
Well you can print to PDF, without using one of the above programs.
Want to spilt and merge PDFs? Try one of these:
Adolix Split & Merge PDF
Gios PDF Splitter and Merger
PDFill PDF Tools
PDFsam
I was given a paper document which I was asked to scan in and convert to a Microsoft Word document. That isn’t as hard as it sounds, as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software has been available for a long time.
What is difficult though, is trying to match up the exact font the original document used. I’m not a graphical designer, or a typesetter. I work in IT, so recognising a particular font is not easy for me.
Fortunately there is the WhatTheFont site, which makes font detection just a little easier. It’s a three step process.
I’m going to use “Times New Roman PS”, as I believe it’s the most likely font the original document author used..
Update: This article might be useful: How To Pick The Perfect Typeface
Well it could be according to HP:
No, I don’t know why the HP Detection tool would think that …
HP makes it easy to hate them. And I’m not the only one who does. Angry Technician does a fine line of HP hating. Today’s hate post topic? The HP Printer Status Notification Pop-up (SNP) message:
One of our customers complained about the message. They don’t want to be bugged by any printer messages. I don’t want to see these messages either, as I think it’s blatant advertising. “Shop for Supplies”, ha!
The escalated support call landed on my desk. This was after our talented Level 2 support folks couldn’t find the solution. I don’t entirely blame them, as you can’t disable it from the customer’s desktop. The tech I blame is the chap who installed the driver in the first place. As he/she should have noticed the problem, and disabled SNP.
To remove the notification , you need to log on the server, or PC, which is hosting the printer. When you do, you see the SNP has an additional option, “Notification Settings”.
Sufficient to say, every HP printer in the Wisefaq domain has this set to Disabled.
