Update: I have tried to address many of these question in my most recent post Universal Print Driver continues to improve LaserJet printing with Vista.
I’ve blogged on the printing challenges people have faced when adopting Microsoft Windows Vista, in “New HP Universal Print Driver solves Vista Printing Problems for LaserJets”. This blog post received quite a few comments that were specific to particular Imaging and Printing (I&P) devices, these were addressed individually in “Laser Printing Problems using Microsoft Windows Vista”. However, I’m concerned that I continue to receive comments on this subject, which shows that people are still struggling with some printers.
I apologize for this and I would like to hear from you on any lingering issues that you may be experiencing in your print environment. I continue to believe that hp’s Universal Print Driver technology is one of the most significant advances in printer manageability in the last 10 years. It is poised to revolutionize how printer drivers are deployed, managed, and upgraded in an enterprise or managed environment. And there is real money to be saved here is well by deploying UPD. Something I will address in a future blog.
In addition, I want to make sure you know we’ve now released the updated version called the HP Universal Print Driver (UPD) 4.0—which addresses most of the ongoing questions around printing within Microsoft Windows Vista for HP LaserJet printers. This builds off the gains made by UPD 3.1, launched just two months ago and promises to make it even easier for IT to deploy print drivers that are pre-determined to be Vista compatible. This should also prove helpful to those trying to make Vista work on just a few I&P devices.
You’ll find that HP UPD 4.0 delivers a Vista printing solution for almost every supported HP LaserJet (see list of supported printers on UPD 4.0 download page). It provides a common interface for virtually all LaserJet print devices, supports multiple printer languages (PCL 5, PCL 6 and postscript 2 and 3 emulation) and is based on the same technology used in hp’s discrete drivers--while being widely deployable. Key management functionality includes: creating and modifying user groups and managed printer lists, while managing printer status notifications and hp color access control--so you can control (and even lock out) those who use color and when they use it.
New features, available in UPD 4.0, include Plug-and-Play capability making hp devices supported whether connected to the network or USB; a simplified “Dynamic Mode” user interface (UI) that helps users print wherever they happen to be; as well as shortcuts to set preferred printer settings for repeated tasks. All of these improvements should help you deploy and manage your LaserJet printers.
I hope you feel that we’re doing whatever we can to streamline your adoption of Microsoft Vista relative to hp I&P devices, whether you have Vista in-place or are considering deployment. For additional insights, you might want to bookmark this site for follow-up comments on Vista printing solutions; plug the url for the HP LaserJet blog: http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/laserjet into your blog news service (bloglines, etc.) or add the RSS feed to your browser by clicking the "HP RSS Feeds" button; or hit the “Technorati Faves” button above to add it to your blog list.
Please let me know how UPD deployment is happening in your organization by commenting below . . .
Information disclosed in this community becomes public.
Exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.
HP reserves the right, but is not obligated to, edit or remove your comment if it contains personally identifiable information or other content HP deems unacceptable.
Opinions expressed are your personal opinions or those of the original authors, and not of HP.
Please see HP's web Terms of Use for more details.
