Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

[rthonpm]

September 6, Microsoft released a bulletin regarding the end of servicing for Type 3 and Type 4 printer drivers. As of 2026 Windows will be configured to prefer IPP as the default print method for network and USB printers. As of 2027 new print drivers will no longer be available. Even with these changes, legacy print drivers will still be able to be manually installed.

Part of this issue to newer technology like Mopria, which are OS independent and require little user interaction or driver configuration. Unlike WSD, Mopria is a standard developed and adopted by the major print manufacturers and can also replace old standards like TWAIN.


End of servicing plan for third-party printer drivers on Windows - Windows drivers | Microsoft Learn


Mopria print and scan apps for easy mobile printing and scanning


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[fpi_2000]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

This is from TonerNews.com, Sep 8th.
Windows 11 will drop third-party drivers and adopt the Mopria standard for printing

[rthonpm]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

Print Nightmare essentially broke the 20+ year old printing subsystem in Windows so it's time to make a change and being a universal protocol instead of a Windows specific one will help with the issues WSD and make the process much more resilient.

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[techsxge]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

Print Nightmare essentially broke the 20+ year old printing subsystem in Windows so it's time to make a change and being a universal protocol instead of a Windows specific one will help with the issues WSD and make the process much more resilient.

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Funny that it took them 20+ years to realise that and then another 2 years to do something about it

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

I've been using Mopria for years for mobile devices. I'm going to have to try it out on Windows.

[rthonpm]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

Funny that it took them 20+ years to realise that and then another 2 years to do something about it

Windows is all about backwards compatible features. There are features in it that haven't been touched since Windows NT just because telemetry tells Microsoft they're still in use. Changes get made to Windows very slowly.

My personal opinion, there's potentially one more OS release before drastic changes come, maybe even a new kernel structure.

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[SalesServiceGuy]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

I expect most OEMS will continue to offer their brand specific print drivers in addition to the new Mopira offerings. It is hard to see how a universal Mopira driver could offer all of the advanced features of an OEM print driver.

One of the dislikes OEMS have about offering a Papercut front end on their LCD panels, is that it makes all copier brands more homogenous to the end user and therefore easier to replace with a diferent OEM.

OEMs put a lot of effort into developing unique features in their print drivers to enhance customer loyalty and stickiness.

Microsoft has been offering their V4 print driver for the last several years. Usually, the only time it got installed was unintentionally after an automatic Windows update. The V4 print driver often caused all kinds of problems which required the assisitance of a service tech to uninstall and reinstall the proper OEM driver.

[rthonpm]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

Except that Mopria is a consortium of printer manufacturers so they control the protocol. Microsoft likely won't offer signing certs for printer drivers after 2026 and Mopria simplifies the work OEMs need to do.

Mopria has the ability to advertise features to the host system. In a way, it's a glorified version Postscript: the driver for every Postscript printer is identical, it's just the PPD included with the driver that gives the print spooler the features of the device.



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[SalesServiceGuy]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

Todate, I have only thought of Mopira as a wireless solution for Android devices. I have never thought of Mopira as a print solution for Microsoft users yet here is a link:

Print With Windows


There remains a large, active community of iOS Apple users that OEMs cannot ignore. How would Mopira address those users? I suspect not, because Apple uses a differnt operating system.

I support Toshiba and Lexmark copiers. I am not sure where I would download and install a Mopira print driver for Windows devices instead of the OEM driver for testing purposes? My PC is Win 11 Pro.

[techsxge]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

Windows is all about backwards compatible features. There are features in it that haven't been touched since Windows NT just because telemetry tells Microsoft they're still in use. Changes get made to Windows very slowly.

My personal opinion, there's potentially one more OS release before drastic changes come, maybe even a new kernel structure.

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I mean yeah windows is extremly backwards compatible and thats cool about it, given that windows is undoubtfully the most used desktop operating system worldwide for businesses. And backwards compatiblity comes at a prices. Now i cant even count how many RCE Security Issues we had with Windows due to its outdated code. I dont think personally its worth risking customer security over many years just to ensure low end hardware bought 10 years ago still runs windows without issues.

With the whole printnightmare thing some microsoft interns actually said that the code used for the print spooler is so old the people who wrote it dont work at microsoft anymore and/or are dead already. Meaning you have no one who realy knows how exactly it worked and thus nobody maintaining that part of the code. And i do not doubt at all that there are way more modules in microsoft windows that nobody touched in years if not decades which hold similiar security risks in them.


There are certainly big changes needed and it seems like we get the first few changes here.

[rthonpm]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

In typical Apple fashion AirPrint is likely the same basic thing as Mopria. Looking at how the two work they're very similar.

For Windows, the printer just needs to be on the same network and advertise itself via Mopria.

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[rthonpm]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

I mean yeah windows is extremly backwards compatible and thats cool about it, given that windows is undoubtfully the most used desktop operating system worldwide for businesses. And backwards compatiblity comes at a prices. Now i cant even count how many RCE Security Issues we had with Windows due to its outdated code. I dont think personally its worth risking customer security over many years just to ensure low end hardware bought 10 years ago still runs windows without issues.

With the whole printnightmare thing some microsoft interns actually said that the code used for the print spooler is so old the people who wrote it dont work at microsoft anymore and/or are dead already. Meaning you have no one who realy knows how exactly it worked and thus nobody maintaining that part of the code. And i do not doubt at all that there are way more modules in microsoft windows that nobody touched in years if not decades which hold similiar security risks in them.


There are certainly big changes needed and it seems like we get the first few changes here.

There's a lot of major corporations that pay for Software Assurance that give them the muscle to determine what stays in Windows.

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[rthonpm]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

Here's the basic breakdown of the different driverless print protocols:

Driverless Printing Standards And their PDLS - OpenPrinting

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[UNICORNico]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

Windows is all about backwards compatible features. There are features in it that haven't been touched since Windows NT just because telemetry tells Microsoft they're still in use. Changes get made to Windows very slowly.
My personal opinion, there's potentially one more OS release before drastic changes come, maybe even a new kernel structure.
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A while ago I heard in the technology sector (although it seems more like a rumor), that the Kernel they would use in the future would be LINUX, and with the change in attitude that Microsoft has had with OpenSource recently, I am beginning to think that it is not It's something so impossible.

I CONFIRM!!!
For some time now, on devices that do not yet incorporate PS3, to solve the situation, Apple's AirPrint has been configured and the printers work without problems, the printing options are practically the same as those of a specific controller, or very similar.

[rthonpm]

Re: Big change coming to Windows regarding printers.

I can't see Microsoft going with a Linux kernel, however I could see them make a break from NT, which turned 30 this year. Making a change would likely put to rest some legacy protocols, or at least have them as optional features much as Microsoft has with things like .Net 3.5 or the XPS Writer. I'd estimate two additional operating system versions before a full change.