What printers work best with a Windows Remote Desktop Server?
In the Windows 2003/Windows XP days, printing on a Remote Desktop server was limited to those servers who have drivers for that particular server. Drivers for any locally attached printers would not only have to be installed on the PC that they were attached to, but also on the server you were remotely connecting to.
Now with Windows 2008 R2, Remote Desktop users have the ability to use printer redirection using Microsoft’s EasyPrint. Basically EasyPrint is part of Windows Server, and allows print jobs in a Remote Desktop session to be sent to the client for print job handling, instead of trying to print the job itself. While this is slightly slower than the old method, it allows for a much larger number of compatible printers without the need of installing drivers on the server.
Which printers will work? Well most printers that work with Windows 7 will work with Microsoft’s EasyPrint technology. If you are planning on purchasing a new printer and want to ensure that it will be fully compatible with any Remote Desktop servers you are connecting to, then check out Microsoft’s Windows Catalog database.
Any new printer you are considering should be certified for Windows 2008 R2 to fully ensure it will work well with a Remote Desktop server.
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Robert Borges
About Robert...
I have been in the IT industry since 1993 focusing mainly on networking. Though I got an early start as an amateur computer enthusiast and wrote my first database app at age 12, I started my professional career working in the MIS department of one of the largest liquor distributors in the northeast. I started out there as a systems operator on the company’s two mainframe systems. From there I moved into PC support, and help design and implement the company’s first client-server network… This was back in the days of Win NT 3.51 when I worked on my first migration to Windows NT 4.0 server.
From there I went on to work with Novell 3.x and 4.x along with Windows domains and Microsft's brand new Active Directory. Working my way up from technician to specialist, to an administrator, and eventually all the way up to Sr. Engineer. I spent many years working for MSPs/consulting firms, 9 of which I owned and operated my own firm.
Over the years, I have worked with (at an expert level) various versions of Windows client and server operating systems (including Windows 11 and Windows Server 2019); various virtualization technologies (Hyper-V, VMware, etc.); MS-SQL server 6.5- 2014 R2; Exchange 4-2019, and much more. Over the years I have built a lot of experience around the Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 cloud environments.
I am now CTO at Infused Innovations where our team is focusing on helping clients build a Secure Intelligent Workplace through InfoSec (Zero Trusts Framework), Modern Workplace, and Business Intelligence.
I have been heavily involved in the IT user group community, including serving as president of the board of Boston User Groups, Inc., and president of IT-Pro User Group. In 2017/2018 Microsoft awarded me the Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) Award, with a focus of Microsoft Azure cloud, for my efforts in the IT community.
I am in a constant state of learning about new products, and new versions of products. Many of which we end up implementing in lab environments and sometimes for our clients. I have a very broad range of expertise and experience. It is my goal to share some of this experience on this blog to help enrich the IT community.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2012/06/windows/what-printers-work-best-with-a-windows-remote-desktop-server/
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Even if printer doesn’t work with RDP, there is third-party solution: Printer for Remote Desktop. It doesn’t require to have printer drivers installed on the server, works with both RDP and ICA protocols, and your printer will be isolated within individual session.
Yes, printer redirection is a very useful option. If you are a small user, that is if you connect from a single station, and there aren’t many others that also regularly connect and print. Everything should work just fine. But if you are a part of a larger network with different printers and servers, then you are going to encounter issues if you have a big number of drivers on the server. Nina has offered a solution from Fabulatech, which is a good software. In my company we also have a couple of servers and almost a hundred clients connected. We offer them TSPrint from Terminal Works. Also works fine. Not to many issues so far.
http://www.terminalworks.com/remote-desktop-printing/
Yes, thirdparty solutions are the best way to forget the trouble with bad printerdrivers or slow performance of tseasyprint!
But there are cheap solutions with rare features!
My favorite is
You can try it without any registration!
This is really good. Thank you so much plus maintain the
excellent creativity!!