What is printer driver why is it required

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Showing results for. Search instead for. Did you mean:. Last reply by barkupatree Unsolved. Thanks in advance. All forum topics Previous Topic Next Topic. Replies 6. PudgyOne 8 Krypton. Remember virus programs and firewalls will block communications. A traditional color laser printer will have embedded computer which has capabilities of a desktop computer from 5 to 10 years ago and the major problem with that is that hardware for such embedded computers is expensive.

There's also the licensing issue with PostScript for example where each printer must pay license in order to use it natively. So to circumvent that, a cheaper embedded computer is used which uses a simpler page description language, usually proprietary and undocmented in order to decrease the cost. Then it's the host computer's job to actually process the data which will be printed. Similar thing happened to fax modems as the market demanded price decrease for them, so now there are so called "winmodems".

Printers such as those I described are sometimes called "winprinters". The win part comes from the sad fact that most of them have only drivers for windows. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Why do printers require drivers?

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Sounds more like optional software packages. Since CUPS takes care of the actual printer drivers, all the windows clients just used the same generic post-script driver, no matter which printer they printed to. It was nice. Printer drivers may be a thing of the past in near future HP drivers have been that large and larger for their consumer products for several years now.

You're right in that the package includes vast amounts of bloatware and unnecessary apps. But HP doesn't offer a "just driver" package for many of these printers, so it's all you can get.

Show 2 more comments. Active Oldest Votes. Err, that didn't answer the question did it. If your OS or software speaks a printer's language, it doesn't need a driver. Improve this answer. Peter Mortensen Throw away, buy a new one. For a number of host-based printers a. WinPrinters , this doesn't work quite so well. There's also a number of printers that can take PDFs natively. Finally, while you can use a "related" driver, you may be giving up access to features particular to your printer, since the "wrong" driver won't expose them to Windows.

HP had a page for a while that listed "compatible" drivers for situations where for whatever reason you couldn't use the default drivers. It was quite handy. Typically the power button is on the front right corner of the printer. However, the button placement depends on the type of printer you have. Older laser printers may even have a power switch in one of the back bottom corners of the printer. After connecting the printer and turning it on, you'll need to install the printer's software and drivers.

Every printer should come with the software used to install a printer in Windows or your operating system. If your computer does not have a disc drive or you lost the CD, you can download the software for your printer from the manufactures printer's driver page.

Once the drivers are downloaded, you can run the file to install the drivers. Newer operating systems may not support all older printers. For example, Windows 10 may not support a printer that was made years before it was released. If drivers are not listed on a printers' driver page, your operating system or your versions of Windows does not support that printer.

You can try installing an earlier version of operating system drivers, and it may work. Once your disc is in the computer, follow the prompts on the screen to install the driver. If you do not have the disc, you can usually locate the drivers on the manufacturer's website.

Download the driver and then double click to run the driver file. Follow the prompts as you move through the download process. You will be asked to select a name for your printer and you may have to enter your Wi-Fi password in order to sync your printer to your machine via the network. You can also plug your printer to your computer using a USB cable to have a wired connection as well.