Ā Having trouble with your Type 4 print driver? Donāt worry, youāre not the first. And you probably wonāt be the last. Type 4 print drivers are notorious for compatibility and performance issues , particularly when it comes to print management software. But donāt worry, this sort of thing is our bread and butter. In this article, weāre going to run through the basics of Type 4 print drivers, and how to fix some common issues.
What are Type 4 print drivers?Ā
Type 4 print drivers were introduced by Microsoft with Windows Server back in 2012. They were designed to replace the old Type 3 drivers with a simplified driver model that was easier to develop and maintain. Ironically, they were also meant to be easier to plug-and-play, with Windows automatically detecting and installing the appropriate driver for the relevant printer.
Unfortunately, Type 4 drivers have some limitations when interacting with popular operating systems like macOS or Linux, or print management software, like PaperCut.
What are the benefits of Type 4 print drivers? Ā Ā
Microsoft had its reasons for moving away from the old Type 3 drivers, and there are plenty of reasons to like Type 4.
Better driver modelĀ ā Type 4 drivers are way simpler than Type 3 legacy drivers. They were originally designed to make the whole driver problem more efficient.
Easier to maintainĀ ā Type 4 drivers are easier for hardware manufacturers to develop and maintain. Thereās also less chance for errors to creep in.
Smaller footprintĀ ā With a smaller footprint than Type 3, Type 4 drivers take up less storage space and network bandwidth. Always a good thing.
Backward compatibilityĀ ā Type 4 was designed to be backwards compatible with Type 3, allowing organizations to transition to the new driver without chucking out all their old hardware.
Type 4 print driver compatibility issues
So whatās the problem? Well, Type 4 drivers have some pretty well-documented shortcomings, which can make compatibility difficult. They also donāt play nice with many operating systems or print management software solutions.
Linux and macOS jobs fail to printĀ ā This is a common one. Printing from Mac and Linux clients to printers using a Type 4 print driver will produce a rendering failure. It will basically look like the print job has disappeared. To remedy this problem, youāll need to switch back to a Type 3 driver.
āThis operation is not supportedāĀ ā If you see this error message, the problem is the Port Monitor software. This is the software that moves print data from the print spooler service to the printer. Unfortunately, Type 4 print drivers donāt work with third-party Port Monitors, like PaperCut Hardware Page Checks . Again, youāll need to go back to a Type 3 driver.
Type 4 drivers not downloading to the clientĀ ā This is actually how itās supposed to work! If the Type 4 driver used on the server does not exist on your client system, Windows will use the clientās pre-installed driver to build a connection to the shared printer.
Type 4 limitations and issues with print management software
Type 4 print drivers often donāt interact with print management software in the way youād like or expect. This can be frustrating ā believe us, we know ā and there are few magic fixes. Often the solution is simply to use a Type 3 driver.
Here are some of the common limitations weāve found with PaperCut and Type 4 print drivers. If youāre still having compatibility issues, or youād like some professional help, donāt forget weāre always here to chat .
Watermarking not compatibleĀ ā Unfortunately, watermarking with PaperCut is only supported by RAW or PostScript spool files, and Type 4 drivers wonāt render documents in this format. If you want to use this feature, youāll need a Type 3 PostScript or PCL driver.
[body] [bold] Mixed driver issuesĀ ā If you want to use PaperCutās Find-Me Printing, you need to stick to one print driver ā either Type 4 or Type 3. You canāt combine and mix them up. When one Type 4 driver is used, then the Find Me and all real printers must also use Type 4.
[body] [bold] Changing settingsĀ ā With PaperCut MF 18.2, we gave users the ability to change print job settings at the device. Sadly, Type 4 print drivers donāt like this function. Changes to job settings with this feature, especially any that modify the spool file, wonāt work with Type 4 drivers. Try a Type 3 driver instead.
[body] [bold] Page check problemsĀ ā Unfortunately, as mentioned above, you canāt use Type 4 drivers in tandem with Hardware Page Checks . Type 4 drivers hate third-party Port Monitors. If you want to use Hardware Page Checks, youāll need to install a Type 3 driver from the manufacturerās website.
For more specific Type 4 driver help, please check out our troubleshooting archive . Weāve got plenty of great, easily searchable advice on there.
