Automatically adding/connecting printers to workstations

The following knowledge base articles describe different approaches to configuring printers on workstations. The materials are technical and are intended for use by network/system administrators.

Please note: This article is written for PaperCut NG/MF versions prior to 19.1. Since version 19.1, we recommend using Print Deploy, as it’s the easiest and quickest way to deploy print queues and drivers to workstations based on who the user is and their location.

Alternatively, a simple way to address BYOD printing requirements is PaperCut Mobility Print. PaperCut NG and MF include the software free of charge. The solution delivers network print services for iOS, Windows, macOS, Android, and Chrome devices across mixed fleet environments. It allows end-user managed devices to print securely to any printer in your network. Mobility Print is easy to set up so users can print from their own devices without the need to reach out to a SysAdmin for help. The caveat is that Mobility Print is designed around a BYOD printing scenario where it is assumed that the devices are managed by the users, and there’s no way to automate the setup of these printer connections. If you are looking for a way to set up printer connections on devices that are managed by your organization, please have a look at some of the solutions below.

Traditional Print Queue Deployment Methods

For Windows workstations:

1. Deploying printers using Group Policy (technet.microsoft.com) (for Windows Active Directory environments)

2. How to manage printers in an education environment using login scripts and other methods

3. A script using con2prt.exe to map network printers based on physical location.

4. Adding printers with a location adaptive login script.

5. Adding printers globally so they are available to all users.

6. A location adaptive VBScript example using Wscript.Network

For Mac workstations:

1. “Mac Printing in Detail” chapter of the PaperCut user manual (discusses deploying print queues to Mac workstations that are hosted on either Windows or Mac servers)