Summary
Last week, Microsoft announced its plan to gradually eliminate the need for third-party printer drivers. Instead, Microsoft will gradually begin to use its own built-in driver. This means the days of installing drivers for each printer you own could be behind you.
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Printers are the devices that everyone loves to hate. While they’re still useful, they can be very finicky. However, Microsoft has recently taken steps to help reduce the complexity of the printing process. This could be the end of the infamous printer driver.
For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.
Drivers are small programs that interface between the operating system, like Windows, and the device itself. In 2021, Microsoft released the IPP driver, which can work with many modern printers. This eliminates the need for a driver specific to your printer model. Now, two years after the release of the Microsoft driver, the tech giant has revealed a plan for eliminating printer drivers altogether.
The three-step plan begins in 2025, when Microsoft will stop allowing printer manufacturers to add drivers to the Windows update process. At this time, you’ll still be able to update existing printer drivers through the update process.
In 2026, Windows will always prefer the Microsoft driver instead of third-party drivers. And starting in 2027, printer drivers will no longer be able to receive updates through the Windows update process, except for security fixes. This process will move printers from relying on their own individual drivers to printing with the Microsoft default option.
Although this change isn’t going to eliminate every problem that might make you want to chuck your printer out the window, it will eliminate one possible source of printing problems.