Things to Know about the Built-In Windows Printer Manager – A printer is common hardware connected to either a laptop or a computer that will need to be managed well by using printer management software such as the Windows printer manager. The mentioned software is available on computers or laptops with Windows Operating System in them. The software is built-in software that does not need additional installation for it to be ready to use for printer management.
The Built-In Windows Printer Manager is a tool within Windows that allows you to manage the printers that are connected to your computer, configure them, and print files. In order to better understand it, we’ll be covering the basics of this program and how you can use it with ease.
So, what is it about the printer manager Windows 10 and any other Windows?
It is known as a Microsoft Management Console snap-in that can be found in all Windows versions except the Home versions. Within the Home versions of the Windows Operating System, there will not be this menu. It is replaced by a simpler interface of Devices and Printers menu under the Control Panel section. The printer management is connected to Windows Server as well for broader printer management.
It may not be totally popular software or application to use but it has its best use for some people. Those who should make use of this Windows MMC include Print Administrators, IT planners, IT designers, Help Desk professionals, and some early adopters as well. It is very simple to use but it may not be that familiar to use for average users. Therefore most people will stick to the printer management software provided by the printer manufacturer alongside the printer driver.
Windows printer manager is beneficial in a way that it can do a set of steps in just fewer steps for a lot of computers at once. Think of users who set up the use of a printer in a computer alone. With the fact that there are 10 computers in need of printer setup, it will take a lot of time to complete it by setting it up one by one. Therefore the use of this software is beneficial since it is possible to set it up just in the server computer and the effect will be on all of the connected computers.
A single end-user of a home-use printer may not feel the benefit of using his software. It is best used in a large scope where several computers are connected to a network with at least a printer to use there as well. In the end, it remains a pretty good idea to get to know about the use of Windows printer manager as well even just to do printing at home.
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The Windows® operating system includes a built-in printer manager called Devices and Printers. This manager allows you to view the status of all of your printers, change their settings, and troubleshoot printing problems.
The Devices and Printers page is different from the Print Queue page, which is a separate application. However, both pages are important for managing your printers.
To open the Devices and Printers page
- Click the Start button, then click Devices and Printers.
- The Devices and Printers window appears. It lists all of the network printers that are currently configured for the PC plus any local printers that are attached to it.
- To see more information about a printer, double-click it or right-click it and choose Printer Properties from the pop-up menu. If a printer is not connected to your PC, it will not appear in this list.
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The built-in Windows printer manager. One of the better things that MS has put in their OSes (alongside Task Manager and Device Manager) but requires a bit of patience to use.
You can find it by going to Start – Control Panel – Devices and Printers (or just typing “printers” into the search box).
It’s essentially just a more friendly alternative to the traditional way of managing printers through the Command Prompt, which was (and still is, I think) the only way one can uninstall a printer that’s not working properly or has been installed incorrectly.
I’ve used it a few times now, when my home network printers go haywire or when I have to clear the queue for some reason. It works like a charm, with the occasional “Aw Snap!” from Chrome, but you’ll have to be patient with it if you haven’t used it before.
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Windows’ printer manager is the place where you can add, delete and configure the printers on your computer. You can access it by clicking Start and typing “printers.”
Viewing and Deleting Printers
The printer manager will display a list of all your printers, whether they’re connected locally to your computer or via a network.
If you have more than one printer installed, you can set one as the default. This means it will be the one used if you send something to print without specifying which printer to use. To set a default printer, right-click it and click the “Set as default” option.
If you want to delete a printer, right-click it and click “Remove Device.” You’ll be asked if you want to delete the printer’s drivers from your computer; this is only important if you plan on reinstalling the same device later. The drivers for network printers are removed automatically.
Adding New Printers
To add new printers, click the “Add a Printer” or “The Printer That I Want Isn’t Listed” option from the menu bar at the top of the window. The first option will let you add a local or network printer automatically; if that fails, choose “The Printer That
The printout is blurry
You’ve installed a new printer and everything’s fine, but when you try to print out a document, the output is blurry or smudged. You may have inadvertently adjusted the print quality settings (DOT) on the printer using the Windows Printer Manager. There are a few ways you can fix this problem, but here are the best ways to do it.
- From the Start menu, launch the Devices and Printers applet. The printer should be there under “Printers.”
- Click on the name of your new printer and select Properties from the drop-down menu that appears. The main window should look like this:
- Click on the tab labeled “Printing.” It should be a little grayed-out box with an arrow pointing at it in this window:
- Click on this grayed-out box and select one of the options from the drop-down menu that appears. The most common option is “Quality:”
- You’ll see a number next to each option that shows how many dots per inch (DPI) your printer can print at — 300 DPI is pretty good, 600 DPI is pretty good, 1200 DPI is pretty good, etc.:
- Look for your
There are black lines on my color printouts
When you send a color document to your printer, it prints the cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) tones that it needs to create the full range of colors. When you print pages with a lot of black on them, the printer uses extra ink from the black cartridge, which creates more wear on the print head.
When you install new ink cartridges, the printer performs a cleaning cycle that causes extra ink to be used from all the cartridges. If your black printouts have been looking a bit faded lately, try installing new ink cartridges and printing some pages with mostly black on them. This will use up more of the old ink in the cartridges and clean off any old residue in the print head.
If you are still having intermittent problems with color documents or needing to replace your cartridges frequently, it’s time for a new printer.
The printed images have jagged edges
Sometimes you’ll be printing a document and suddenly you realize that the printed images have jagged edges. This problem can happen in any Windows version, but is more common in Windows 10. The main reason for this is because of a feature called “Print Spooler”.
What is Print Spooler?
A print spooler is a software program that monitors print jobs being sent to printers. It’s main function is to ensure that each job prints correctly and doesn’t accidentally overlap another job. The downside to having this feature enabled, however, is that it also causes your printer to buffer the data until all the other jobs have been completed. This means your image will take much longer to print than it should, and could even cause errors if it’s too large for your printer’s memory capacity.
How do I fix this problem?
To fix this problem, open your printer properties window and click on the Advanced tab. You’ll see an option called “Print Spooling” with two options underneath: “Enable Background Printing” and “Enable Print Spooling”. Uncheck both of these boxes and then click Ok to save your changes.
You should know that your printer can be fixed by using the built-in Window Printer Manager.
You can manage your printers by using the built-in Windows Printer Manager. You can check for errors, clean your print queue, run tests and even manage your printer properties from here. The Windows Printer manager monitors the spooler and your printer queue to keep track of what’s printing, who is printing and other information.