Printing remains a crucial aspect of daily workflow for many businesses and individuals alike. Managing printers in a Windows environment can sometimes be a daunting task, especially when dealing with multiple printers, drivers, and print queues. However, PowerShell, with its powerful scripting capabilities, offers a robust solution for automating printer management tasks. In this guide, we’ll explore how to effectively manage Windows printers using PowerShell, covering various aspects such as viewing printers, installing drivers, and managing print queues.
Viewing Printers
To begin managing printers with PowerShell, let’s start by viewing the existing printers installed on the system. The Get-Printer cmdlet allows us to retrieve information about installed printers:
Get-Printer
This command will display a list of all printers installed on the system, including their names, statuses, and other relevant details.
Installing Printer Drivers
Before installing a new printer, it’s essential to ensure that the required printer drivers are available on the system. PowerShell enables us to install printer drivers easily using the Add-PrinterDriver cmdlet:
Add-PrinterDriver -Name "DriverName" -InfPath "C:\Path\to\driver.inf"
Replace “DriverName” with the name of the printer driver and provide the path to the driver INF file.
Adding a Printer
Once the required drivers are installed, adding a new printer can be done using the Add-Printer cmdlet:
Add-Printer -Name "PrinterName" -DriverName "DriverName" -PortName "PortName"
Replace “PrinterName” with the desired name for the printer, “DriverName” with the installed printer driver name, and “PortName” with the port to which the printer is connected.
Managing Print Queue
Managing the print queue involves tasks such as pausing, resuming, and cancelling print jobs. PowerShell provides cmdlets to perform these operations efficiently.
To view the print queue for a specific printer:
Get-Printer "PrinterName" | Get-PrintJob
To pause all print jobs in the queue:
Get-Printer "PrinterName" | Get-PrintJob | Pause-PrintJob
To resume paused print jobs:
Get-Printer "PrinterName" | Get-PrintJob | Resume-PrintJob
To cancel a specific print job:
Get-Printer "PrinterName" | Get-PrintJob -Id JobID | Remove-PrintJob
Replace “PrinterName” with the name of the printer and “JobID” with the ID of the print job to cancel.
Conclusion
Managing Windows printers with PowerShell offers a streamlined approach to handle various tasks such as viewing printers, installing drivers, and managing print queues. By leveraging PowerShell cmdlets, administrators can automate these tasks, leading to increased efficiency and reduced manual intervention. Whether it’s deploying printers across a network or troubleshooting print issues, PowerShell provides a powerful toolset for effective printer management in a Windows environment.