Printer Scripts Help

[Techdw]

Hi Guys,

 

I have a Windows 2012 Print Server with Windows 7 Clients and want to know how you guys have set-up printers for users??

 

The school has so many printers, so I need it to be set up in a way that when a user goes into a certain room ( IT Room ) they get that printer in that room mapped automatically for them, also another one is so all Admin reception staff get the printer in the admin area defaulted to them as well and not one half way around the school.

 

I was looking at Print Management on the server and deploying printers via GPO but I can't see a way to set it up so they get the closest printer to them.

 

 

Any help would be great. Thanks

[Roberto]

To be honest, we stopped messing around with GPOs and scripts a few years ago and just purchased printer installer. It's everything that printer management should be. It not only makes it trivial to allocate printers based on location and other printers based on the user, but it also makes it so simple for end users to allocate their own printers that it has drastically reduced the amount of time lost to simple printer setup queries by both staff, students and IT staff that it's quite unreal.

 

I know that suggesting that people spend money on systems management tools is unfashionable in educational IT but this is some of the best money I've ever spent for my lot.

[Marshall_IT]

You can deploy printers to users or computers. The only issue I've come across is there is no way to set a default printer. But you can set it so they only get the printers they need.

[timbo343]

I use a vbs script which will look at user, ad group and or computer name and then map the relevant printers. Never had any problems with it in the past, it just works. One to log on which maps the printet then one at log off which removes all mapped printers but yet leaves locally installed ones.

 

Have to change things in it every now and then but its not a big deal.

[robjduk]

I now create a VBS which runs as a .bat. I use item level targeting in group policy and copy them to the computer's startup folder.

 

cscript c:\windows\system32\printing_admin_scripts\en-us\prnmngr.vbs -x

cscript c:\windows\system32\printing_admin_scripts\en-us\prnmngr.vbs -ac -p \\**server***\Printername

cscript c:\windows\system32\printing_admin_scripts\en-us\prnmngr.vbs -t -p \\**server***\Printername

 

first line deletes any printer found (not local), 2nd line adds printer and 3rd makes it default. I have about 10 of these scripts now and apart from the cmd box quickly appearing when they log on, works bloody brilliantly. Fixed all my issues I was having with group policy randomly deciding when it wanted to deploy them.

[MatthewL]

I have used a kix script in the past where you great an AD group for the said printer (all named a certain way) when you login it looks up what the computer is a member of and then looks for the appropriately named printer and maps it as well as mapping a central queue for everyone. Works well I find.

[plexer]

GPP using item level targeting or 3rd party software that's it.

 

Ben

[sted]

gpp using loopback to apply user policies to pcs so room 12 gets room 12 printers.

vbs script that runs from all user startup on the pcs you want it to

[Davit2005]

Group Policy Preferences.

 

Printers are targeted at computer OU's with Loopback processing so users logging onto computers in specific rooms/areas get printers and a correctly assigned default printer for their room.

 

Took a few days to setup and test last year and we haven't had any issues (touching wood).

 

Policies are configured so anyone can install drivers for printers and the print servers are listed in the Point and Print Restrictions as follows which seemed to be necessary.

 

Point and Print Restrictions Enabled

Users can only point and print to these servers: Enabled

Enter fully qualified server names separated by semicolons [ PRINT SERVERS ]

Users can only point and print to machines in their forest Disabled

 

Security Prompts:

When installing drivers for a new connection: Do not show warning or elevation prompt

When updating drivers for an existing connection: Do not show warning or elevation prompt

This setting only applies to:

Windows Vista and later