Printer Deployment

[clockend25]

Hi,

 

I realise this has been extensively covered in many threads on here, but wonder if anyone has any advice for a poor NM trying to get a Windows 10 Education 1803 build ready for next week, who is singularly failing to deploy printers?

 

I've added the printers to a User GPO in GPP, with item-level targeting to target printers per OU. Doesn't work. I've amended point-to-print settings etc and still no luck.

 

Would anyone who has this working be willing to share their settings? I'd ideally like to work through this myself but time is becoming tight...

[Davit2005]

Hi,

 

I realise this has been extensively covered in many threads on here, but wonder if anyone has any advice for a poor NM trying to get a Windows 10 Education 1803 build ready for next week, who is singularly failing to deploy printers?

 

I've added the printers to a User GPO in GPP, with item-level targeting to target printers per OU. Doesn't work. I've amended point-to-print settings etc and still no luck.

 

Would anyone who has this working be willing to share their settings? I'd ideally like to work through this myself but time is becoming tight...

 

I done this previously using GPP as User Preferences and creating a share for the users depending on where they login? The policy was based on a Computer OU but use the Loopback processing set to merge and then the setting the user GPP to use a shared printer in the same policy, the policy was then applied to an OU i.e. say you wanted printer Colour_RM101, all the computers in room 101 would be in a specific OU and anyone logging into a PC in that room should get that printer, you can set a specific printer as default.

[mavhc]

What does the event log say is the error?

[grahamd22]

Having profiles deleting seems to be the main cause of issues we have found.

[robyholmes]

I've not had problems with installing printers by GPP, but have come across issues if you use the 'Delete All' first. Its better to create two preferences for each printer if you need to target it. One using 'Update' with a item level target set to 'If this = this'. Then copy & paste that, change the action to 'Delete' and change the If statement to be 'If Not'. It adds the printer if true and removes it if not. Saves removing it each time only to add it again. Makes logins a whole lot quicker too.

[gshaw]

I had issues with GPP when we were piloting Windows 10, seemed that printers sometimes only mapped on the second login. Other times took multiple attempts with gpupdate /force

 

This is no good for the way our users work with the machines so I went retro and used GPO Deployed Printers instead. These map as Computer Settings (per machine) rather than Per User and seem to have been more reliable. Default printer is then set via script that runs after login, which checks the Computer's OU and does an If \ Then \ Else lookup for the correct default printer to map.

Edited August 31, 2018 by gshaw

[kcutetea]

Do you have the printers shared on a server or by IP?

[gshaw]

Do you have the printers shared on a server or by IP?

 

@kcutetea shared via print server i.e. UNC path

[chazzy2501]

Use the OLD GPO method instead: (Machine policy with user settings for printer, also enable loopback GPO processing.) This has been better for me than GPP which has always been 99% (i.e. not 100%)

[gshaw]

Use the OLD GPO method instead: (Machine policy with user settings for printer, also enable loopback GPO processing.) This has been better for me than GPP which has always been 99% (i.e. not 100%)

 

Yup exactly what I've found but ours are fully against the machine as printer mappings are location based (with a global Follow-me MFD printer for Papercut)

[JSpaced]

I've not had problems with installing printers by GPP, but have come across issues if you use the 'Delete All' first. Its better to create two preferences for each printer if you need to target it. One using 'Update' with a item level target set to 'If this = this'. Then copy & paste that, change the action to 'Delete' and change the If statement to be 'If Not'. It adds the printer if true and removes it if not. Saves removing it each time only to add it again. Makes logins a whole lot quicker too.

 

I was pulling my hair out this morning because I'm in the middle of a perfect storm between budgetary demands, user's inability to learn to read things before hitting "print" and the limitations of the Windows Printer Deployment by GPO.

My original system was to "Delete All" every login and then recreate the printer list, based on Item level targetting. Of course user's individual preferences were getting lost every login!

 

Thank you for this "If Not" suggestion. You are a genuis!

[robyholmes]

I was pulling my hair out this morning because I'm in the middle of a perfect storm between budgetary demands, user's inability to learn to read things before hitting "print" and the limitations of the Windows Printer Deployment by GPO.

My original system was to "Delete All" every login and then recreate the printer list, based on Item level targetting. Of course user's individual preferences were getting lost every login!

 

Thank you for this "If Not" suggestion. You are a genuis!

 

Thank you, I'm sure I got it off someone else on here but its worked well for a number of sites I've worked at. Its amazing how fast logins speed up as well if you have a lot of printers.

[Chuckster]

I've not had problems with installing printers by GPP, but have come across issues if you use the 'Delete All' first. Its better to create two preferences for each printer if you need to target it. One using 'Update' with a item level target set to 'If this = this'. Then copy & paste that, change the action to 'Delete' and change the If statement to be 'If Not'. It adds the printer if true and removes it if not. Saves removing it each time only to add it again. Makes logins a whole lot quicker too.

@robyholmes, any chance I could see a screen print of said solution, please?

[robyholmes]

@robyholmes, any chance I could see a screen print of said solution, please?

Struggling to find a way of showing you it, especially as we've removed all but one of our 'By Department' printers now for MFDs.

 

This screenshot shows the item level targeting for the 'Update' action on printer HT-Epson.

 

Once you have this setup you make a copy with a lower order number (Although it shouldn't matter). Change the action to delete and change the 'Is' to 'Is not' in item level targeting.

 

Repeat the process for as many printers as you need.

 

The idea is your only deleting a printer if someone doesn't have access. As most people use the same machine day in day out you'll only rarely delete a printer. Hence logins are quicker most of the time.