Printer weirdness

[Sheridan]

We run a few networked printers on a Windows print server managed by Papercut. Printers are deployed by GPO and generally all working OK

 

However we have had some weirdness with the driver settings for some users - for example the settings for 'Multiple pages per side' are greyed out for some users of a PC, but not others

 

The printer drivers are all the same (Lexmark V2) and are pushed from the server

 

What's odd is if I login with a test account - they get the correct driver settings. Login as one of the users with the issue and the option is greyed out! Even if I delete their profile and they log back in the issue persists

 

I vaguely remember seeing something like this issue years ago, but can anyone jog my memory as to what the heck is going on?

[5nowman]

5 hours ago, Sheridan said:

We run a few networked printers on a Windows print server managed by Papercut. Printers are deployed by GPO and generally all working OK

 

However we have had some weirdness with the driver settings for some users - for example the settings for 'Multiple pages per side' are greyed out for some users of a PC, but not others

 

The printer drivers are all the same (Lexmark V2) and are pushed from the server

 

What's odd is if I login with a test account - they get the correct driver settings. Login as one of the users with the issue and the option is greyed out! Even if I delete their profile and they log back in the issue persists

 

I vaguely remember seeing something like this issue years ago, but can anyone jog my memory as to what the heck is going on?

 

I'm trying to help you out but cannot find anything. Is it the app doing multiple sheets per page or the printer driver? eg like adobe.

I know you are clued up from your replies on other threads and have helped me before!

 

Are the accounts part of the same security? do you have local loopback.. computer/ user policy?

 

What happens if you delete the printer as the user and readd it manually? does it still show up grey? cannot change multiple pages per sheet?

 

Just thinking out loud pal!

 

Edited September 16, 2025 by 5nowman

[5nowman]

what chatgpt said:

 

• Per-user registry settings (Printer Preferences vs Defaults)

  • Printer drivers in Windows store settings in two places:

    • Printer defaults (set at the server, under "Printing Preferences" → applies globally).

    • Per-user printer preferences (in the user profile’s registry under HKCU\Printers).

  • If the per-user settings get corrupted, the driver can behave oddly for that user only (e.g. options greyed out).

• Papercut "function lock" policies

  • Papercut can enforce restrictions at the driver level. Some functions (like duplexing, watermarks, n-up printing) can be locked or hidden based on the user/group. If your test account isn’t in the same Papercut group or restriction policy, it will look fine.

• Lexmark v2 driver quirks

  • The Lexmark "v2" drivers are known for behaving differently between Type 3 (User Mode) and Type 4 (V4) installs. If the driver package is mismatched between the server and workstation, some settings just vanish.

  • Also, Lexmark drivers sometimes gray out "Multiple pages per side" if the printer’s configuration (like finishing options or tray type) isn’t correctly detected for that user.

• Group Policy Preferences overriding settings

  • If you’ve got a GPO that deploys printer preferences, these are written at the user level and can lock down or override features. Some users may get one GPO applied while others don’t.

[Sheridan]

That’s the weird thing with this, two users of the same computer getting the same printer and same policies and will get the greyed out option and nothing I can see will reset it!

 

Even removing their profile entirely makes no difference and the printer settings they see (usually when accessing the properties via Word) are identical to the other users but one a couple of print layout options greyed out

 

i could have sworn I’d seen this before by my memory is letting me down on that one!

[5nowman]

try 

43 minutes ago, Sheridan said:

That’s the weird thing with this, two users of the same computer getting the same printer and same policies and will get the greyed out option and nothing I can see will reset it!

 

Even removing their profile entirely makes no difference and the printer settings they see (usually when accessing the properties via Word) are identical to the other users but one a couple of print layout options greyed out

 

i could have sworn I’d seen this before by my memory is letting me down on that one!

I am guessing you are using GPOs on a DC.

Move the user that is all greyed out to a test ou just to test and apply only the printer gpos. This is gonna wind you up if everything is identical. check membership of the user in question.

 

I know it sounds mad.

[Sheridan]

Yeah the GPO that deploys printers (per user/targeted by computer OU) is fairly simple 

 

We don't have any feature locks in Papercut and the driver has been deleted and reinstalled on the affected PC

 

What's even odder is the same user logs into a computer in the same OU and the driver options aren't greyed out! So its only for that user on that PC - even though the combination isn't unique in GPO/OU terms

 

So User A on Computer A is has greyed out options

User B on Computer A is fine

User A on Computer B is fine

User B on Computer B is fine!

 

Computer A and B are identical (same hardware, same deployed OS and same OU)

User A and B are in the same dept/OU and GPO settings!

 

My brain hurts....

 

[Sheridan]

This is the odd behaviour - on the Printer server the preferences show the Page Layout as greyed out - but on the client where the printer is deployed it is showing as enabled (for me anyway, but not the user affected as they see the same on the server!)

 

[psydii]

Is there an app that has custom print settings causing it?  SIMS, Acrobat, Word IE (if its still lurking deep down somewhere), Illustrator, Chrome/Edge would be places that might be worth looking at.

 

The default profile on the impacted computer, and the network default profile seem like other places to go splunking if most existing users are not affected, and it impacts a user even after a 

[Sheridan]

Not that I can see, as the primary app being used to test this is Word and the problem appears (or not) for the users whatever they use to access the printer properties

[loxford01]

On the printer properties on the server, check the Advanced tab and Printing defaults to make sure the settings for that printer are correct as they might be different to what you see on the General tab, preferences. 

[Sheridan]

3 hours ago, loxford01 said:

On the printer properties on the server, check the Advanced tab and Printing defaults to make sure the settings for that printer are correct as they might be different to what you see on the General tab, preferences. 

These are both exactly the same on the server 

[psydii]

I vaguely recall having a problem like this sometime 2001-2004.  I think I ended up just pushing a .reg onto the computer / user that set it the way we wanted.  

 

What happens when a printer is added to Windows, how the server-side settings of the printer impact client-side settings, and whether Windows (and the print components from the driver) can see the printer's management interface (and what that management interface actually is (usually SNMP but not always?)).... is woefully documented.  I think there used to be Technet or Technet Magazine articles, but they are long gone. Then there was the v3 v4 driver models and then  Print-Nightmare thing messing things up further.

 

To be honest I think there is a chance the only people who might be able to document how windows printing works in various scenarios are the team over at Papercut, but they probably have signed NDAs beacuse the whole thing has more gaps in it that swiss cheese.

[Sheridan]

Printing was a really easy thing to to deal with until W10 came along and its been a complete pain since!

[psydii]

“It just worked but nobody knew how”