How annoying is it that when you go to use the printer you have to look for its driver and deal with Windows versions and more shenanigans to print a document or two? Printer manufacturers are very likely to include a proprietary driver and program, and many times they fail as soon as Windows is updated.
Well, Microsoft has decided to take part in this problem faced by those who want to risk having a printer at home and they have announced that they will soon no longer support third-party printer drivers. This means that everything will go through a single driver, and manufacturers will have to adapt.
You will not have to install printer drivers in Windows in future updates
Microsoft has revealed that will phase out support for printer drivers third-party printers used by printing devices on Windows operating systems. Its update document states that with the release of Windows 10 21H2, Windows will offer native support for printing devices as long as they are compatible with Mopria, via network and USB interfaces using the Microsoft IPP Class Driver. This means that it will eliminate the need for printing device manufacturers to provide their own installers, drivers, utilities, and more so you can use the printer.
Among other achievements, this change should ensure that Older models will communicate with modern versions of Windows. Because it is not uncommon for printers that still physically work to not work in modern versions of Windows because they do not have support as they are abandoned by manufacturers.
Microsoft is confident in its implementation of native support through updates. They state that, “As this is a shocking change, the end of the service will be staggered over several years«. Techradar claims that the migration will not result in a complete lockdown of legacy devices, and that when the switch is complete, buyers will still have access to existing third-party drivers. This means that an old printer that still works will not be rendered useless when official support ends, and only the original drivers will be updated.
Source: Tech Power Up
