Connecting a printer with Windows 8

Of all the existing peripherals, we could say that printers are one of the best known and used. They have been supported since 1985 with Windows 1.0. given its use, although its database, and therefore its compatibility, has been expanded over the years until it has become practically impossible to find incompatibilities.

In this entry we will see all the new features that Microsoft has included in Windows 8 in relation to these devices, not only in terms of the graphical interface for Modern UI or Desktop, but also related to the drivers that these used, the print mode, etc.

Connect your printer and don't worry about the rest

With Windows 8, Microsoft introduces a new print driver architecture that makes it easier to install a new printer on various models. From Windows 2000 to Windows 7, version 3 of that architecture was used, but version 4 is released with the new operating system (versions 1 and 2 were used from Windows 1.0 to Windows ME).

Thanks to this version, as I mentioned, in most cases nothing more will be needed than connecting the printer to its corresponding port and Windows 8 will take care of the rest. In case the printer to be connected does not have this feature available, in Windows 8 the drivers with version 3 architecture are still kept, so as not to cause problems and be as compatible as possible.

Reducing used disk space

Among the space that an operating system consumes on disk for its proper functioning, there is a part that is used to support printers and devices that work with images. With Windows 8 the space consumed by the operating system for this purpose is reduced by 41%, compared to the space used by Windows 7.

But in addition, this reduction in the space used has been accompanied by an increase in the number of devices directly supported without the need for additional drivers, as you can see in the following table.

	Devices supported in-box	Devices directly supported	Used disk space
Windows Vista	4200	55-60%	768 MB
Windows 7	2100	60-65%	446MB
Windows 8	2500	70% at launch, and growing to 80%	184MB

This saving in space may not be very significant on desktop computers, for example, where quantities of the order of 500GB or 1TB are handled, but on Windows RT devices it is a factor to take into account .

The printing interface

A big change between the old drivers and the new version implemented in Windows 8 is how the interface is managed. In the old version, the interface was built entirely on the drivers. With the new Microsoft operating system, this aspect is now separated from the drivers which is a better decision when it comes to your architecture, since that the interface can now be launched from an application in the Modern UI interface and also from the desktop version through its corresponding application.

This is a screenshot of the front page of the HP Printer Control app, which allows you to manage a wide variety of HP printers through she. There are various apps for different manufacturers in the Windows 8 Store such as Canon, Brother Samsung.Just type the name of the one you're interested in when searching for an app, and see if you have one available for your printer.

Windows RT and printing devices

Along with the evolution that the printer sector has undergone in recent years, its drivers have also grown, coming to offer more than a simple program to manage the device. Most of them also include other programs and utilities from the manufacturer, which can result in driver packs of considerable size.

All of this was possible since in version 3 of the Windows print driver architecture, the manufacturer was given complete freedom to decide what was going to be installed and what was not. The problem is that on Windows RT devices this could be a big problem, not only for the available space but also for the consumption of the battery and its processing power.

Therefore, with version 4 of the Windows print driver architecture, there has been a focus on being able to control what the drivers can doof manufacturers. An example of this is what I was commenting on in relation to the printing interface, where it is no longer completely up to the manufacturer's decision, and one could even use only the one that Modern UI provides.

In addition, when connecting the printer and detecting what type of device it is, changes have also been made In Windows 7 and Previous versions, all drivers were stored in the "Driver Store" (a kind of database for all drivers) and when connecting a printer, the corresponding driver was found and copied to a special location where it could be used. Now directly when connecting it, it will search the "Driver Store" and run there directly, eliminating the need to make an extra copy of them.

To give a real example, an Epson Artisan was used to see how long it took Windows 7 and Windows 8 to get it ready for use. The first took 14 seconds while the second only took 2 seconds, which is a improvement of 12 seconds.

In Welcome to Windows 8 | Which version of Windows 8 is best for me? In Welcome to Windows 8 | Security in Windows 8: native applications, features... In Welcome to Windows 8 | Windows 8 in the environment of SMEs and the self-employed. Why not?