Microsoft details Windows 8 printing features

In a new post on the Windows 8 blog, Microsoft discusses some of the new printing features and improvements being introduced into its new OS. According to the post, the printer drivers in Windows 8 are the fourth major printer driver revision in the history of Windows. The third revision was done in Windows 2000 and was used all the way to Windows 7.

Microsoft states in the post: "The v4 architecture produces smaller, faster printer drivers, and it supports the idea of a print class driver framework--a system that allows people to install their printers without having to locate a driver for that device, in many cases."

Microsoft also gives some details about the way printing will work with Metro style apps. The Windows 8 print system works with a format called XML Paper Specification (also known as XPS) that uses high-fidelity color and is highly flexible. The blog states: "In Windows 8, we have a distinct improvement to this story because all Metro style apps use Direct2D as their basic drawing format, and Direct2D and XPS share the same XML-based graphics 'language.'"

Another important thing for Microsoft was that Windows 8 must support as many printer models as possible, since people tend to keep their printers around for many years. Microsoft said that Windows Vista shipped with 4,500 printer drivers, while Windows 7 included 2,100 drivers.

In Windows 8 though, the company takes a different approach: "Instead, we built a print class driver framework. This framework is extensible, as it supports printing to existing devices, but it also allows manufacturers to include support for new devices, even those that have not yet been designed. With a print class driver framework, we can get closer to giving you an experience like driverless printing, where you don't have to actually go and find a driver, but instead the printer just works with the Windows printing system."

An example of what a printer UI looks like in Windows 8 Metro was also given in the blog post, using the Epson NX430 printer: "It includes an attractive view of the ink levels of the printer, and is much easier to use, especially on touch-screen devices." There will of course be a desktop application for people who want to print with Windows 8 desktop applications.

The time required for printer driver installation has been significantly reduced for Windows 8: "... we compared the installation times for an Epson Artisan on Windows 7 versus Windows 8. The install time on Windows 7 was 14 seconds, compared to under 2 seconds on Windows 8."