HP Universal Print Driver
| Company type | Software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Printing software |
| Founder | Hewlett-Packard |
| Products | Universal print driver supporting HP LaserJet and MFP devices |
| Owner | Hewlett-Packard |
HP Universal Print Driver (UPD) is an advanced print driver designed to support a broad spectrum of HP devices, including LaserJet printers and various MFP models. Created by Hewlett-Packard, the HP UPD combines a versatile driver core (XPSDrv, UniDrv, or PSCRIPT), print management functions, and proprietary HP enhancements. This integration simplifies the deployment and administration of drivers across diverse devices and network environments by providing a single platform that automatically identifies HP printers and unlocks features such as duplex printing, color options, and finishing capabilities.
Exclusively developed for Microsoft Windows, HP UPD offers two operational modes: Traditional Mode, which operates similarly to conventional print drivers, and Dynamic Mode, which delivers device discovery, automatic configuration, and management tools tailored for mobile users.
Operating modes
The foundation of HP’s Universal Print Driver lies in Microsoft’s native drivers XPSDrv, UNIDRV, and PSCRIPT. Proper configuration of these cores depends on device-specific data. To address this need, a universal print dialog appears before the standard print setup interface, enabling users to select recently accessed devices, input IP addresses directly, perform local network searches, or pick from preset device lists.
This device discovery process updates the Microsoft core driver to accurately represent printer capabilities within the standard print driver interface.
HP provides two versions of the Universal Print Driver: one based on PCL 6 and another emulating PostScript. PCL represents HP’s proprietary page description language embedded in their printers. Custom default settings can be configured through the HP Driver Configuration Utility. The HP UPD supports both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems and is available in 35 different languages.
Dynamic Mode
Dynamic Mode utilizes the mDNS protocol (commonly known as Bonjour) to discover devices on the same subnet automatically. For devices outside this range, users must manually enter IP addresses unless these devices have been previously detected or are listed among managed printers. The universal printing dialog sends SNMP queries to the specified device IP address.
By leveraging enterprise auto configuration (EAC) and two-way communication via SNMP, the driver retrieves detailed device information and capabilities. The HP UPD then updates the Windows registry’s print driver table accordingly and stores these results in a cache (CREG), maintaining a list of recently accessed devices for faster future connections. When operating in Dynamic Mode, the HP UPD functions as a virtual device; therefore, new instances do not appear in the Printers folder.
Traditional Mode
In Traditional Mode, the HP UPD is associated with a specific print queue and behaves like a typical printer driver but includes added bi-directional communication to query devices and provide real-time status updates on print jobs. Users can select this mode during installation or switch from Dynamic Mode via the printing dialog. This mode bypasses the universal printing dialog entirely, opening the familiar print setup interface directly.
Automatic device configuration is not supported in Traditional Mode; users are responsible for manually updating settings to match printer capabilities. Depending on organizational requirements, HP UPD can be installed exclusively in Dynamic Mode, Traditional Mode, or both simultaneously.
INSTALL.EXE, MPA, AD, DDU, DCU
HP UPD provides a suite of management utilities designed to help IT professionals streamline the configuration, deployment, and administration of driver software. Key tools include INSTALL.EXE with command line parameters, the HP MPA Utility, Active Directory Templates, the Driver Configuration Utility (DCU), the Driver Deployment Utility (DDU), and HP Web Jetadmin.
INSTALL.EXE
This installation program enables administrators to adjust default driver settings through command line options that influence either the overall system or specific printer queues.
HP MPA Utility
The HP MPA tool allows for user-level pre-configuration of driver settings applicable to all printers managed by HP UPD, enforcing consistent user policies across devices.
HP UPD Active Directory Templates
These Administrative Templates integrate seamlessly with Active Directory to facilitate the creation of Group Policy Objects that govern HP UPD features across print queues. Settings that are locked within these templates prevent end-user modifications and should be applied with caution.
HP Driver Configuration Utility
The DCU edits driver configuration files which define settings that are applied during the driver installation process.
HP Driver Deployment Utility
The DDU enables pre-configuration of drivers for deployment without compromising WHQL certification. Incorporating the DCU tool, it applies the configured settings after installation when executed on client computers.
Additionally, HP UPD employs Managed Printer Lists (MPLs) and Managed Print Policies (MPPs) to control device access and feature availability in dynamic mode. MPLs supply users with curated printer lists, removing the necessity to search for devices. These XML-based lists can be generated manually, created with HP MPA, or exported from HP Web Jetadmin. Once enabled, HP UPD scans the network to locate MPL files. MPPs regulate user permissions for features such as color printing and duplexing. By default, HP UPD attempts to connect to an HP MPA server named managed-print to obtain these policies and lists.
Status Notification Popups (SNPs)
The driver includes status notification pop-ups that appear during print job submission, offering live updates on device condition, job status, and consumable levels. These visual notifications feature a toner supply overview, direct links for ordering supplies, and a support page tailored to the specific HP model. When operating with HP UPD, communication with the printer occurs through SNMP commands to fetch status and job details efficiently, limiting network traffic by querying only during printing operations. Users have the option to disable these SNPs if desired.