In virtual desktop interface (VDI) environments, the convenience of server-side computing is often offset by the difficulty this creates for print management. On account of their unique approach, VDI printing scenarios increase the complexity of printer deployment and printer driver installation, which means that the time your organization saves by administering a centralized VDI environment might easily be spent meeting the additional demands of administering VDI printing instead. That could potentially impact the cost-effectiveness of your VDI solution. At the very least, it could cause frustration where none should exist.
Printer driver installation definitely varies between VDI solutions and their variants, such as VMware Horizon View and Citrix Virtual Desktops, but one common method is to install drivers onto the master image. This master image is, as VDI admins know, the basis for all of the virtual clients. However, the major problem with this method of printer driver installation in VDI printing is bloat, particularly when your environment has multiple printer models from multiple manufacturers.
Furthermore, the higher number of drivers, the greater the likelihood of conflicts. As a result, solutions like Citrix recommend using their universal driver for VDI printing. This one-size-fits-all approach might cut down on the time required for print driver installation, but it also risks losing certain functionality for certain printers because universal drivers aren’t always able to support advanced model-specific features.
PrinterLogic’s print management solution was designed to integrate seamlessly with Citrix, VMware and other popular VDI environments in order to tame the chaos of VDI printing and make all aspects of print management easier—including printer driver installation. Our next-generation software can be implemented alongside your VDI solution in a variety of ways to complement your preferred printer provisioning methods and your unique print environment. In this way, PrinterLogic can introduce an unprecedented level of administrative control and oversight to VDI printing in your virtual solution.
One of the many advantages of PrinterLogic’s enterprise print management solution is its improved driver management. You can maintain a central driver repository without fear of bloat or the usual confusion between 32- and 64-bit driver versions. In Citrix, for instance, PrinterLogic’s printer driver installation can easily be automated regardless of whether you’re using session printers or auto-created printers. You can choose to use specific manufacturer drivers or the Citrix Universal Print Driver for VDI printing.
But our software isn’t limited to a single capability. In addition to its superior driver management and dynamic printer driver installation, it introduces features that are all but unattainable through any other VDI printing solution. These include:
- Location-based (proximity) printing: Using Active Directory (AD) criteria such as computer, user, container, organizational unit (OU) or group, as well as IP or MAC address, you can have printers deploy to individual users or groups of users dynamically, precisely and automatically.
- Self-service printer installation: Through PrinterLogic’s acclaimed self-service installation portal, end users can safely and confidently carry out printer and printer driver installation themselves with a single click—even in VDI sessions.
- Preconfigured profiles: Want to assign custom printer or driver settings to a particular user or group? PrinterLogic allows to do so through its intuitive web-based admin console.
- No GPOs, no scripts: PrinterLogic’s streamlined and advanced software doesn’t require group policy objects (GPOs) or scripts to deliver the right printers to the right users.
With PrinterLogic, you’ll experience a newfound ease of use with VDI printing, and effortless printer driver installation is just one of many ways our next-gen print management solution makes that possible.