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Driverless printing has been "the future" for over a decade now (I remember hearing much about it back in 2006 or so), and a concept for two decades. Microsoft first filed the patent back in 1999 [0]. The only thing that's changed is the patent is now expired (as near as I can tell), thus opening the door a bit wider for adoption.

But, as with many things, "I'll believe it when I see it."

[0] https://patents.google.com/patent/US6952831B1/en



Ridiculous that a patent for such a thing should ever have been granted.

"Driver" is merely the word we use for "protocol", when the protocol is ad-hoc, non-standard, or badly documented.


On what grounds should that patent not have been granted?

Seems like a pretty normal patent to me. Technology doesn't have to be likable, a good design, or even functional to be patented.


On the grounds that laws allowing such patents shouldn't exist.


Isn't "driverless printing" essentially a standard printing protocol + a way to describe the printers capabilities ? If so I would say that driverless printing has been a thing since Postscript was invented (early 80s, if I am not mistaken)?


Otherwise known as "why dont my pdf's print right, and why cant I select tray 3?"


AirPrint on iOS and macOS does this, no?

Not sure if anyone has cloned that in a Windows utility, but a lot of printers support it.


Chrome OS supports “native” printing. I think it’s more or less interoperable with AirPrint.

The problem would be mostly solved if Windows added native support and added a giant warning when anyone tries to install a printer driver saying that it’s a terrible idea.


Is that driverless or a universal driver? Maybe the distinction doesn't matter...




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