This would theoretically put an end to the company’s third-party drivers.
Placement of device drivers for printers has always been a fundamental issue in every operating system, and the truth is that their operation is not smooth at all. This is clearly evident to Microsoft as well, and the company has now developed a strategy to overhaul printer management within Windows.
According to Redmond’s concept, Windows 11 will drop offering third-party drivers through the update service and instead use the Microsoft IPP Class Driver for Mopria-compatible devices. The latter is the key factor, as the company will require Mopria certification for all HLK (Hardware Lab Kit) devices, i.e. the ultimate goal is for the printers to become a type of PnP, i.e. a plug-and-play device.
Of course, the transformation does not happen instantly. The company has only announced the plan at this time, and the current timeline is for 2025 to be when manufacturer-specific print drivers will no longer reach Windows Update. Starting in 2026, the Windows IPP device driver will be preferred, and starting in 2027, it will be possible to provide a third-party package for only previously purchased printers for security updates.
Of course, manufacturers can use their own device drivers on their own channels, but Microsoft IPP Class Driver is also beneficial to them, because it reduces the cost of software back-end development.
It’s also worth noting that this change only simplifies local support. In fact, this allows manufacturers to continue linking certain capabilities of printers to different services, but standard functions can work more efficiently.
