For a long time, printing has been treated differently from the rest of IT. While cloud management, identity-based access and zero trust security have become standard elsewhere, printing has continued to rely on legacy print drivers and on-premise infrastructure. That is changing, and at an increasing pace.
Recent updates to Microsoft Windows are reshaping how printing works, with a strong emphasis on improving security and reducing risk.
For organisations with established print environments, this shift raises four important questions:
- Why is Microsoft doing it?
- What exactly is changing?
- What does it mean in practice?
- How can you adapt your environment without disruption?
Why Microsoft is changing the print model
Traditional print drivers are software components installed on every computer to enable communication with specific printers. These drivers run deep inside the operating system, are difficult to manage at scale and have been a well-documented security weakness in recent years. Microsoft reported that print accounted for 9% of bugs reported to the Microsoft Security Center over recent years.
Keeping so many vendor-specific print drivers updated, secure and managed on Windows has created too much complexity and IT administration burden. Microsoft has therefore been working with partners such as RICOH, as well as with organisations that promote international standards such as Mopria, to enable a more modern approach to printing.
Compatibility has also been a recent challenge. Not all drivers work with ARM devices, and as more Windows devices run on ARM chips, this has led to printing problems on new devices.
Microsoft's goal is to reduce reliance on third-party drivers and bring printing into line with modern IT principles: cloud management, reliable updates, identity-led access and a reduced attack surface. "Printing isn't being removed, but the old way of doing it is."
What is changing?
Microsoft is steadily moving away from driver-heavy models and towards a standardised, secure and cloud-aligned approach:
- IPP-based printing (Internet Printing Protocol), using a single class driver maintained by Microsoft instead of hundreds of vendor-specific ones
- Cloud and identity integration, with printing managed through policy and identity services instead of local print servers
- Windows Ready Print will become the default option for new printer installations from July 2026, and will default printing to use IPP
- Windows Protected Print Mode (WPP), which blocks third-party drivers entirely to improve endpoint security
The result is a more consistent and reliable print experience and a secure, modern baseline for Windows printing, aligned with the zero trust strategies already used elsewhere in IT.
What this means for print customers
In practical terms, printers will continue to work, but the way they are deployed, secured and managed needs to change.
Organisations will increasingly need print solutions that:
- Work seamlessly with IPP and Windows Ready or Protected Print modes.
- Integrate with cloud identity and policy controls, further enhanced with passwordless authentication.
- Provide a reliable user experience without increasing security risk.
- Support all types of devices in the workplace, including ARM devices, Apple Macs and Chromebooks.
There is no single answer that fits every organisation. The right approach depends on factors such as scale, regulatory requirements and how far an organisation has already progressed towards cloud-managed IT. Larger or more complex estates may face architectural decisions rather than simple upgrades.
The good news is that whichever approach you choose, it will help your organisation move towards greater compliance with the EU Cyber Resilience Act, NIS2 and zero trust.
The official timeline, straight from Microsoft's documentation
Choosing the right path forward
One of the challenges with Microsoft's announcements is market noise. Headlines about the "end of print drivers" risk oversimplifying what is in fact a more gradual transition.
Microsoft is defining a new secure and resilient baseline for modernising print, but it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Organisations still need flexibility in how they extend that baseline to meet real-world requirements, whether that means cloud-first printing, mixed IT environments that include Macs and Chromebooks, or managed service models.
How RICOH supports this transition
RICOH's approach closely aligns with Microsoft's direction, while recognising that customers are at different stages of maturity.
Some organisations are ready to adopt native cloud printing models that integrate directly with Microsoft identity and policy frameworks. Others need greater functionality, visibility or governance layered over Microsoft's baseline, particularly in larger or more regulated environments. Many are using this moment to rethink print as a service rather than as an owned infrastructure.
RICOH supports all of these approaches, not by forcing a single path, but by enabling choice and supporting transitions over time. Those choices include:
- RICOH Print Support Application: a free Microsoft Store app that restores RICOH-specific features on top of the Windows Ready Print (IPP) model. It can be used standalone or connected to either RICOH Smart Integration (for small businesses) or RICOH Streamline NX (for enterprises with complex print and scan requirements).
- RICOH Universal Print App: if you use Microsoft Universal Print natively within Azure and have the resources to manage printers and print services in your business, the Universal Print app from RICOH provides native integration between your RICOH printer and Microsoft Universal Print.
- RICOH CloudStream: a cloud-native platform for print, scan and fleet management, built for zero trust, IPP class printing, Entra ID and mixed IT environments. It scales for businesses of all sizes and delivers consistent embedded experiences across multi-vendor fleets. With compliance monitoring, device updates and enterprise print management control, it enables RICOH and its partners to deliver industry-leading managed services.
This range of solutions and entry points lets you pick the option that best suits your business and evolve over time without reversing any decisions.
What should you do next?
Microsoft's changes bring printing into the same conversation as cloud, identity and security, and that is a positive step.
For organisations, the opportunity is to reduce risk, simplify management and align print with wider IT strategies. For RICOH, the role is to help customers understand the change, assess their options and move forward in a way that fits their environment today and tomorrow.
Ready to understand how this may affect you, what you can do to prepare, and how to maintain uninterrupted and secure printing in your workplace? We can help.
ROEL is an authorised RICOH partner in Romania and can help you choose and implement the right solutions for your organisation. Contact us for a discussion.
Adapted from RICOH Europe.
