Hp LASERJET 9055MFP, LASERJET 9065MFP driver preconfiguration

hp driver

preconfiguration

hp preconfiguration

support guide

(c) Copyright Hewlett-Packard Company,
2003

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction,
adaptation, or translation without prior written
permission is prohibited, except as allowed
under the copyright laws.

The information contained in this document
is subject to change without notice.

Edition 1, 03/2003

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Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

HP driver preconfiguration overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Driver acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Driver preconfiguration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

File format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Lockable features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Applying the configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Driver installation and deployment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Product/driver coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Environmental support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Direct installation - workstation/Windows print server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Windows Point and Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

True connect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

False connect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Windows Point and Print configuration scenarios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Novell Point and Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

HP Printer Server Appliance Point and Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Windows Terminal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Windows Terminal Server (Citrix Metaframe Printer Auto-Create) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Windows Cluster Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

HP Driver Configuration Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Access/installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

HP Web JetAdmin Driver Configuration Plugin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Access/installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

HP Product Installation Software - Customization Utility/Silent Installer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

HP Driver Preconfiguration Support Guide 3

4

HP Drive

r Preconfiguration Support Guide

List of Figures

Figure 1. Information dialog box .................................................................................................................. 17

Figure 2. Digital Signature Not Found dialog box ........................................................................................ 17

Figure 3. Device Settings tab ......................................................................................................................18

Figure 4. Printing Preferences tab ............................................................................................................... 19

Figure 5. Invalid Selection - duplexing for transparencies ........................................................................... 20

Figure 6. Driver selection .............................................................................................................................21

Figure 7. Configurable drivers .....................................................................................................................22

Figure 8. Driver Configuration - Select an Existing Configuration ...............................................................23

Figure 9. Driver Configuration - Device Settings ........................................................................................24

Figure 10. Driver Configuration - Printing Preferences ...............................................................................25

Figure 11. Invalid selection - duplexing for transparencies .........................................................................26

Figure 12. Driver configuration - Replace an Existing Configuration ...........................................................27

Figure 13. Driver configuration - Save as a New Configuration ..................................................................28

Figure 14. CD-ROM browser window ..........................................................................................................30

Figure 15. Choose Setup Language dialog box ..........................................................................................31

Figure 16. Option dialog box - Create Customized Installer ........................................................................ 31

Figure 17. Installer Type - Silent Installer ....................................................................................................32

Figure 18. Language and Operating System(s) dialog box .........................................................................32

Figure 19. Printer Model(s) dialog box ........................................................................................................33

Figure 20. Components dialog box ..............................................................................................................33

Figure 21. Port selection dialog box ............................................................................................................ 34

Figure 22. Driver Configuration dialog box .................................................................................................. 34

Figure 23. Configuration dialog box - Printing Preferences tab ................................................................... 35

Figure 24. Configuration dialog box - Device Settings tab ..........................................................................35

Figure 25. Invalid Selection dialog box ........................................................................................................36

Figure 26. Printer Name dialog box .............................................................................................................37

Figure 27. Destination Path dialog box ........................................................................................................37

Figure 28. Support Summary dialog box .....................................................................................................38

HP Driver Preconfiguration Support Guide 5

HP Driver Preconfiguration Support Guide6

List of Tables

Table 1. HP driver preconfiguration support ...........................................................................................................12

Table 2. Point and Print configuration scenarios ....................................................................................................14

HP Driver Preconfiguration Support Guide 7

HP Driver Preconfiguration Support Guide8

Introduction

This HP Driver Pr econfiguration Support Guide describes HP driver preconfiguration, the tools to
use it, and the printing environments in which it can be used. Three distinct tools for using HP
Driver Configuration are described in detail:

● HP Driver Configuration Editor

● HP Web JetAdmin Driver Configuration Plugin

● HP Customization Utility/Silent Installer

HP driver preconfiguration is a software architecture and set of tools that information technology
(IT) administrators in corporate and enterprise environments can use to preconfigure the printing
and device defaults for HP printer drivers before installing the drivers in the network environment.

For example, a company has purchased several HP Color LaserJet printers that are to be shared
among several workgroups. To keep printing costs to a minimum, management wants all of the
print queues to print on both sides of the paper (duplex) by default. To save costs further, they
want to restrict the ability of certain groups to print in color, thereby minimizing toner
consumption. Several different printer servers are in use, each of which has one or more queues
to the new devices. Some users can print directly to the new printers over the network, but IT
wants to apply the same driver configuration to those print queues.

In the past, the printers in such a case would have to be installed on each print server and then
manually configured for the required settings. The printers would also have to be manually
configured in accordance with the required specifications on each direct-print workstation. By
taking advantage of HP’s preconfiguration technology, however, this process can be greatly
simplified. The following examples show how the various tools can be used to support different
corporate environments:

● If the company uses HP Web JetAdmin, its queue management capability can be used to

preconfigure and create the queue on each specific Windows printer server in one step.
Furthermore, the configuration can be saved and used for later deployments of the same
product (regardless of which specific driver will be used for that product). Each print server
can then vend properly configured drivers to all Windows clients. HP Web JetAdmin can also
be installed directly on workstations.

● If the company has an internally developed printer and driver deployment process, HP driver

preconfiguration can be used to define the proper driver settings before the driver enters that
process. After the driver is configured, every subsequent deployment of the driver is installed
with the same settings.

● If the company uses Novell or the HP Printer Server Appliance, HP driver preconfiguration

can be used before drivers are loaded to the servers, thereby ensuring that clients are using
properly configured drivers when they connect to the shared print queues.

● If the company wants a silent executable file that users can run to create printers on their

workstations, the HP Installer Customization Utility can be used to create a silent, executable
package that contains preconfigured drivers.

● If the company has Windows print servers or workstations, then any of the three tools can be

used to preconfigure the drivers that are installed. Both Web JetAdmin and the HP Installer
handle both the configuration and the installation of the printers. The HP Driver
Configuration Editor only modifies the driver so that it reflects the specified settings when it is
installed (through any method).

HP Driver Preconfiguration Support Guide 9

HP driver preconfiguration overview

Network administrators can use the HP driver preconfiguration solution to preconfigure a printer
driver before deploying and installing it in an operating environment. It is most beneficial when
configuring printer drivers for multiple workstations or print servers for print queues that share the
same configuration. Two classes of features can be configured: printer accessories and driver
feature settings. The driver is configured to match the printer hardware so that access to all of
the printer accessories through the driver is enabled appropriately (for example, for duplexing
units and additional input trays and output bins). Most driver feature settings can also be
configured.

Basically, the preconfiguration process consists of three steps:

● driver acquisition

● driver preconfiguration

● driver installation and deployment

The steps can be accomplished in different ways, depending on the tool that is being used to
define the configuration.

Driver acquisition

Software acquisition takes place in one of several ways:

● by getting drivers-only from the CD-ROM that came with the printer

● by downloading drivers from the HP Web site

● by using drivers that are already in the organization (for example, using a driver that has

already been certified by internal testing procedures for use within the organization)

Driver preconfiguration

The process of configuring drivers and other software occurs in advance of installation. This
allows the driver to be configured once and installed on any number of server or client systems.

File format

The driver configuration information is stored in a small configuration file that is separate from the
‘standard’ driver files (dynamic link libraries [DLLs] that are used to render and present a user
interface [UI]). Although it is maintained as a separate file, the driver configuration information is
included in the driver package and referenced in the driver .INF file. The configuration process
involves reading the default information from this file and allowing an administrator to select new
default settings for existing features. The file is then saved and used when the associated driver
is installed.

The configuration file is a text file, but the text is in XML format. The file contains a list of features
and their available options on a product-specific basis. The file structure is quite specific, and
one purpose of HP driver preconfiguration is to maintain the specific structure. HP driver
preconfiguration maintains consistency in the configuration file through dynamic constraint
checking. Before setting a value, the utility determines whether the proposed setting is valid
within the pre-established constraints that were placed upon the device at the factory. The utility
also ensures consistency by preserving the correct structure of the configuration file. This
structure is assumed by the device that uses the configuration information, and must therefore
be strictly maintained.

10 HP Driver Preconfiguration Support Guide

The configuration file has an extension of .CFG. It is typically compressed in the driver package
that is supplied with the driver, so it is not generally editable except with a tool specifically suited
to the task (see the following “Tools” section for a description of the editing options that HP
provides). When one of the HP tools is used to preconfigure driver settings, the contents of the
.CFG file are modified to reflect the settings, which become the default settings for any printer
that uses the preconfigured driver.

Lockable features

Although the developers of each individual product define the feature set that is configurable, the
general rule is that all driver features are supported. This means that both the device settings
(such as Optional Paper Sources and Duplex Unit) and the printing preferences (such as
default Paper Source and default Output Bin) are customizable in advance of installation. In
addition, a number of features can be locked to a particular state if an IT administrator wants
greater control over the way compatible devices are used. These are the ‘lockable’ settings:

● Print on Both Sides (Duplex)

● Print in Grayscale

● Media Type

● Paper Source

● Output Bin

Constraints

To ensure that an invalid configuration is not applied to the driver when it is installed, the .CFG
file defines the valid relationships between specific settings included in the file. For example, the
.CFG file prohibits having the media type set to Transparency when Print on Both Sides is
selected. The prohibition ensures that when the driver is finally installed, it can successfully
integrate the settings into its internal settings format.

Applying the configuration

When a preconfigured driver is installed, the modified .CFG file is accessed and the settings are
applied to the driver's own internal settings format. When installation is complete, the printer's
default settings reflect the settings selected in the CFG file. From this point forward, the printer
and driver behave like any printer, in terms of settings management. Users can modify the
printer's settings through the Printers folder and modify jobs within applications. By simply
creating two differently configured driver packages and installing them in turn, administrators can
install multiple printers using differently configured instances of the same driver.

Driver installation and deployment

The process of deploying and installing printer software varies widely across organizations.
While some companies have tightly controlled server and client software configurations, others
have a highly informal distribution network of software that is under no centralized controlling IT
body. For HP driver preconfiguration to be usable within a wide range of these computing
environments, it must be compatible with the standard deployment and installation methods that
are used by corporate and enterprise customers. In a practical sense, this means that the
preconfiguration must be compatible with any installation process that uses the system
application program interfaces (APIs) defined by Microsoft to install drivers and printers.

Product/driver coverage

Because driver preconfiguration is a new feature for HP printers, it is available for new mid-range
and high-end HP LaserJet products, and for some HP Business InkJet products, beginning with
the fall 2002 product introductions.

HP Driver Preconfiguration Support Guide 11

This includes the following printers:

● HP LaserJet 4200

● HP LaserJet 4300

● HP LaserJet 5500

● HP Business InkJet 2280

● HP Business InkJet 3000

In addition, drivers for several HP LaserJet products that are currently being shipped have been
updated to include support for preconfiguration. This includes the following printers:

● HP LaserJet 4100

● HP LaserJet 4600

● HP LaserJet 8150

● HP LaserJet 9000

For the products that are supported, the following table shows drivers and operating systems that
support HP preconfiguration.

Table 1 HP driver preconfiguration support

Driver Windows

95 (TM)

HP
traditional
PCL 5c/e
driver

HP
traditional
PCL 6
driver

HP
traditional
PS driver

HP PCL
5c/e
unidriver

HP PCL 6
unidriver

Ye s Ye s Ye s Ye s Ye s N/A

Ye s Ye s Ye s Ye s Ye s N/A

No No No No N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A Ye s Ye s

N/A N/A N/A N/A Ye s Ye s

Windows 98Windows MeWindows

NT 4.0
(TM)

Windows
2000

Windows
XP

HP PS
unidriver

N/A: Not applicable; the driver is not supported in this operating system.

N/A N/A N/A N/A Ye s Ye s

12 HP Driver Preconfiguration Support Guide