Easy Tips to Install the Same Printer Drivers Twice

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You can install the same printer more than once in Windows, and each has its own settings. For example, you could have one printer set that prints in color, and another that prints in black and white.

This trick has been around for a long time. Windows XP makes it easy, allowing you to copy and paste printer sets to create new ones. It takes a bit of legwork to set up a secondary printer in Windows 10 and Windows 7, but it's still possible. Here are Easy Tips to Install the Same Printer Twice:

Easy Tips to Install the Same Printer Twice

1. Find Printer Ports and Drivers

To manually install the printer a second time, you must know the port and driver that the printer is using. Here are the steps:

1. To find this information, go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers. Locate the printer you want to make a copy of, right-click it, and select “Printer Properties”.
   
   
   
2. Click the “Ports” tab and note which printer port was selected. This tells you which port to choose when adding a printer.
3. Click the “Advanced” tab and look at the name to the right of “Driver”. This tells you which driver to choose when adding a printer.
4. You can close the printer properties window by clicking “Cancel”.

2. Install Printer Copy

You now have all the information you need to install the printer a second time. This creates a new virtual device in Windows, which points to the same physical printer but has its own printing preferences.

1. To get started, simply click the “Add a Printer” button on the toolbar in the Devices and Printers window.
   
   
   
2. Click “The printer I want is not listed” to add the printer manually.
3. Select “Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings” and click “Next”.
4. Select “Use an existing port”. In the drop-down box, select the port your printer is using (as shown on the Port tab in the printer properties window) and click “Next”.
5. Select the driver that your printer already uses, as shown in the printer properties window, and click “Next.”
6. Select “Use currently installed driver (recommended)” and click “Next”. This ensures that the new printer device uses the same port and printer driver as the original printer device.
7. Enter a name for the printer and click “Next” to continue. You can name it whatever you want, so choose a name that helps you remember which physical printer and printing settings to use.
8. You can also rename the printer later.
9. Finally, choose whether to set up printer sharing or not and click “Next”.
10. You can click “Print a test page” to test the printer, if you wish. Click “Done” when finished.

How to Use Your Second Printer

Your new printer device will appear as an option in the standard print dialog. You can select a printer and click the “Preferences” button or right-click and select “Printing Preferences” to set different preferences for each device, and Windows will remember those settings separately. You can also right-click the printer and click “Rename” to rename each printer, giving it a name that matches the settings you saved.

For example, you can set one printer set to print in color at a high detail setting and one printer to print in black and white at a low detail setting. Each will print to the same physical printer, but you don't have to spend time changing settings back and forth every time you want to print — just select the appropriate printer in the list. 

There's nothing stopping you from making more than two printers either. You can install the same printer as many times as you like, assigning a different preference profile to each.

 

How to Manage Additional Printers

While additional printers you add will appear as options in the Print dialog, they do not appear normally in the Devices and Printers window, or in the new Settings > Devices > Printer and Scanner Interface in Windows 10. Windows automatically combines the two. in this printer management interface, which is a bit of a hassle. 

You can still view alternative printers from the normal printer configuration window, if you prefer. For example, to view secondary printers in the Devices and Settings window, right-click the physical printer and you will see options for each attached printer device.

1. In the Windows 10 Settings interface, click the “Manage” button for the printer and you will be able to switch between the printer profiles you have installed to change the respective settings.
2. You can manage this device a bit easier by pressing Windows + R to open the Run dialog, copy-pasting the following line into it, and pressing Enter : shell:::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}\0\:: {2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}.
   
   
   
3. This opens the old Printer management window, which shows each printer device you have installed separately. From here, you can rename, delete, change their preferences, or add more printers and they will all appear as separate devices.
4. For example, you can quickly right-click one of the printers here and select “Delete” to remove the second printer profile from your system.
5. Of course, you can also do a lot of this from the Print dialog that appears when you try to print a document, so you don't even have to use any settings interface after setting up the printer.
6. If you think you don't need a secondary printer and it's cluttering the list of installed printers, simply open that hidden Printers window via a secret command, right-click your installed secondary printer, and click “Remove” to remove it from your system.

So much information about Easy Tips to Install the Same Printer Twice that you can try easily. Hopefully this Erzedka.com article can be useful, good luck and good luck!