Microsoft has announced that will no longer support third-party printer drivers in Windows 11 and that, instead, it will provide drivers for all Mopria-compatible printers. This decision is intended simplify and improve the printing experience from the new operating system, which will be launched on October 5th.
What is Mopria and how does it work?
Mopria is an alliance of leading printer and scanner companies, such as Canon, HP, Samsung and Xerox, which develops universal standards and solutions for scanning and printing. Mopria allows you to print or scan from any mobile device or PC to any Mopria-certified printer or scanner, without the need to install drivers or specific applications.
More than 7,000 models of printers and scanners from 24 different manufacturers are Mopria certified
To print from Windows 11 with Mopria, just connect the printer to the same Wi-Fi as your PC and select it from the print option in any app. The PC will automatically recognize the printer and display the available configuration options, such as paper size, orientation, or number of copies.
According to Microsoft, More than 7,000 models of printers and scanners from 24 different manufacturers are Mopria certified. In addition, it also offers applications to print or scan from Android devices, Amazon Fire or Chromebook.
What are the advantages of using Mopria?
Microsoft claims that using Mopria has several benefits for Windows 11 users. These include:
- The need to download and install third-party printer drivers is eliminated, reducing the time and space required.
- Greater compatibility and reliability between printers and PCs is ensured as Mopria drivers are automatically updated via Windows Update.
- Security and privacy are improved by avoiding the use of unofficial or potentially malicious drivers.
- Printing from anywhere is made easy by being able to access shared printers in the cloud through your Microsoft account.
Microsoft ensures that this transition to Mopria drivers will be transparent to most users. Without affecting the normal operation of printers. However, it is recommended to check the Mopria website to verify if the printer model is compatible with this standard.