Universal Print Feature Requests Ideas

Universal Print creates large uncompressed PDF print jobs causing UP‑native printers to fail

SamuelB — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:56:31 GMT

Universal Print on Windows produces very large, uncompressed PDF print payloads when printing from Microsoft 365 Apps, browsers, or any Windows application.
This occurs on all Windows versions that use the Universal Print rendering pipeline.

What happens:

Windows renders print jobs as XPS, then converts them to PDF for Universal Print.
The resulting PDF is not optimized or compressed (no image downsampling, no deduplication, no object stream compression).
The final PDF job sent to Universal Print becomes extremely large:
- macOS → UP: ~5 MB (optimized PDF)
- Windows → UP: 50–150 MB (uncompressed PDF)

This leads to:

Excessive upload times to Universal Print
Printer‑side PDF rasterizer overload on UP‑native printers
Slow printing or job failures on devices with limited PDF memory
Significant bandwidth and performance impact in enterprise networks

Expected behavior:

Windows should:

Optimize or compress PDFs before uploading to Universal Print
Match or approach macOS PDF rendering behavior (Quartz)
Reduce job size without affecting print quality
Reduce failures on Universal Print ready devices

Actual behavior:

PDFs generated by the Windows UP pipeline are 10–30× larger than macOS
Jobs overwhelm UP‑native printers during PDF rasterization
Some jobs fail with “Aborted” or stall indefinitely
Behavior is consistent across vendors (Konica Minolta, Ricoh)

Why this needs attention:

This issue is entirely tied to the Windows → Universal Print rendering pipeline.
Printer manufacturers cannot fix or influence the XPS→PDF workflow.
It leads to poor reliability and performance across enterprise environments using UP.

Steps to reproduce:

Use a Universal Print native printer (e.g., Konica Minolta c250i).
Print a multi‑page Excel/PDF/PowerPoint document from Windows 10/11.
Observe PDF job size in the Universal Print admin portal.
Repeat from macOS printing to the same UP printer.
Compare PDF sizes: macOS job is up to 30× smaller.

Autocolor support needed

dcpoirier — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:56:31 GMT

We have an opportunity to significantly lower our print usage costs by using the autocolor setting on our Toshiba MFD. Unfortunately, this is not supported in Universal Print. Please consider adding this option.

Device-Scoped Universal Print Provisioning via Intune / Printer Provisioning CSP

swfields — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 19:16:12 GMT

Summary
Our organization is requesting support for device-scoped Universal Print deployment through Intune and the Printer Provisioning CSP. This would allow Universal Print printers to be installed on shared, non–1-to-1 devices—such as computer lab machines—so that any authorized, licensed user who signs in automatically receives the correct printer.

Background

We are a large education institution with hundreds of shared computer labs distributed across multiple campuses. Universal Print works extremely well for our employee 1-to-1 devices when deployed via Intune using the Printer Provisioning CSP. In those scenarios, the current User-scope CSP is adequate.

However, our primary challenge arises with shared lab environments. In these labs, each Windows device is used by many different students throughout the day. We use Intune’s Settings Catalog to deploy per-lab printer assignments—for example, the Lab A printer is deployed to all computers in Lab A.

Problem

The Printer Provisioning CSP is designed exclusively for User-scope deployment:

Documentation:
Printer Provisioning CSP
Settings Catalog: Printer Provisioning

Because of this, the CSP expects the printer configuration to apply per user rather than per device. When applied to shared lab computers:

Printers usually install, but we experience intermittent failures, inconsistencies, and unexpected behavior.
After working with Universal Print and Intune support for over 6 months, we learned these issues occur because this policy is intentionally User-scoped, and our use case isn’t officially supported.

This leads to a gap in management capabilities for organizations with shared-device environments.

Feature Request

We are requesting a Device-scoped version of the Universal Print provisioning policy, equivalent in functionality to the existing User-scoped Printer Provisioning CSP.

Desired Behavior

An Intune policy (Settings Catalog or CSP) that installs a selected Universal Print printer onto the device, not the user profile.
When any licensed Universal Print user with access to that printer signs in, the printer should:
- Already be present (device-level installation), or
- Automatically finalize user mapping with minimal delay.
No per-user provisioning should be required to place the printer on the system.

Why Device Scope Is Needed

This solves the following:

Shared computer labs
- Hundreds of students sign in to the same hardware.
- Each lab needs to reliably offer its corresponding printer.
Performance and reliability
- Device-scoped provisioning removes per-user provisioning delays and intermittent failures.
Consistency and manageability
- Cleanly matches how labs, kiosks, classrooms, and shared-resource PCs operate in education environments.
Licensing alignment
- Users are already properly licensed for Universal Print.
- The device simply needs the printer pre-provisioned so the user can access it.

Conclusion

A Device-scoped Universal Print provisioning option would resolve the major challenges faced by education institutions, libraries, training centers, shared workspaces, and any environment where multiple users share Windows devices.

This capability would bring Universal Print in line with real-world deployment requirements and greatly simplify lab management at scale.

We strongly recommend this enhancement and would be happy to provide additional information, testing feedback, or environment details.

Feature Request: "Exclude Group" Option for Universal Print Share Access Control

VladR — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 21:30:33 GMT

Currently, Print Share access control provides two options: "Allow access to everyone in my organization" and "+ Add" group. Based on organizational needs, it would be beneficial to have an "Exclude group" option. This capability would provide additional flexibility and help avoid potential issues related to dynamic Entra ID group performance. Intune already provides similar functionality and it would be beneficial to have comparable support in Universal Print.

Proposal to Simplify Secure Printing – Azure Universal Print - Single Spool

S-SE — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 13:16:55 GMT

In our company, we use several printers connected to Azure Universal Print.
For some of these printers, Secure Print is enabled. With this feature, users click Print, then go to the printer, scan the QR code, select the document, and finally confirm the secure print.

To simplify the user experience and reduce complexity, I would like to propose the following improvement:

Install a single “Secure Printer” available in the system Windows Device Client
All print jobs are sent to one central print spool "Secure Printer"
When the user arrives at a printer and scans the QR code, the system:
- automatically detects which printer the user is in front of
- sends the document directly to that printer
- without the need to select or install a specific printer in advance (one for each device in the company)

Main benefits

Much simpler experience for users
No need to know printer names or install multiple printers
Very useful for large companies and multi‑site environments
Users can print from anywhere: scan the QR code and print on the spot

In practice, the user prints once, and decides where to release the print job only when standing in front of the printer.

Send Test Print from Universal Print Console.

OwenTheITguy — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:02:39 GMT

I would like an option to send a test print directly from UP to my cloud printer to test the connection from UP to Printer. There are cases where a system cannot connect to a UP printer, jobs are being lost, and other connection issues. I would like a tool to be able to troubleshoot if the issue is between system and UP or UP and printer. This will allow admins that have complex or highly restrictive network configurations to be able to more effectively narrow down the issue.

Alternate release method. i.e mobile app

OCASLemon — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 15:29:20 GMT

Scanning QR codes is not recommended. Our Security Awareness training includes videos telling staff to stop scanning QR codes when possible as they can be replaced with links to bad sites. If feel odd to deliver this training to our staff then tell them to go scan a QR code to release their print jobs. Can this be added to the M365 app directly without the need to scan a code?

Security considerations for QR codes ITSAP.00.141 - Canadian Centre for Cyber Security

Braille 11" x 11.5" sheet size option

WESDdStorm — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 23:57:21 GMT

Braille Continuous Tractor-Feed Paper uses 11" x 11.5" and transcribers would like to be able to send print jobs to the embossers via Universal Print. Currently not an option but we need to accommodate standards that support all people.

Proximity validation

VladR — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 14:30:32 GMT

It would be beneficial to have proximity-based validation (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi) to detect whether the user is near the printer before allowing a QR code to release the print job. At present, it appears that the UP service does not offer such a mechanism. Implementing this feature would have a positive impact not only on user experience but also from a security perspective. Thank you.

Universal Print Still Doesn’t Support Custom Media Sizes—In 2025. Seriously?

Mandor007 — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 19:50:18 GMT

It is frankly embarrassing that, after years of promoting Universal Print as the future of cloud-based printing, Microsoft still hasn't addressed basic functionality like custom paper sizes.

I'm using a supported Brother label printer with Universal Print. The system detects it, knows it's a label printer, even offers “Media Type: Label”—yet I am locked into Letter and A4 with no option to set a custom layout. All I want to do is print a 3"x1" label, something that has been a standard use case for decades. Instead, I’m told to wait for future updates, or worse, rely on outdated x86 infrastructure that Universal Print was supposed to eliminate.

This isn’t a bleeding-edge feature request. It’s a fundamental print task, and the fact that Microsoft’s own “Universal” print driver can’t handle it, despite recognizing the printer, is counterproductive. You’re rolling out ARM64 Surface devices and championing them for enterprise—yet the core printing experience is neutered out of the box.

If third-party vendors aren’t prioritizing ARM64 or Universal Print, then Microsoft needs to step up and bridge that gap. And let’s be clear—Apple figured this out when transitioning to Apple Silicon. They built Rosetta 2, invested in compatibility layers, and made sure everyday things like printer drivers just worked. There’s no excuse for Microsoft not to deliver a similar application layer or universal driver solution to make this possible before rolling out Windows on Arm64. “Wait and hope the vendors catch up” is not a strategy. It’s an abdication.

Until then, Universal Print feels like another half-baked experiment—just one more entry in the corporate graveyard next to Zune and Windows Phone and any other groundbreaking technology that Microsoft comes up with (Remember Bob!).

Do better.

Sorry needed to vent as I'm completely stuck with thousands of dollars tied up in Arm64 Surfaces collecting dust that are worthless cause I can't get drivers from any vendor for Label Printers, yet I pay for Universal Printing with our E3/5 licenses and all I can do with print happy little trees (doing my Bon Ross impression here) in Letter or A4 ONLY

Universal Print Client app for Windows Home & non-domain joined devices

peterpeterpeter — Fri, 23 May 2025 22:05:27 GMT

To match feature parity with MacOS, the Microsoft Store needs to have a downloadable Universal Print app, where users can sign in and add printers to their computer. Printers that they've received access to via Universal Print -- without needing to sign their whole machine into the domain/tenant. This would really benefit students so they could use the printers they need, and then have their access removed when it's no longer needed. While they could use the office websites to print, sometimes they need a document that's on their computer and not in the cloud.

Additional characters allowed in location data

BrandonJ365 — Wed, 21 May 2025 15:52:59 GMT

Currently only integers are allowed for populating some fields like floor and room number. While there is a "floor description" field available, it's not exposed to end users (or at least not on macOS) to help locate the desired printer in the list. Some of our buildings are large with different "wings" of a given floor. Likewise room numbers have letter designations to further identify what wing a room is in.

We should be able to have letters in the floor and room labeling such that end users can see them while searching for printers.

Connector Column on Printers / Printer shares screens

elleryk — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 22:25:11 GMT

We are a multi-site tenant, and it would be helpful to be able to sort by Connector, or even just see which Connector each Printer or Printer share is connected to from their corresponding lists.

Test feature by sau

Saurabh_Bansal — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 18:36:12 GMT

test by sau

Allow/Use MS Authenticator for QR Job release

AnthonySomerset — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 12:23:56 GMT

some users don't like the idea of installing yet another app just for QR release (the M365 Copilot app)

We already enforce/encourage the use of the MS Authenticator app for MFA

as the QR code scan is akin to authenticating the user at the correct printer it follows logically that the user could/should be able to use the MS Authenticator app instead

Bulk QR code template/generation

AnthonySomerset — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 12:15:09 GMT

We love the preview of pull print combined with QR code scanning at the printer - it just works!

as we look to onboard many printers into this setup the management/Tracking of QR codes becomes slightly cumbersome and we are not totally keen on the default QR PDF created -

We have built our own word doc "template" that we update for a printer by taking the QR code PDF, and grabbing the code from it and inserting it into the Doc and updating a few other items depending on the printer. this template has some other local instructions for us, e.g. about having the app on your device etc and our logo because you know looks nicer.

We would love it if the UP portal had the ability to customise the QR code PDF template in a similar manner - or allow us to programatically download just the QR code along with other fields relating to the printer individually or in bulk so that we could use the data to automate into our template

Knop toevoegen bij add printer

Ricky_1989 — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 08:18:04 GMT

I work at a school and some teachers have different accounts from different schools. Now if there are multiple accounts on their laptop, sometimes they can't print through universal print because this is looking at an account that doesn't use universal print. I think it would be useful if you could always select which account universal print should look at to make printing possible.

Universal Print App for not Domain Joined Windows Users

Daniel_Wedewardt — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 10:32:56 GMT

Currently (December 2024), Apple macOS users can install a dedicated Universal Print all from Apple App Store, so that they can print using their AAD Universal Print License and setup. Perfect flexibility for users who bring their own device (BYOD), which is usually not managed in Intune.

However, users who also bring their own device (BYOD) running Windows operating system and where their personal device is also not domain joined (or Intune managed), cannot take advantage of Universal print, because there is no dedicated Universal Print app available in the Windows App Store. They would need to log in on their private device with their institution account and allow control via Intune - what no one will do.

It would be great to have this Universal Print app also available for Windows users, so that they can login to their AAD account (which includes the UP license) and print remotely.

Thank you!

support for ChromeOS devices

MattL565 — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 16:53:49 GMT

Enable print support for ChromeOS and ChromeFlex via the existing CUPS service or dedicated extension. Many organisations, including my own, are extending their client base to include ChromeOS in support of specific use cases. Printing via the 'Office' apps does not provide the scope of print support for Chrome that is required, meaning direct IP printing needs to be retained and therefore we dont have the complete MI view through MSUP, pull printing excludes a portion of our colleagues and print security is lessened.

Many thanks

Remove printer from PC when not targeted anymore

Henrik Elmsjö — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 21:48:32 GMT

From what I understand, it is not possible to remove a printer (that has been deployed with Intune) from a user? This will over time litter the clients with redundant and unused printer queues. There should be a way to remove printers from clients, perhaps as simple as that they are removed when no longer targeted for said printer with Intune?