Quick Reference Guide

HP Driver Configuration
HP Driver Configuration is a software architecture and set of tools that permits HP printing-system
software to be customized and distributed in managed corporate printing environments. Using
HP Driver Configuration, information technology (IT) administrators in corporate and enterprise
environments can preconfigure the printing and device defaults for HP print drivers before installing the
drivers in the network environment.
HP Driver Configuration is most beneficial when configuring print drivers for multiple workstations or
print servers for print queues that share the same configuration. Two types of features can be
configured:
●
Product settings
●
Printing-preferences settings
The driver is configured to match the product hardware so that access to all of the product accessories
through the driver is enabled correctly (for example, for duplexing units and additional input trays).
Most driver-feature settings can also be configured.
HP Driver Configuration configures the driver to match the accessories that are installed on the product,
or to match the settings that IT administrators make in the configuration (.CFG) file (for example,
optional trays, total amount of memory, job-storage settings, or mopier settings).
The configuration process consists of three basic steps:
●
Driver acquisition
●
Driver configuration
●
Driver installation and deployment
These steps can be accomplished in different ways, depending on the tool that is being used to define
the configuration.
The driver configuration process is supported through three distinct tools. All three are designed with
the same basic user-interface (UI) controls for interacting with the .CFG file, but are packaged
differently, either to support established product installation workflows or to leave the deployment and
installation of the driver entirely up to the user. The following tools support driver preconfiguration:
●
HP Driver Configuration Utility. The HP Driver Configuration Utility is a small, standalone,
Windows-software program that the administrator can use to open the .CFG file that is associated
with a particular driver and make modifications that are applied when that driver is installed on
the target computer. It is intended for use in environments that have an established process for
deploying drivers. This is the preconfiguration tool of choice to support any Novell or HP Print
Server Appliance (PSA) and Point and Print environments. It is used in the way that any ordinary
Windows software program is used.
The HP Driver Configuration Utility is available at the following Web site:
www.hp.com/go/dcu
◦
HP Driver Deployment Utility. The HP Driver Deployment Utility (HP DDU) was created
to simplify the deployment of print drivers onto a client computer. It is a simple utility that
packages the print-driver files, and the code needed to deploy them, into two files: an .EXE
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