HP CM8060/CM8050 Color MFP with Edgeline Technology - Windows driver configuration

HP Driver Preconfiguration is a software architecture and set of tools for customizing and distributing HP printing-system software in managed corporate printing environments. Using HP Driver Preconfiguration information, system 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 Preconfiguration 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:

• Device settings
• Printing-preferences settings

HP Driver Preconfiguration configures the driver to match the accessories that are installed on the device, or to match the settings that system administrators make in the configuration .CFG file (for example, optional trays, total amount of memory, or job-storage settings).

The preconfiguration process consists of three steps:

1. Driver acquisition
2. Driver preconfiguration
3. 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 configuration process for driver preconfiguration is supported through three 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 device installation workflows or to allow the user to deploy and install the driver. The following tools support driver preconfiguration:

• HP Driver Configuration Editor. The HP Driver Configuration Editor is a small standalone MS Windows software program that system administrators 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. Use it in environments that have an established process for deploying drivers.
  The HP Driver Configuration Editor is available at the following Web site:
  www.hp.com/go/hpdpc_sw
• The HP Web Jetadmin Driver Configuration Plugin. HP Web Jetadmin provides a queue-creation program to create printer queues on any Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 operating systems. The HP Web Jetadmin Driver Configuration Plugin adds screens to the existing queue-creation workflow from which the drivers that are being installed for the queues can be customized. The plug-in is limited to Internet Explorer browsers. Netscape Navigator is not supported.
  The HP Web Jetadmin Driver Configuration Plugin is available at the following Web site:
  www.hp.com/sbso/tpm/web_jetadminplugin.html
• Installer Customization Wizard. The Installer Customization Wizard enables a system administrator to preconfigure the printer drivers as part of customizing the printing system software installation preparing for a silent install.
  For detailed information about customizing print drivers by using the Installer Customization Wizard, see the Installer Customization Wizard Administrator's Guide, which is available on the System Administrator's CD.

The following driver features can be locked to prevent end-users from changing settings:

• Print on Both Sides (duplex). The options are True or False.
• Color Options. The options are Black and White or Color.
• Paper Type. The options include all of the paper types that the HP CM8060/CM8050 Color MFP with Edgeline Technology supports.
• Paper Source. The options are Printer Auto Select, Manual Feed (Tray 1), Tray 1, Tray 2, Tray 3, Tray 4, or Tray 5.

When a feature is locked, the selected default option is the only option that is available to users. Generally, the feature is unavailable in the driver UI after it has been locked.

The term "continuous export" refers to the ability of the driver to copy the latest driver settings to the working copy of the preconfiguration file. Using this feature, the exported values can be transferred when a compatible version of the driver is used to upgrade the print driver. For instance, if the orientation is set to Landscape in a driver that was originally installed in Windows 2000, then the orientation setting automatically remains Landscape when the operating system is upgraded to Windows XP or Windows Server 2003. The continuous-export feature functions transparently from the user perspective and works only between drivers on identical device models.

note:

Not all of the driver parameters can be exported. However, the components that can be exported are always the same as the components that can be preconfigured.