Deploy Printers with Intune

Printer deployment has moved from GPO to modern management. Here’s how to deploy network printers with Intune.

The Old Way: GPO

# Traditional GPO printer connection
# Still works but not "modern management"
Add-Printer -ConnectionName "\\PrintServer\PrinterName"

Modern Way: Intune Scripts

PowerShell Script: Install Printer

<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Deploy network printer
#>
param(
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [string]$PrinterPath,
    
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
    [string]$DriverName
)

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"

try {
    # Check if printer already exists
    $Existing = Get-Printer -Name $PrinterPath -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    
    if ($Existing) {
        Write-Host "Printer already installed: $PrinterPath"
        exit 0
    }
    
    # Add printer
    if ($DriverName) {
        Add-Printer -ConnectionName $PrinterPath -DriverName $DriverName
    } else {
        Add-Printer -ConnectionName $PrinterPath
    }
    
    Write-Host "Printer installed: $PrinterPath"
    exit 0
}
catch {
    Write-Host "Error: $($_.Exception.Message)"
    exit 1
}

Make Printer Default

<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Set default printer
#>
param(
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [string]$PrinterName
)

# Set as default
$Printer = Get-Printer -Name $PrinterName
Set-PrintConfiguration -PrinterName $PrinterName -Datatype "RAW"

# Make default via Windows settings
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows" -Name "Device" -Value "$PrinterName,winspool,ne00:"

Deploy via Intune

Step 1: Create Script

1. Go to Devices → Scripts
2. Add → Windows 10 and later
3. Upload script

Step 2: Assign to Groups

• Target user or device groups
• Run as logged-on user

Printer Driver Management

# List installed drivers
Get-PrinterDriver | Select-Object Name, DriverVersion

# Install driver from inf
pnputil /add-driver printer.inf /install

Troubleshooting

# Check printer service
Get-Service Spooler

# Restart print spooler
Restart-Service Spooler

# Clear print queue
Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "spoolsv" } | Stop-Process -Force

# Clear temp files
Remove-Item "$env:SystemRoot\System32\Spool\Printers\*" -Recurse -Force

Universal Print (Cloud)

For Microsoft 365:

# Connect to Universal Print
# In Microsoft Endpoint Manager:
# 1. Enable Universal Print connector
# 2. Deploy via Intune
# 3. Users get printer in Windows settings

Wrap-Up

Printers are simple with modern management. Use PowerShell scripts in Intune, or move to Universal Print for cloud.

Questions? Drop them below!