A Print Support App
摘要
In this chapter, we will cover Printer Support Apps (PSAs) that vendors are likely to develop to better integrate their products into the Windows IPP (Modern Print) environment. Users will download these apps (optimally) from the Microsoft Store to provide better integration of vendor features that may not have a standard IPP RFC attribute. At first glance, this might sound like a bit of regression – writing vendor-specific code to better integrate their products. After all, wasn’t IPP/Mopria supposed to do away with having to install third-party drivers and software – wasn’t that one of the major selling points for this venture? Officially, Microsoft touts the PSA as an “architecture that was introduced to help Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) add customization to IPP printers without the use of legacy third-party drivers” [1]. The crux of the issue can be found in vendor product differentiation – in this case, product features that may help sell their printers. Let’s face it: vendors need to market and sell their products, and standout features help provide an edge on the competition. Against this backdrop we have a consortium of vendors involved with creating a print protocol that standardizes the most common print hardware attributes. How can vendors integrate unique product features into a Windows environment that uses IPP/Mopria as the new print protocol? This chapter will delve into how this is accomplished without requiring the inclusion of vendor-specific drivers.