Remote Desktop Printing Guide for RDP, AVD & Citrix Admins

Despite advancements in cloud computing and virtual desktops, printing continues to pose significant challenges. Advancements in IT infrastructure notwithstanding, users continue to encounter issues like:

Why can’t I see my printer in Remote Desktop?”
“My document took 2 minutes to print—then it vanished.”
“I can’t duplex or choose the right paper tray!

These frustrations stem from the complex interplay between virtual environments and physical printing devices. This guide aims to unravel these complexities, offering insights into:

• The architecture of remote printing

• Common pitfalls and their solutions

• Implementing a scalable, secure print strategy

What is Remote Desktop Printing?

The Basics of RDP

Remote desktop printing enables users to print documents from a virtual desktop or application session to a physical printer accessible to them. This process involves:

• Device Redirection: Redirecting print jobs from the virtual session to the local printer.

• Driver Mapping: Ensuring the virtual environment recognizes and communicates with the printer.

• Job Rendering: Determining where the print job is processed—on the server or client side.

• Data Transport: Securely transferring the print data across networks.

Deployment Models

Each model presents unique challenges, from driver compatibility to network latency, necessitating tailored solutions.

Common Challenges in Remote Desktop Printing

1. Driver Compatibility and Instability

Traditional remote environments often require matching printer drivers on the host server. This approach leads to:

• Driver Proliferation: Managing numerous drivers for different printers.

• System Instability: Conflicting drivers causing crashes or spooler issues.

• User Frustration: Inability to print due to driver mismatches.

Tricerat ScrewDrivers® employs a universal driver installed once on the server, eliminating the need for multiple printer-specific drivers.

2. Performance Issues: Slow or Lost Print Jobs

Server-side rendering of print jobs can result in:

• Large File Sizes: Uncompressed jobs clogging the network.

• Delays: Slow transmission over WANs or VPNs.

• Failures: Jobs disappearing or not printing at all.

Client-side rendering combined with TriMeta™ compression reduces job sizes, ensuring faster and more reliable printing.

3. Loss of Advanced Print Features (APF)

Universal drivers like Easy Print or Citrix UPD may not support:

• Duplex Printing

• Secure Hold/Release

• Stapling/Collating

• Tray Selection

ScrewDrivers® preserves full printer features by rendering jobs locally using native capabilities.

4. Security and Compliance Risks

Unencrypted print traffic poses significant risks, especially in regulated industries. Concerns include:

• Data Breaches: Sensitive information intercepted over the network.

• Lack of Audit Trails: Difficulty tracking print jobs for compliance.

ScrewDrivers® offers TLS encryption, secure print release via PIN or badge, and centralized logging for comprehensive audit trails.

Comparative Analysis: RDP, AVD, Citrix, and ScrewDrivers®

Implementing a Secure, Future-Proof Remote Printing Infrastructure

Implementing reliable remote desktop printing across platforms like RDS, AVD, Citrix, or VMware Horizon requires more than just a patchwork of drivers and group policies—it demands a unified print architecture that can scale, secure, and simplify printing across hybrid and distributed environments.

Here's how to build it right from the ground up.

Step 1: Adopt a Driverless, Universal Print Driver Architecture

Traditional print infrastructures rely on server-based drivers for every printer make and model. This bloats your terminal servers, introduces update friction, and increases crash risk.

Solution: With a universal virtual print driver like ScrewDrivers®, you eliminate this complexity. The driver is installed once on the server—then dynamically adapts to any printer the user connects to from their endpoint.

Step 2: Prioritize Client-Side Rendering for Performance and Feature Fidelity

Server-side rendering adds CPU and memory overhead to your session hosts and frequently strips out advanced print options (like duplex, secure hold, tray mapping).

Solution: ScrewDrivers® pushes rendering to the endpoint device, using the native printer driver already installed on the client. This preserves full feature sets and offloads processing from the VDI infrastructure.

Users get access to native options—like color/grayscale, finishing, stapling—directly in their print dialogs.

Step 3: Compress and Optimize Print Job Transport

Print jobs, especially PDFs, CAD files, or image-heavy reports, can grow to dozens of megabytes. Without compression, these jobs can choke bandwidth over WAN or VPN links.

Solution: Tricerat's TriMeta™ compression shrinks job size up to 90% before transmission. It's optimized for RDP and ICA protocols, and ensures that even large jobs print quickly and reliably—even on rural or low-bandwidth connections.

Step 4: Secure the Print Data Path with TLS and Access Controls

Print jobs often contain regulated data—think patient charts, legal contracts, financial reports. Without encryption and secure release, printing becomes an audit and compliance risk.

Solution: ScrewDrivers® encrypts print jobs in-transit via TLS 1.2+, supports user authentication at the printer (PINs, badge readers), and logs every print action for full chain-of-custody tracking.

Step 5: Centralize Print Policy Management and Visibility

Admins need to control who can print, where, and how—without relying on outdated Group Policy Objects (GPOs) or login scripts.

Solution: The ScrewDrivers® Admin Console provides a single pane of glass to define print mapping rules by:

• Active Directory group

• Device type

• IP subnet/location

• Application or desktop pool

It also provides error monitoring, usage tracking, and cost analysis across departments and locations.

Real-World Applications (by Industry)

Healthcare: HIPAA-Ready Printing Without Complexity

Physicians and nurses working from VDI or thin clients (often in Citrix environments) need to print EMRs and EHRs, medication labels, and patient documents. These printouts must be secure, fast, and compliant with HIPAA.

How ScrewDrivers® helps:

• Supports barcode printers and label printing

• Secure release ensures only the right user retrieves patient data

• Full logging supports HIPAA audits and chain-of-custody requirements

• Maintains full MFP functionality—no Easy Print limitations

Financial Services: Secure, Auditable Printing in Hybrid Environments

Advisors, analysts, and remote staff often print from virtual desktops (AVD or VMware) across locations—including from home. These print jobs often include confidential reports, client data, and investment analysis.

How ScrewDrivers® helps:

• TLS-encrypted printing from AVD to local/home printers

• Role-based access ensures only authorized printers are visible

• Print jobs logged by user, session, and document for compliance audits (FINRA, SOX)

• Central print policy enforcement across multiple branch offices

Education: Flexible, Scalable Printing Across Student and Faculty Devices

Schools and universities support mixed OS environments—Windows labs, macOS student devices, Linux thin clients—and shared/public printers.

How ScrewDrivers® helps:

• Supports macOS, Linux, Windows, and IGEL thin clients

• Print quotas, cost tracking, and department-level billing

• Session-based printer mapping by building, lab, or user role

• Driverless deployment means no lab rebuilds needed for new printers

Ensuring Security in Virtual Printing

The Real Risk: Print Data Is Unprotected by Default

Most organizations encrypt file storage and email. But print jobs are often sent unencrypted over internal networks—or even over VPNs to local printers in remote offices.

These jobs may include:

• Patient health information (PHI)

• Financial disclosures

• Confidential legal documents

• Personally identifiable information (PII)

Without print security, these jobs are vulnerable to:

• Interception during transmission

• Unauthorized release from shared printers

• Zero audit trail for regulatory compliance

How ScrewDrivers® Builds a Secure Print Pipeline

Best Practices for Scalable Remote Desktop Printing

You can’t scale what you can’t control. Here are field-tested best practices for building a future-proof print stack for RDP, AVD, Citrix, and hybrid environments.

✅ Eliminate Server-Side Driver Management

The #1 cause of instability in print environments is driver bloat and incompatibility.

Use a universal virtual driver (like ScrewDrivers®) that works with all printer makes, models, and features—without needing server installation.

✅ Use Role- and Location-Based Printer Mapping

Mapping too many printers causes user confusion and increases session login time.

Map only relevant printers using context-aware logic:

• Map “Floor 3 MFP” only for users logging in from Floor 3

• Map secure release printers only for users in the HR group

Role- and location-based printer mapping enhances usability while maintaining tight security and compliance.

✅ Implement Secure Print Release Everywhere

In shared office spaces and multi-user environments, it’s easy for a printout to be grabbed by the wrong person.

Require secure release by PIN, badge, or mobile confirmation. Integrate with LDAP/Active Directory for identity validation.

✅ Monitor Print Trends and Print Failures

Silent failures and retries can balloon costs and frustrate users.

 Use analytics dashboards to:

• Monitor daily print volume by user, printer, location

• Track failed jobs and investigate causes

• Spot print abuse (e.g., 100-page print jobs from remote interns)

✅ Design for Endpoint Diversity

Hybrid work means users bring their own devices—Windows, macOS, Linux.

Ensure your printing solution supports multi-platform clients, including IGEL thin clients, Chromebooks (via Citrix Workspace), and legacy hardware.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Let Remote Printing Be the Weakest Link

Your users shouldn’t have to ask IT to print.

You’ve virtualized apps, desktops, networks—why not virtualize printing too? With the right architecture, printing becomes invisible, reliable, and secure.

With Tricerat ScrewDrivers®, you’re not just fixing print problems—you’re delivering:

• A frictionless print experience

• Secure delivery of sensitive data

• Full control and visibility for IT

• A scalable platform that supports your hybrid and remote workforce

Ready to transform your remote printing infrastructure?

• Start a Free 30-Day Trial

• Schedule a Live Product Walkthrough

Frequently Asked Questions About Remote Printing

How do I fix printer redirection in RDP?
Ensure redirection is enabled via Group Policy, and use a universal driver like ScrewDrivers® to avoid server-side driver issues.

Can I print from Azure Virtual Desktop to my local printer?
Yes, using ScrewDrivers® you can map local printers dynamically and access full printer features without driver installs.

Is remote desktop printing secure?
By default, no. But ScrewDrivers® offers TLS encryption, secure release, and user-based logging for compliant printing.

What OS platforms are supported?
ScrewDrivers® supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and IGEL thin clients—ideal for hybrid and BYOD workforces.

How long does it take to deploy?
Setup takes under 30 minutes for most environments and can be silently deployed via Intune, SCCM, or GPO.

How can I print from Remote Desktop?
To print from a Remote Desktop session, ensure that printer redirection is enabled in your Remote Desktop client settings. This allows your local printers to be accessible within the remote session. Once connected, your local printers should appear in the remote environment's printer list, enabling you to print documents directly to them.

How do you take a screenshot on Remote Desktop?
Capturing a screenshot within a Remote Desktop session can be achieved using specific keyboard shortcuts:

• Windows: Press Ctrl + Alt + Print Screen to capture the active window of the remote session.
• Mac: Use Command + Shift + S to take a screenshot within the Remote Desktop session.

Alternatively, you can utilize the Snipping Tool or Snip & Sketch within the remote session for more precise captures.

Can I print to a printer remotely?

Yes, remote printing is feasible through various methods:

• Printer Redirection: Enables your local printer to be used during a Remote Desktop session.
• Cloud Printing Services: Platforms like HP's Print Anywhere and Epson's Remote Print allow you to send print jobs over the internet to your printer.
• VPN Connections: By setting up a VPN, you can connect to your office network and access network printers as if you were on-site.

Can you print from a virtual desktop (VDI)?
Absolutely. Printing from a virtual desktop, such as Azure Virtual Desktop, is supported through:

• Printer Redirection: Your local printers can be redirected into the virtual session, making them available for printing tasks.
• Universal Print Solutions: Services like Microsoft's Universal Print or ScrewDrivers Universal Print Driver integrate with virtual desktops, allowing for seamless printing without the need for traditional printer drivers.