Windows Ready Print Is Here: What It Changes (and What Protected Print Already Changed)

Windows Ready Print is Microsoft's new default printing platform for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025. As of July 1, 2026, Windows always prefers its built-in IPP class driver over third-party printer drivers when installing a compatible printer, and new printer installs on eligible devices now default to Ready Print instead of OEM drivers. Existing printer configurations are not changed — but every new or rebuilt machine will take the new path, and that's where enterprise print workflows can quietly break.

If that sounds familiar, it's because Microsoft has been moving this direction for a while. In June we covered Windows Protected Print, the security mode that blocks third-party print drivers entirely. Ready Print is the other half of the story: not an opt-in security lockdown, but a change to what Windows does by default. Here's what actually changed, how the two features relate, and what to test before your help desk finds out the hard way.

What is Windows Ready Print?

Windows Ready Print is the new name for Microsoft's Modern Print Platform, announced in June 2026. It moves Windows printing away from vendor-supplied driver packages toward standards-based printing: the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) with the Windows inbox IPP class driver, eSCL for scanning, IPP Fax Out for faxing, and Mopria-certified devices as the intended hardware path.

The rename came with a behavior change, not just a rebrand. Two things happened in July 2026:

1. Driver ranking flipped on July 1. Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 (and later) now always prefer the Microsoft IPP inbox class driver over third-party drivers when selecting a driver for a compatible printer.
2. Ready Print became the default install path. Eligible Windows devices now automatically use Ready Print for new printer installations, rather than pulling a manufacturer-specific driver.

This sits inside a longer roadmap: Microsoft stopped publishing new third-party printer drivers to Windows Update on January 15, 2026, and third-party driver updates end (except security fixes) on July 1, 2027.

Ready Print vs. Protected Print: what's the difference?

They're related, and Microsoft has confirmed Protected Print will use Ready Print exclusively — but they answer different questions.

The short version: Protected Print is a door you choose to close. Ready Print moves the door. You don't have to opt in to Ready Print — it's simply what Windows now does unless you tell it otherwise.

Does Ready Print affect my existing printers?

No. Printers already configured keep their current drivers and behavior — nothing is migrated automatically. The change applies to new printer installations only.

That's reassuring right up until you think about how fleets actually work. Existing machines keep behaving; new machines, reimaged machines, and freshly provisioned VDI hosts take the modern path. Your estate quietly splits into two realities: the old queue that behaves the way departments expect, and the new queue that follows Microsoft's preferred model. The failure mode isn't a printer that won't install — it's a printer that installs successfully with a driver that's technically correct and operationally incomplete. Tray mapping, duplex defaults, finishing options, secure release, accounting codes, and vendor workflow utilities are exactly the features an inbox class driver may not carry over.

How do I control Ready Print?

Per device: Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Printers & Scanners > Printer preferences lets users choose whether new printers install via Ready Print (when supported) or the OEM driver.

Fleet-wide: Group Policy under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Printers includes "Configure Windows Ready Print driver ranking". Enabled allows Ready Print driver selection; Disabled prevents it and favors traditional installation. Manufacturer installation packages also remain available for models that genuinely need OEM driver logic.

What should IT test before this bites?

Don't test whether printers print — test whether they print your jobs. Before rolling new Windows 11 clients or Server 2025 hosts:

1. Build a clean test client with no driver history and add printers the way they'd actually be discovered or provisioned.
2. Confirm which driver Windows binds — if it's the IPP class driver, validate against your real workflows: trays, duplex, color policy, finishing, secure/PIN release, accounting codes, and any print management agents.
3. Test MFPs separately for scan (eSCL/WS-Scan) and fax (IPP Fax Out) — they take different paths than print.
4. Document an exception path for models that must stay on OEM drivers, including how those drivers get installed and updated after Windows Update stops carrying them.
5. Re-verify print server queues from a freshly built client — old workstations pass on accumulated driver history that new ones won't have.

What Ready Print means for virtual desktops — and where ScrewDrivers fits

Here's the part Microsoft's announcement doesn't address: none of this simplifies printing in Citrix, Omnissa Horizon, Azure Virtual Desktop, or RDS. Ready Print governs how a Windows endpoint picks a driver for a locally installed printer. It does nothing about session-based printing — mapping the right printers into a virtual session, keeping print jobs off the WAN, or eliminating driver sprawl on session hosts, where a single bad driver still affects every user on the box.

Ready Print actually validates the argument we've been making for two decades: drivers are the problem. ScrewDrivers took printer drivers out of the equation for virtual environments long before Microsoft moved the desktop in the same direction — one universal driver on the session host, no OEM drivers to rank, block, or test. And where the inbox IPP driver trades away vendor-specific features, ScrewDrivers preserves full printer capabilities (trays, finishing, duplex) without the driver. If July 1 put print driver testing back on your project list, it's worth asking why your virtual environment still has drivers to test at all.

FAQ

What is Windows Ready Print?

Windows Ready Print is Microsoft's modern print platform for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 — the new name for the Modern Print Platform. It replaces vendor-specific printer drivers with standards-based printing using IPP and the built-in Windows IPP class driver. As of July 2026, it's the default for new printer installations on eligible devices.

What changed on July 1, 2026?

Microsoft changed Windows printer driver ranking so Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 and later always prefer the Microsoft IPP inbox class driver over third-party drivers when installing a compatible printer. Existing installed printers are not affected.

Is Windows Ready Print the same as Windows Protected Print?

No. Protected Print is an opt-in security mode that blocks third-party print drivers entirely. Ready Print is the default platform that prefers the inbox IPP driver for new installs while still allowing OEM drivers. Microsoft has confirmed Protected Print mode will use Ready Print exclusively.

Does Windows Ready Print affect printers I've already installed?

No. It applies only to new printer installations. Existing printer configurations keep their current drivers and are not automatically migrated.

Can I still use manufacturer (OEM) printer drivers?

Yes. Users can choose the OEM driver during installation via Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Printers & Scanners > Printer preferences, and admins can control behavior fleet-wide with the "Configure Windows Ready Print driver ranking" Group Policy. Manufacturer installation packages remain supported, though Windows Update stopped accepting new third-party printer drivers in January 2026.

Does Windows Ready Print fix printing in Citrix, Horizon, or Azure Virtual Desktop?

No. Ready Print governs local printer installation on Windows endpoints. Session-based printing in VDI and RDS — printer mapping, driver sprawl on session hosts, print traffic over the WAN — still requires a purpose-built solution such as Tricerat ScrewDrivers, which eliminates printer drivers from virtual environments entirely while preserving full printer functionality.