Windows 7: Direct socket printing bypassing spooler

I am trying to identify the various printing paths on Windows 7/8 and wondered if anyone could help me.

Obviously, in general use, the vast majority of print jobs end up passing through the spooler. My question is, is it possible to print a job without the spooler being involved (eg when the spooler is not running for some reason) ?

I'd heard that, in certain circumstances, one can print directly to a network printer via a socket.

Thanks,

skint