Stacked vs. Separate Printers

[CAOgdin]

I have a printer that I use two specific ways: 1) to print "Booklets" (4 letter-sized to a single 11x17" duplex sheet) and 2) to print "Tabloid" (full sized on a single 11x17" sheet).

In XP, I could create two separate printer icons, and select the one I want from MS Word or other applications by unique name. In Windows 7, the same drivers are "stacked" into one icon with a configuration/selection option (see the graphic, below).

Sometimes, Windows 7 configures a printer with two separate icons when they are installed (same driver, different configurations), but usually it stacks them.

Does anybody know of a configuration/policy/registry change that I can use to force the printers to be separately shown in the Windows "Devices and Printers" window, and in dialog boxes for printing from applications?

--Carol Anne

 

[A Guy]

I found this, the "method" should be applicable:

Multiple Instances Of Printer

A Guy

 

[CAOgdin]

Um, er...that's the NEXT step, after you've GOT multiple instances of the same printer. That article is, in essence, what you do to (in my example) configure "Tabloid" and "Booklet" separately.

What I'm looking for is a way to have two separate icons (with unique names) in the "Devices and Printer" display, which I can then individually configure, as shown in the article to which you referred.

Thanks, but it's not quite the solution I'm still searching for.

What's not clear to me is whether this "collapsing" (or "stacking") of two (separately configured) instances of a printer is endemic to Windows 7 (and, if so, can it be changed) or is it endemic to the particular printer drivers (all my printers seem to show up in the "stacked" mode).

 

[CAOgdin]

It appears to be Printer-related

I installed another printer (an ancient B&W HP LaserJet 5N) and it's drivers (built into Win7) place two separate instances in two separate icons.

I suspect I'll have to deal with the printer vendor about this issue; it's probably just a toggle in some *.xml file...or, so I can hope.