Not many people confess this, but working a printer requires a person to have some skill. However, these skills aren’t tough to gain. A few tutorials and looking at the manual will do the trick. However, no guru in printing can operate without the correct drivers. A device driver is a set of files that tells a piece of hardware how to function by communicating with a computer’s operating system. The correct printer drivers should be installed for a printer to function correctly.
What are HP Printer Drivers?
A printer driver is a software that will translate data and commands to a language that the printer will understand. Printers are unique, and they are built with different hardware and software. The computer needs to learn how it will communicate with each printer, which is where drivers come in. HP printer drivers will only work with HP printers. There are many printer models, and different drivers will be compatible with different printers. HP printer drivers must be installed for the printer to function correctly. The question that follows is how a person can get the correct HP printer driver.
Installing and Updating HP Printer Drivers
Anyone who has recently bought an HP printer or has one not functioning correctly will need to install the necessary drivers. There are various ways that a person can install HP printer drivers.
- Manually installing printer drivers is one approach. One will need to know a few details about their printer, such as the product name, model number, and their computer’s operating system. From there, the person will have to go to the HP support website and navigate to the printer driver’s section. Once there, the owner will have to enter their printer’s details and their OS. Compatible drivers will pop up. Downloading and installing the driver is the last step in this process. Manually installing the drivers is not advisable as it is tedious.
- Another method is updating using the device manager. Device manager on a computer can be opened using the “run” dialog box by holding the windows key then pressing R. A dialog box will show, and one will have to type “devmgmt.msc”. A list of devices will show, and one will have to navigate print queues followed by printers. From there, one should access the printer they want, right-click and select the option update drivers.
- Lastly is to update the drivers automatically with Driver Support. This is the recommended method. Driver Support is a tool that will scan the computer to find any updates that need to be installed. It will do this for the HP printer drivers and all other drivers present. Driver Support can be downloaded and installed on their website for free. A premium version of the application can also be purchased as recommended for premium features.
Support on HP Printer Drivers
A reason to get HP printers and printer drivers are the support community available. Solutions for HP printers problems’ are easily accessible on the internet.
