How to Install the Same Printer Twice with Different Settings in Windows 11?

Question

I have a new HP printer with two trays. I use one tray for sheet mailing labels and the second for plain paper. I have another older HP printer that I was able to set up two different printer names with different paper trays assigned to cut down on the number of manual steps when printing. I cannot recall how this was done but I believe it had something to do with PORTS (?). Such as HP LABELS and HP PAPER names. Can anyone help? I appreciate any help you can provide.

Answer 1

Hi,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Q&A forum.

To install the same printer twice with different settings in Windows 11, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Windows Settings app and go to "Devices" > "Printers & scanners".
2. Click on the "Add a printer or scanner" button.
3. Windows will search for available printers. If your printer is not found, click on the "The printer that I want isn't listed" link.
4. Select "Add a local printer or network printer with manual settings" and click on "Next".
5. Choose the printer port that your printer is connected to. If you're not sure which port to choose, check the printer manual or contact the manufacturer.
6. Select the printer manufacturer and model from the list, or click on "Have Disk" if you have a driver disk or downloaded driver.
7. Give the printer a new name, such as "HP Labels" or "HP Paper".
8. Choose whether to set this printer as the default printer or not.
9. Click on "Next" and then "Finish".
10. Repeat the above steps to add the printer again with a different name and settings.

By giving each printer a unique name and different settings, you can easily select the appropriate printer and settings when printing.

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Answer 2

I was able to get it to work, but not perfectly. What I did differently is when setting up the new printer, I created a new TCP/IP port for each printer instead of selecting an existing port. Although I have so far created 5 copies of the printer, only 4 show up in Settings. so it's important to get the default settings correct while setting up the printer, because you might not get to see it again.

But all 5 do show up in my various software apps that I print from.

However, most of them do not pick up whether the profile is landscape or portrait, so creating different printers for those options may be a moot point.

I've been playing with this for a couple of hours now, so I'm about ready to give up and considerate a partial success.