Modern print platform

Mopria

The Mopria alliance is a collection of printer manufacturers and software vendors that come together to define the standards for IPP printing and eSCL scanning. Mopria certified devices guarantee conformance to these standards.

Universal Print

Universal Print is a cloud print solution that eliminates the need for printer servers. For more information, see Universal Print.

Modern print vs legacy print

Traditionally, PCs communicated with printers by installing drivers. Drivers are software modules created by printer manufacturers that give PCs instructions on how to send printers information about print jobs in a way that it understands. With modern print, printers communicate to PCs without the need to install drivers, creating an experience with improved security, compatibility, and reliability.

Security: Different printer models and manufacturers mean that there are thousands of drivers out there, and there's no way to verify the security of all of them.

Compatibility: Modern print works regardless of a PC's architecture. Not all drivers work with ARM devices.

Reliability: After Windows Update, drivers might not work as expected. Modern print platform provides a more consistent printing experience without the daunting task of keeping drivers up to date.

Print support applications

The modern print platform works in combination with print support applications to enable customization of the print experience for Windows 10 and 11. For more information, see the Print support app design guide.

Windows protected print mode

Improve the security of a PC and eliminate driver issues by enabling Windows protected print mode. Windows protected print mode provides additional print security features. It also simplifies the printing experience by allowing PCs exclusively print using the Windows modern print stack, which is designed to work with Mopria certified printers only.

Windows protected print mode exclusively uses the Windows modern print stack which provides additional print security benefits on PCs. Enabling Windows protected print mode is highly recommended.

The benefits of Windows protected print mode include:

Increased PC security.
Simplified and consistent printing experience, regardless of PC architecture.
Removes the need to manage print drivers

Windows protected print mode is designed to work with Mopria certified printers only. Many existing printers are already compatible. For more information, see Windows protected print mode device compatibility in this article.

To find out more about Windows protected print mode, see About Windows protected print mode in this article.

Enterprise administrators can secure and simplify their printer management experience using Windows protected print mode. For more information, see Windows protected print mode for enterprises and developers in this article.

About Windows protected print mode

Why should I enable Windows protected print mode?

By default, many Mopria certified printers are installed using legacy drivers. Enabling Windows protected print mode ensures that printers are installed using the modern print platform, creating the best printing experience possible.

Enabling Windows protected print mode provides additional security benefits. By creating an environment that exclusively uses modern print, the printing experience is simplified.

What happens when I enable Windows protected print mode?

Upon enabling Windows protected print mode, printers that use third–party drivers are uninstalled.

The print driver is deleted from the print driver store, and it can't be used while Windows protected print mode is active.
When Windows protected print mode is disabled and the printer is reinstalled, the original driver is reinstalled.

If a Mopria Certified printer was originally installed using a third-party driver:

The printer is uninstalled but can be reinstalled. When reinstalled, it uses the modern print stack instead of its third-party driver.
If Windows protected print mode is disabled, installed printers continue to use the modern print stack unless they're removed and reinstalled with Windows protected print mode disabled.

If a printer was originally installed with the modern print stack, enabling Windows protected print mode won't uninstall the printer.

Windows protected print mode device compatibility

Are my printers compatible with Windows protected print mode?

Only Mopria certified printers are compatible with Windows protected print mode. Most new printers and over 120 million printers already sold are Mopria certified. To see if a printer is compatible with Windows protected print mode, see Mopria certified products.

Are my scanners compatible with Windows protected print mode?

Scanners must also be Mopria certified to be installed on a PC in Windows protected print mode.

Not all Mopria certified printers have Mopria certified scanners. In this case, when the device is installed, the printer is installed but the scanner isn't.

To see if a scanner is compatible with Windows protected print mode, see Mopria certified products.

OneNote printer in Windows protected print mode

Turning on Windows protected print mode uninstalls all unsupported software printers on Windows, including "OneNote(Desktop)" and "OneNote for Windows 10". To continue using OneNote printers, Windows protected print mode has to be disabled. After disabling Windows protected print mode, run Office repair. For more information, see our support article about how to repair Office apps.

How to use Windows protected print mode

How to enable Windows protected print mode

1. Press Start.

2. Navigate to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Printers & scanners.

3. Scroll down to Printer Preferences and under Windows protected print mode select Set up.

4. Select Yes, continue for all prompts.

Windows protected print is now enabled. Noncompatible printers are uninstalled.

How to disable Windows protected print mode

1. Select Start.

2. Navigate to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Printers & scanners.

3. Scroll down to Printer Preferences and under Windows protected print mode, select Turn Off.

4. Select Yes.

Windows protected print mode is now disabled. You can now install printers that use third party drivers.

Note: If Windows protected print mode is enabled as group policy, you won't be able to disable it without contacting your administrator.

For more information on enabling Windows protected print mode as group policy, see Enabling Windows protected print mode as group policy in this article.

Windows protected print mode FAQ

Q: What happens to noncompatible printers when Windows protected print mode is enabled?

A: Noncompatible printers are uninstalled and will be not able to be reinstalled while Windows protected print mode is enabled. Compatible printers will be able to be reinstalled.

Q: Will my noncompatible printers be reinstalled when I disable Windows protected print mode?

A: If you disable Windows protected print mode, you'll have to manually reinstall any noncompatible printers.

Q: Will Windows protected print mode ever be enabled by default?

A: Windows protected print mode will be enabled by default at a future date.

Q: I enabled Windows protected print mode and now I can't see my scanner.

A: Some Mopria certified printers don't have Mopria certified scanners. You won't be able to use your scanner if it isn't Mopria certified. For more information, see Are my scanners compatible with Windows protected print mode? in this article.

Q: My printer is Mopria certified, why did it get removed when I enabled Windows protected print mode?

A: Some Mopria certified printers are default installed using third-party drivers. If so, that printer is removed when Windows protected print mode is enabled but you'll be able to reinstall the printer.

Q: What if I want to use a device that is unavailable in Windows protected print mode?

A: For more information on how to disable Windows protected print mode, see How to disable Windows protected print mode in this article.

Q: Will Mopria certified printers work on my ARM PC?

A: Yes, Mopria certified printers work regardless of your PC's architecture

For more information, see What happens when I enable Windows protected print mode? in this article.

Windows protected print mode for enterprises and developers

Windows protected print mode creates peace of mind for enterprise administrators by adding security benefits and completely removing the need for any driver management. When Windows protected print mode is enabled, printers will "just work".

For more information about the basics of the modern print platform, see Windows protected print mode in this article.

For more information on Windows protected print mode, see A new, modern, and secure print experience from Windows on the Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Blog.

Enabling Windows protected print mode as group policy

Press Start.
Open the Local Group Policy Editor.
Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Printers.
Right click on Configure Windows protected print and click Edit.
Select the Enabled radio button.
Click Apply and click OK.

Windows protected print is now enabled.

ConfigureWindowsProtectedPrint

For more information on the Policy CSP for Windows protected print mode, see the ConfigureWindowsProtectedPrint section in the Policy CSP - Printers article.

Windows protected print mode Intune configuration

OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Printers/ConfigureWindowsProtectedPrint
Data Type: String
Value: <enabled/>

For more information on customizing settings via Intune, see Add custom settings for Windows 10/11 devices in Microsoft Intune.