Installing multiple printer drivers on PC's for deployment

[dx2]

Here's the deal....we have a desktop deployment of roughly 50 pc's on the horizon and are in the process of building an image for them. We have standardized to two network printers and some smaller HP laserjets for certain individuals' offices.

What is the best way to install the drivers for all the printers we want to use without having to hook up each printer to the image building machine? Ripping the drivers off the drivers cds and just dumping them into c:\windows\system32 doesnt do the trick....

Ideally a machine will be freshly imaged and if you plug any kind of printer to the USB it will autodetect and get the right drivers

thanks for any input

[Langford]

Nlite can do a nice job of including PnP drivers into an XP install. You just include them using the wizard to make a custom install CD. After installing XP from the CD, when you plug in the device, it sees it as if drivers had come with Windows all along. http://www.nliteos.com/
For network printers, I wholeheartedly endorse using a spare computer as a print server, and sharing the printer off of it. Even in situations that a printer has a printer NIC, I recomend using a computer as a print server to relay printing.

[dx2]

Thanks for the info...

I think I found a solution too...if you go to printers and faxes then file -->server properties and then the add drivers tab it should do the trick as well.

[Langford]

You can always do it manually, but I thought you were deploying many machines.

[KevinO]

He can put the drivers on one machine via the method he posted. Create an image of the machine then deploy the image to the 50 machines.

[Langford]

You are right, he can. At least he can if the machines are similar enough to one another.

[ameoba]

You are right, he can. At least he can if the machines are similar enough to one another.
OP said he was building an image already - this implies that the machines are similar enough.

[oakfan52]

we use devcon to flip the HAL. We have 1 image for all desktops and laptops. use nlite as well.