Printing from a Remote Desktop session on a Windows Server VPS is one of the most common support tickets in RDP environments — sessions show no printers, users see a generic “Microsoft Print to PDF” only, or the Redirection feature appears greyed out entirely. This guide explains how RDP printer redirection actually works (it does not use your local driver directly), how to enable it through Group Policy and the RDP-Tcp listener, how to deploy a shared printer for all sessions, and how to troubleshoot the errors that stop redirected printers from appearing.
How RDP Printer Redirection Works
When a client connects with printer redirection enabled, the Remote Desktop client sends the list of local printers to the session host. The host creates a virtual printer representing each local queue and maps the print job back through the remote protocol. Crucially, the session host needs a driver for that printer. Windows falls back to the Universal Print driver or MS-RDP Remote Printing when the exact driver is missing, which is fine for text and common office documents but breaks for specialised devices (label printers, plotters, receipt printers).
| Item | Where it lives | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Client-side redirection | RDP client → Local Resources → Printers | User decides whether own printers appear |
| Server policy | Computer Config → Admin Templates → RDP → Printer Redirection | Forces redirection on/off for everyone |
| Driver policy | Printers → “Do not allow client printer redirection” | Overrides per-user settings |
| Print Spooler | Session host service | Must be running for any printing |
Step 1: Enable Redirection on the Server
On the session host, open gpedit.msc and navigate to Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Remote Desktop Services → Remote Desktop Session Host → Printer Redirection. Set Do not allow client printer redirection to Disabled and set Use Remote Desktop Easy Print printer driver first to Enabled. Easy Print uses a universal driver on the host and renders the document on the client side, which removes the driver mismatch problem for most office printers.
# Verify the RDP listener allows redirection
Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp' |
Select-Object fDisableCpm, fForceClientLptDef, RedirectDrives
# fDisableCpm = 0 means client printer redirection is allowedStep 2: Confirm the Client Sends Printers
Redirection is per-connection. In mstsc, click Show Options → Local Resources → Printers. If a saved RDP file is used, the relevant line is redirectprinters:i:1.
full address:s:vps.example.com
redirectprinters:i:1
redirectclipboard:i:1
use multimon:i:1Step 3: Central Printer Deployment for All Users
Redirection covers users’ local printers, but a shared printer that everyone should reach should be deployed centrally instead. Print Management on a server or a Windows Print Server role lets you publish queues via Group Policy preference, so each session sees the same network printer by name regardless of where the user is.
# Add a TCP/IP port and shared queue on the print server
Add-PrinterPort -Name "IP_10.0.0.50" -PrinterHostAddress "10.0.0.50"
Add-Printer -Name "HQ-Floor2" -DriverName "HP Universal Printing PCL 6" -PortName "IP_10.0.0.50"
Set-Printer -Name "HQ-Floor2" -Shared $true -Published $true
# Then deploy with a GPO Preference: User Config > Preferences > Control Panel Settings > PrintersTroubleshooting: Printers Missing or Failing
Work through the table in order — each row covers the most common cause of that symptom.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No printers in session at all | Redirection disabled by policy | Set the RDP Printer Redirection policy to Disabled/Not Configured |
| Only “Microsoft Print to PDF” | Client unchecked Printers | Re-enable Printers in mstsc Local Resources |
| Redirected printer errors on print | Driver mismatch | Enable Easy Print, or install the exact client driver on the host |
| Print Spooler crashes | Faulty driver / PrintNightmare hardening | Update the driver, apply the RPC restrictions, restart spooler |
| Slow printing over RDP | Large jobs rendered host-side | Prefer Easy Print or a network queue |
Get-Printer | Select-Object Name, DriverName, PortName, Shared
Get-PrintJob -PrinterName "HQ-Floor2"
Restart-Service Spooler
Get-WinEvent -LogName "Microsoft-Windows-PrintService/Admin" -MaxEvents 20Special Cases: Labels, Receipts, and Legacy Drivers
Specialised printers usually require the vendor driver on the session host, because a label printer depends on its driver’s paper calibration and the universal driver cannot emulate it. Install the exact driver on the VPS, leave Easy Print disabled for that specific queue, and test from a real session rather than trusting the local machine’s view.
- Never deploy v3 printer drivers to a multi-user session host if you can deploy v4 — v4 drivers isolate better and reduce spooler crash risk.
- Keep the Print Spooler disabled entirely on servers that never print; it is a well-known attack surface.
- Document which sessions rely on redirected versus network printers so support knows where to look.
Security Note on the Print Spooler
If a session host never prints, disable the Print Spooler service outright — it has been the target of serious remote-code-execution vulnerabilities, and leaving it running “just in case” widens the attack surface for no benefit. Microsoft’s guidance after the PrintNightmare disclosures was to restrict the RPC endpoint and limit driver installation to administrators. On a small IIS-only VPS, turning the spooler off is the cleanest fix; on an RDP desktop server, keep it running but lock driver installs down.
# Disable spooler on a host that never prints
Stop-Service Spooler -Force
Set-Service Spooler -StartupType Disabled
# Restrict driver installation to admins (Point and Print hardening)
Set-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\PointAndPrint' -Name RestrictDriverInstallationToAdministrators -Value 1With the spooler locked down and redirection scoped to the users who need it, an RDP server becomes a predictable printing environment instead of an intermittent ticket generator — and if you are still comparing remote-access options, our Windows VPS hosting overview on windows-vps.org covers how RDP-centric plans differ from plain IIS boxes.
Working Environment Matters
Printer redirection depends on a stable, low-latency RDP channel; on an oversold plan the spooled data can time out and the queue disappears mid-job. If printing over RDP is part of your daily workflow, choose a Windows VPS with adequate bandwidth on windows-vps.org and test printing before you commit to a contract.
