Printing is the last thing holding many businesses to an on-premises server. You move email to Exchange Online, files to SharePoint and devices to Microsoft Entra join, and then someone asks how the new laptops will find the office copier. The answer for most Microsoft 365 tenants is Universal Print with Intune: printers registered in the cloud, deployed to users by policy, with no print server and no driver installs on laptops.
This guide covers what Universal Print needs, how to deploy printers through Intune, and the limits you should know before you switch off the old print server.
What Universal Print is, in plain terms
Universal Print is a Microsoft 365 cloud printing service. Printers are registered in Microsoft Entra ID, shared from the Universal Print portal, and users print to them over the internet using the driverless print support built into Windows. Jobs flow from the laptop to Microsoft’s service and then to the printer.
There are two ways a printer joins Universal Print:
Universal Print ready printers talk to the service directly. Many current models from major manufacturers support it, sometimes after a firmware update.
Older printers connect through the Universal Print connector, a small service you install on an always-on Windows machine on the same network. It relays jobs from the cloud to printers that do not support Universal Print natively.
If you keep the connector, you still have one local machine. It is far lighter than a print server, but it needs patching and monitoring like any other endpoint.
Licensing and print volume
Universal Print is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft 365 E3, E5 and F3, and Windows Enterprise E3 and E5, and it is also sold standalone. Both users and the admins who manage printers need an eligible license.
Usage is measured in print jobs, pooled across the tenant each month. A job is one document sent to the printer, regardless of page count or copies.
License
Jobs added to the monthly pool per license
Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, E5
100
Microsoft 365 F3
5
Windows Enterprise E3, E5
5
Universal Print standalone
5
For a typical office on Business Premium, the pool is generous. Check the usage report in the Universal Print portal after the first month, and buy add-on job packs only if you need them.
Deploying printers with Intune
Once a printer is registered and shared in Universal Print, Intune installs it on users’ Windows devices using the settings catalog. The older PrintProvisioning tool and printers.csv method are deprecated, so use this approach for new deployments.
In the Universal Print portal, note each printer’s Printer ID (the cloud device ID), Share ID and Share name.
In Intune, go to Devices > Manage devices > Configuration > Create > New policy, choose Windows 10 and later and Settings catalog.
Add settings from the Printer Provisioning category.
For each printer, set Action to Install and enter the Cloud Device ID, Printer Shared ID and Printer Shared Name. Use Add for more printers.
Assign the policy to user groups, such as everyone at one office. These are user-scoped settings.
Review and create. If the assigned groups lack permission to the printer share, Intune grants it for you and tells you so.
Build one policy per site or floor, named clearly, such as WIN-SC-Printers-HQ-Floor2. People who move offices then get the right printers by changing group membership.
Requirements and known limits
Universal Print through Intune works well, but it has edges you should plan around:
Windows version. The Universal Print CSP needs Windows 11, or Windows 10 with the July 2022 cumulative update or later. Windows 10 is now past end of support, so plan around Windows 11.
One user per device. The Intune integration is designed for single-user Windows devices and for Azure Virtual Desktop sessions. Physical PCs shared by several people are not officially supported and can see delayed or partial installs.
Conditional Access. On shared PCs where users sign in with passwords, printer installation can silently fail if Conditional Access requires MFA. Windows Hello for Business on single-user devices avoids this.
No uninstall action yet. At the time of writing, the policy installs printers but does not remove them. Users can remove a printer manually, and Microsoft has said an uninstall option is coming.
Sync timing. Printers arrive after the policy syncs. A new laptop may take a little while before printers appear.
macOS. Macs running macOS 13.3 or later can print through the Universal Print app, which you can deploy with Intune. It is a different path from the Windows settings catalog policy.
A migration checklist
Moving off a print server goes smoothly when you treat it as a small project rather than a weekend change:
Inventory every printer, its location, model and who uses it.
Check which models are Universal Print ready and update firmware where possible.
Install the connector for the rest, on a supported, always-on Windows machine.
Register and share printers in the Universal Print portal with clear names and locations.
Pilot the Intune policy with one team. Confirm duplex, color and secure release behave as expected.
Roll out by site. Leave old print server queues available for a short overlap, then remove them.
Decommission the print server and remove its GPOs.
Specialist needs such as badge release, scanning workflows or cost tracking often come from partner solutions that integrate with Universal Print. Check with your printer vendor before you assume a feature carries over.
Do I still need a print server with Universal Print?
No print server is needed for Universal Print ready printers. Older printers need the Universal Print connector on a Windows machine on the local network, which is much lighter than a print server but still has to be maintained.
Does Universal Print need drivers on the laptops?
No. Windows uses built-in driverless printing with Universal Print. Advanced device features may depend on the printer model and partner software.
Is Universal Print included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium?
Yes. Business Premium includes Universal Print and adds 100 print jobs per license to the tenant’s monthly pool.
Ready to retire your print server and move fully to the cloud? Book a free Microsoft 365 security assessment and we will map out what is still tying you to on-premises infrastructure.
Printing is the last thing holding many businesses to an on-premises server. You move email to Exchange Online, files to SharePoint and devices to Microsoft Entra join, and then someone asks how the new laptops will find the office copier. The answer for most Microsoft 365 tenants is Universal Print with Intune: printers registered in the cloud, deployed to users by policy, with no print server and no driver installs on laptops.
This guide covers what Universal Print needs, how to deploy printers through Intune, and the limits you should know before you switch off the old print server.
What Universal Print is, in plain terms
Universal Print is a Microsoft 365 cloud printing service. Printers are registered in Microsoft Entra ID, shared from the Universal Print portal, and users print to them over the internet using the driverless print support built into Windows. Jobs flow from the laptop to Microsoft’s service and then to the printer.
There are two ways a printer joins Universal Print:
If you keep the connector, you still have one local machine. It is far lighter than a print server, but it needs patching and monitoring like any other endpoint.
Licensing and print volume
Universal Print is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft 365 E3, E5 and F3, and Windows Enterprise E3 and E5, and it is also sold standalone. Both users and the admins who manage printers need an eligible license.
Usage is measured in print jobs, pooled across the tenant each month. A job is one document sent to the printer, regardless of page count or copies.
For a typical office on Business Premium, the pool is generous. Check the usage report in the Universal Print portal after the first month, and buy add-on job packs only if you need them.
Deploying printers with Intune
Once a printer is registered and shared in Universal Print, Intune installs it on users’ Windows devices using the settings catalog. The older PrintProvisioning tool and printers.csv method are deprecated, so use this approach for new deployments.
Devices > Manage devices > Configuration > Create > New policy, choose Windows 10 and later and Settings catalog.Build one policy per site or floor, named clearly, such as
WIN-SC-Printers-HQ-Floor2. People who move offices then get the right printers by changing group membership.Requirements and known limits
Universal Print through Intune works well, but it has edges you should plan around:
A migration checklist
Moving off a print server goes smoothly when you treat it as a small project rather than a weekend change:
Specialist needs such as badge release, scanning workflows or cost tracking often come from partner solutions that integrate with Universal Print. Check with your printer vendor before you assume a feature carries over.
If printing is the last piece holding you to on-premises servers, our migration projects team plans the move end to end. For the device side, see our Intune deployment service and broader Microsoft 365 services.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still need a print server with Universal Print?
No print server is needed for Universal Print ready printers. Older printers need the Universal Print connector on a Windows machine on the local network, which is much lighter than a print server but still has to be maintained.
Does Universal Print need drivers on the laptops?
No. Windows uses built-in driverless printing with Universal Print. Advanced device features may depend on the printer model and partner software.
Is Universal Print included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium?
Yes. Business Premium includes Universal Print and adds 100 print jobs per license to the tenant’s monthly pool.
Microsoft’s Intune steps are in Create a Universal Print policy in Microsoft Intune.
Ready to retire your print server and move fully to the cloud? Book a free Microsoft 365 security assessment and we will map out what is still tying you to on-premises infrastructure.