If every user in an organization connects directly and separately to a printer, managing drivers, print queues, and permissions quickly becomes unmanageable. Print Server solves this: a central server that manages printers, with clients connecting to it over the network.
Step 1: Install the Print Server role
From Server Manager, go to Add Roles and Features. Under Server Roles, open Print and Document Services and check Print Server. Continue the installation through to the end.
Step 2: Open the Print Management console
After installation, from Server Manager go to Tools > Print Management. This console is the central hub for managing every printer connected to this server.
Step 3: Add a new printer
Right-click Print Servers > server name > Printers and select Add Printer. The wizard offers a few modes:
Search the network for printers — for network printers that are already on and available.
Add a new printer using an existing port — if the printer is directly connected to the server (e.g., via USB).
Select the printer and install the appropriate driver (Windows usually has drivers for the most common brands built in; otherwise, you'll need to download the driver file from the manufacturer).
Step 4: Share the printer on the network
If the printer isn't automatically shared, right-click it and open Properties > Sharing:
Check Share this printer.
Choose a clear share name (e.g., "Printer-Accounting-Floor2").
Step 5: Control access with permissions
Just like a File Server, you can specify which users or groups are allowed to print:
From the Security tab in the printer's Properties, add the target group (e.g., "Accounting-Team") and grant Print permission.
This way, you can restrict an expensive or sensitive printer (like a color printer for bank checks) to a specific department only.
Step 6: Automatically deploy the printer via Group Policy
Instead of every user manually installing the printer on their own computer, you can automate this through a GPO (exactly what was covered in my Group Policy tutorial):
In Print Management, right-click the printer and select Deploy with Group Policy.
Choose the target GPO (tied to a specific OU, e.g., the accounting department).
From this point on, every user in that OU sees the printer automatically installed when they log in — no manual work at all.
Step 7: Monitor the print queue
From the same Print Management console, the All Print Jobs section shows which print jobs are queued, who sent them, and if a job gets stuck (e.g., due to running out of paper), you can cancel or retry it right from here — with no need to physically go to the printer.
Why does Print Server still matter?
Even in today's world where most documents are digital, most organizations still need physical printing (invoices, contracts, official paperwork). Centrally managing this process — instead of a chaotic scatter of individual printers — is exactly the kind of management skill covered in my MCSA courses.
Blog