Printing: from wireless to driverless and serverless, towards ultimate convenience
14/01/2026
You press the print button and the right printer immediately springs into action. Within a minute, you’ve printed a handout for a meeting straight from your laptop: the print button just works, without having to install drivers or jump through any hoops. That wasn’t always the case, but today that cumbersome era is almost forgotten. Wireless simplicity is the norm, and technology keeps moving forward. With driverless and serverless printing, users and devices have never communicated more smoothly.
How wireless printing works depends on the devices and technologies used. With traditional wireless printing, it may still be necessary to install specific applications on mobile devices or configure drivers on laptops.
A variant of this technology is printing via Wi-Fi Direct. In this case, the print job is not sent through the office network; instead, a device connects directly to a compatible printer via the Wi-Fi protocol. Functionally, this is best compared to how you pair a PC with a headset via Bluetooth. Wireless or Wi-Fi printing has become almost self-evident today: everyone expects office printers to be available via the (wireless) company network.
Driverless printing is made possible by the close integration of printers with the operating systems your people use. At the heart of this is the Universal Print Driver (UPD), which can immediately control many different printers from a single manufacturer.
Drivers from leading manufacturers such as Konica Minolta are increasingly integrated directly into the operating system. Windows 11, for example, can work with many printers without requiring additional software installations, specifically thanks to IPP and UPD support.
You can group multiple printers into a serverless pull-printing group. Print jobs are stored on an MFP, and a user can authenticate at any device within the group to release the print job.
This approach contrasts with infrastructures where print jobs are managed by a print server. Such a server can be located on-premises, or its functionality can reside in the cloud (such as Microsoft Universal Print or Google Cloud Print). In those cases, the print server forwards jobs to the appropriate printers.
With serverless printing, MFPs take on the role of the print server. For employees who simply want to print, the difference in functionality may hardly be noticeable. For IT administrators, however, it is significant: once again, a layer of complexity is removed.
For IT administrators, the benefits lie in time savings and simplified management. There is no longer a need to maintain print servers or configure end-user devices.
Wireless printing is, of course, supported—including on mobile devices via the Mobile Print App (available for Android and iOS). Driverless printing is also straightforward, thanks to the Universal Print Driver, compatible with Microsoft Universal Print. For serverless printing, compatible devices are required, and these are available within the bizhub range. In practice, this means working with i-Option (LK-144) and an accompanying tool that allows you to configure and manage a serverless pull-printing group.
In any case, the support of a specialized partner such as Konica Minolta is invaluable. Once your print environment is aligned with the most modern capabilities, you and your employees will reap the benefits every single day.
You press the print button and the right printer immediately springs into action. Within a minute, you’ve printed a handout for a meeting straight from your laptop: the print button just works, without having to install drivers or jump through any hoops. That wasn’t always the case, but today that cumbersome era is almost forgotten. Wireless simplicity is the norm, and technology keeps moving forward. With driverless and serverless printing, users and devices have never communicated more smoothly.
Wireless printing
Wireless printing is no longer a new technology. Today, you expect to be able to send print jobs over the Wi-Fi network, whether from your laptop, tablet, or smartphone. To do this, your printer must support wireless connectivity (via Wi-Fi) or be connected to your company network via cable, making it accessible to wireless devices. You can then configure the printer and make it discoverable on the network.How wireless printing works depends on the devices and technologies used. With traditional wireless printing, it may still be necessary to install specific applications on mobile devices or configure drivers on laptops.
A variant of this technology is printing via Wi-Fi Direct. In this case, the print job is not sent through the office network; instead, a device connects directly to a compatible printer via the Wi-Fi protocol. Functionally, this is best compared to how you pair a PC with a headset via Bluetooth. Wireless or Wi-Fi printing has become almost self-evident today: everyone expects office printers to be available via the (wireless) company network.
Driverless printing
Things become even more interesting when driverless printing enters the picture. Driverless printing makes it possible to print without installing drivers. By eliminating drivers, you simplify IT management and reduce the risk of headaches for your employees.Driverless printing is made possible by the close integration of printers with the operating systems your people use. At the heart of this is the Universal Print Driver (UPD), which can immediately control many different printers from a single manufacturer.
Drivers from leading manufacturers such as Konica Minolta are increasingly integrated directly into the operating system. Windows 11, for example, can work with many printers without requiring additional software installations, specifically thanks to IPP and UPD support.
Serverless printing
With serverless printing, the story reaches its conclusion. This technology makes it possible to process print jobs without the need for a print server. Print jobs are handled and executed by the printer itself.You can group multiple printers into a serverless pull-printing group. Print jobs are stored on an MFP, and a user can authenticate at any device within the group to release the print job.
This approach contrasts with infrastructures where print jobs are managed by a print server. Such a server can be located on-premises, or its functionality can reside in the cloud (such as Microsoft Universal Print or Google Cloud Print). In those cases, the print server forwards jobs to the appropriate printers.
With serverless printing, MFPs take on the role of the print server. For employees who simply want to print, the difference in functionality may hardly be noticeable. For IT administrators, however, it is significant: once again, a layer of complexity is removed.
Efficiency gains
When wireless, driverless, and serverless printing become the standard within your organization, you achieve a maximally simplified print environment. Printing then runs smoothly and without obstacles, for both administrators and employees. Installing drivers becomes a thing of the past, supporting a BYOD strategy and drastically speeding up the configuration of new devices during onboarding.For IT administrators, the benefits lie in time savings and simplified management. There is no longer a need to maintain print servers or configure end-user devices.
The right devices
To set up a modern, driver- and server-free print environment, you need the right devices. A specialized partner can help you achieve this. Konica Minolta offers MFPs suitable for every step toward a simplified print environment.Wireless printing is, of course, supported—including on mobile devices via the Mobile Print App (available for Android and iOS). Driverless printing is also straightforward, thanks to the Universal Print Driver, compatible with Microsoft Universal Print. For serverless printing, compatible devices are required, and these are available within the bizhub range. In practice, this means working with i-Option (LK-144) and an accompanying tool that allows you to configure and manage a serverless pull-printing group.
In any case, the support of a specialized partner such as Konica Minolta is invaluable. Once your print environment is aligned with the most modern capabilities, you and your employees will reap the benefits every single day.