What's New for Printer Drivers in Windows 95

With few exceptions, any printer driver that ran under Windows 3.1 should be able to run under Windows 95 without modifications. Exceptions are printer drivers that go beyond supporting the standard DDI interface to deliver functionality beyond a straight translation of DDI calls to printer commands.

Major differences in Windows 95 printer support are in the areas of

• User interface for installing, configuring, and controlling printers is different than Windows 3.1. For more information, see User Interface Changes.
• The printer subsystem API has changed from Windows 3.1 and the printer subsystem spooling efficiency and flexibility have been improved. For more information, see Print Subsystem Changes.
• Printer installation has changed significantly from the way it was handled in Windows 3.1. For more information, see Printer Installation Changes.
• For color printers, Windows 95 supports matching colors from the screen with colors on the printed page; this is called image color matching. For more information, see Image Color Matching Support.

There are also a number of changes in the printer driver DDI from Windows 3.1. For example,

• Some DDI support that was recommended under Windows 3.1 is required in Windows 95.
• Changes have been made to the DDI under Windows 95 to expand functionality.

For more information about changes in the printer driver DDI, see Printer Driver DDI Changes.