Case file · No. 41207 · Selectec
The Missing
Driver
A five-part case file on printing from ARM64 laptops
Your customers are buying ARM64 laptops: Copilot+ PCs, Snapdragon Surface devices and more, picked for battery life and performance. Then they try to print. Windows on ARM can't load the x64 printer drivers they've always used, and many printer manufacturers haven't released ARM64 drivers yet.
Versions of that support ticket reach our desk most weeks, so we opened a case file. Five short episodes for resellers and OEM partners, about a minute each. Watch them in order, or jump to the one you need.
- 1The TicketForty laptops, no prints
- 2The AutopsyWhy x64 drivers fail
- 3The InterviewThe driver with an alibi
- 4The ReconstructionOne queue, right driver
- 5The AppealLost clicks, lost data
Episode 1: The TicketNo ARM64 printer driver for new Windows on ARM laptops
Case notes
It came in on a Monday, from a partner we've known for years. Forty new laptops, all working perfectly, and not one of them could print. The printers were fine. The old driver was built for a different chip, and the ARM64 driver everyone was waiting for hadn't been written.
The lead: PaperCut's Global Print Driver runs natively on ARM64. It lets users print to the printers they already have, today, without waiting for the manufacturer.
Read the transcript
It came in on a Monday, from a partner we've known for years. Forty new laptops. All working perfectly. And not one of them could print. The printers were fine. The old driver was built for a different chip. And the ARM64 driver everyone was waiting for... hadn't been written. The printer declined to comment. But there was a lead. A driver that already runs on ARM64, and doesn't wait for the manufacturer. Next time: the autopsy. Why the old driver never stood a chance.
Episode 2: The AutopsyWhy x64 printer drivers fail on ARM64 laptops
Case notes
Windows on ARM is good at running older software. It translates most x64 apps as they run, which is why browsers, spreadsheets and line-of-business tools carry on working after an ARM rollout.
Printer drivers are different. They aren't apps: they plug into Windows' own print system, and on an ARM laptop that system only accepts ARM64 drivers. No amount of translation changes that.
Cause of failure: wrong architecture. The printer was innocent, and so was whoever installed it.
Read the transcript
Every case gets an autopsy. This one, on a printer driver. We dusted for prints. Nothing. First, the laptops. Zoom in on the chip... enhance. It's ARM. Not the x64 these drivers were built for. Windows on ARM translates most x64 apps as they run. Your browser, your spreadsheets. They just work. But a printer driver isn't an app. It plugs into Windows' own print system, and on ARM, that only speaks ARM. Cause of failure: wrong architecture. The printer was innocent. So was everyone who installed it. Next time: the interview. One driver walks in with an alibi.
Episode 3: The InterviewOne print driver for ARM64 and x64 laptops
Case notes
We brought the printer in for questioning. It gave us nothing. Then a second witness walked in with an alibi.
PaperCut's Global Print Driver runs natively on both ARM64 and x64 (from version 100.3.0.0, included with PaperCut NG/MF 24.0.3), and it works across brands and models: one driver for everyday printing, whatever chip is in the laptop.
Its one admission: booklets and advanced finishing are best left to the manufacturer's own driver. When an ARM64 version arrives, it joins the same queue, so nothing is thrown away.
Read the transcript
Interview room two. The printer had been brought in for questioning. We asked why forty laptops couldn't print. Where the driver was. It gave us nothing. Then a second witness walked in. With an alibi. PaperCut's Global Print Driver. Runs natively on ARM64 and x64, across brands and models. Its one admission? Booklets and fancy finishing are best left to the manufacturer's driver, if one turns up. Next time: the reconstruction. How every laptop gets the right driver, without anyone lifting a finger.
Episode 4: The ReconstructionDeploying the right printer driver to every laptop from one queue
Case notes
One print queue carries two drivers: one for the x64 laptops and one for ARM64. Each laptop checks in, PaperCut sees which chip it has, and hands over the driver that matches. Nobody chooses, and nobody gets it wrong. No manufacturer ARM64 driver? The Global Print Driver fills that slot.
Two lines of enquiry, same result. On site, it's Print Deploy in PaperCut MF. In the cloud, it's Print Queue Deployment in PaperCut Hive. Either way, no scripts and no group policy.
Read the transcript
We pulled the footage. Night one, after PaperCut went in. One print queue. Inside, a driver for the x64 laptops, and a driver for ARM64. Each laptop checks in. PaperCut sees its chip and hands over the matching driver. Nobody chooses. Nobody gets it wrong. No ARM64 driver from the manufacturer? The Global Print Driver fills that slot. Two lines of enquiry. On site, it was Print Deploy in PaperCut MF. In the cloud, Print Queue Deployment in PaperCut Hive. Same result. No scripts. No group policy. Next time: the appeal. Who really loses when a laptop can't print?
Episode 5: The AppealThe cost of laptops that can't print: lost clicks and untracked data
Case notes
Follow the money. When a laptop can't print, users don't stop printing. They find a home printer, an old PC or an inkjet nobody manages, and every page that goes there is a click that never reaches the fleet you look after.
The real crime is what happens to those pages. A payslip on a home printer, a disciplinary letter on a tray nobody empties. No audit trail, no secure release. That's how data breaches start. And many sites run four desktop printers for every MFD, each needing the right driver.
Jurisdiction decides who closes the case. Living in the cloud: PaperCut Hive. Data that can't leave the building: PaperCut MF with Print Deploy.
Read the transcript
Tonight, an appeal. Have you seen this ticket? Follow the money. Users don't stop printing. They find a home printer, an old PC, an inkjet nobody manages. Every page that goes there is a click you never bill. And it's not just the money. Nobody's tracking those pages. A payslip on a home printer. A disciplinary letter on a tray nobody empties. That's how data breaches start. And that's the real crime. And it's rarely just the copier. Many sites run four desktop printers for every MFD. Each one needs the right driver. Jurisdiction decides who closes the case. Living in the cloud? PaperCut Hive. Data that can't leave the building? PaperCut MF, with Print Deploy. Recognise the case? Call the incident hotline. We'll take the pre-sales and the installs, so you can keep selling. Case closed. Thank you for following the case.
The case in brief
- The problem
- Windows on ARM laptops can't load x64 printer drivers, and many manufacturers haven't released ARM64 ones.
- The fix
- PaperCut's Global Print Driver runs natively on ARM64 and x64, across brands and models.
- The rollout
- One queue hands each laptop the driver that matches its chip: Print Deploy in PaperCut MF on site, Print Queue Deployment in PaperCut Hive in the cloud.
- Why it matters
- Pages that can't reach managed printers go somewhere else, untracked and unbilled.
Questions we get asked
Can an ARM64 laptop use an x64 printer driver?
No. Windows on ARM can run most x64 apps through emulation, but printer drivers load into the Windows print system, which on ARM only accepts ARM64 drivers.
Do we need to wait for the printer manufacturer?
No. PaperCut's Global Print Driver supports ARM64 now. Add the manufacturer's ARM64 driver to the same queue later if you need its advanced finishing.
Do we need separate queues for ARM64 and x64 laptops?
No. Print Deploy (PaperCut MF) and Print Queue Deployment (PaperCut Hive) hand each laptop the right driver from one queue.
The incident hotline
Got a case like this?
Selectec is the UK's longest-standing PaperCut distributor, and we work only through reseller partners. Bring us the ticket: we'll take the pre-sales, scoping and installs, so you can keep selling.
CASE 41207 · STATUS: OPEN UNTIL EVERY LAPTOP PRINTS
