Windows 7 drives printers

So you may be wondering how a Windows 7 upgrade may affect your support staff, namely your printing devices.  Many manufacturers are offering Windows 7 driver updates online and several of the newest products on the market will come complete with Windows 7 compatible drivers on the included CD-ROM.

Here’s a rundown on what individual manufacturers have to say about the latest Windows Operating System launch.

Brother
Brother put out a statement in late April of this year that it planned to offer Windows 7 Device Stage, a standardized interface for customers running Win 7 to easily access all the features of supported Brother MFCs or DCPs. 

Brother is also offering Windows 7 driver updates on their website for newer models and will eventually have compatible drivers available for all current models.  To see when your Brother printer will offer the upgrade, check out Brother’s release schedule.

Canon
Canon is a proud partner of Microsoft for today’s Windows 7 launch.  Several of their recently announced products will be compatible with the latest Windows operating system including the Pixma MP990 and the imageCLASS MF8050Cn. 

In addition, customers with older models can download Windows 7 compatible drivers on Canon's website for a host of the inkjet, dye sub and laser products Canon offers today.  Check to see if your model is compatible with Windows 7 with Canon's compatibility list. 

Dell
Dell is first and foremost a computer company and so you have to believe that they will be rolling out Windows 7 drivers for any new and current printer in their stable eventually.  They don’t have a page or PDF referencing exact models compatible with Windows 7 BUT you can visit their Drivers and Downloads page, select your model and a drop down list of all current supported operating systems will appear. 

Dell also has an available Windows 7 FAQ's page.

Epson
Epson announced in May that it was a proud partner of Microsoft and would actively support the release of the Windows 7 operating system. Since then the company has included Windows 7 support with many of its newer products on the included driver CD.  For previous generations still being sold or for customers who already own an Epson product, Epson has a Windows 7 Support page up to help users find compatible drivers with their current products.

Epson has also created a Windows 7 FAQ page for users have difficulties finding their product, downloading new drivers, etc. 

HP
Like Dell, HP is a computer company that has expanded their horizons into other markets but, unlike Dell, HP has a great Windows 7 landing page that addresses the needs of several products with the latest Windows operating system.  This includes: software and driver search on the front page, support forums for consumers and business, how-to videos, a Windows 7 tour etc.   

HP also gives customers the ability to check the compatibility of Windows 7 with any of HP’s imaging and print products on a unique page and provides a Windows 7 FAQs page for imaging and printing products.

Kodak
As far as I can tell, Kodak made no mention of the Windows 7 Operating system on their site and when I checked their firmware download page for several of their most recent ESP AIO printers, there was no compatible Windows 7 driver as of the Windows Launch Date (Oct. 22nd).

Konica Minolta
No mention of the Windows 7 operating system on the Konica Minolta front page.  For the sampling of products I checked – Magicolor 1600W, bizhub Pro 1050, bizhub c353p -  there were no compatible Windows 7 drivers available for download at the time of this writing.

Lexmark
Lexmark offers a link to Windows 7 compatibility on their front page under Drivers & Downloads.  The link takes you to Lexmark’s OS Compatibility Index and offers charts for Windows 7 compatible business products and compatible home office and SMB products.

Users can also search for the Windows 7 driver for a specific product they may already own.

Many products are already compatible with the new operating system and Lexmark offers an information page about Windows 7 when looking up products.

OKI Printing Solutions
OKI offers a brief run down on the Windows Logo Program as a certified Microsoft Gold Partner (meaning that most of their products will be compatible with Windows 7) but as of today’s writing, it did not seem like there were Windows 7 drivers available. 

OKI does offer a search for drivers for any specific OKI product.

Ricoh
We found no mention of Windows 7 on Ricoh’s Global page, Ricoh USA’s support page, or Ricoh USA’s download page as of this writing.

Samsung
Samsung does offer some Windows 7 drivers but I couldn’t find any sort of Windows 7 Support page on the site.  Current owners of a Samsung printer should check out Samsung’s support page.  Users can either search the exact product by typing in the model number/name or search office supplies and selecting the product from a drop down list.

Xerox
Xerox has small blurb on Windows 7 in the Office newsroom which directs readers to a Xerox Equipment Compatibility with Windows 7 list.

Xerox customers can search for the latest drivers for their current products on the Support and Drivers page as well as their individual product pages.

We will continue to update this page as more information comes out about Windows 7 compatibility and manufacturer's release new upgrades.