print driver settings and takes effect when the driver is installed. HP Driver Deployment Utility DDU is used to pre-configure a print driver for deployment. When the package is run on the client computer, the new configuration file configures the printer driver after it is installed, and does not interfere with WHQL certification. DDU contains the standalone DCU utility inside the package and is launched when Pre-configure driver is selected from the DDU tool. Beyond driver configuration, HP UPD also employs managed printer lists (MPLs) and managed print policies (MPP) to control access to devices and capabilities. These technologies are used with HP UPD in dynamic mode. If MPLs are used, then searching for devices is unnecessary. Users are presented with a predefined list of devices from which to choose. MPLs are XML files that can be created manually, with the HP MPA utility, or exported from HP Web Jetadmin. When the HP UPD is activated, it begins by searching the network for the MPL file as shown in Figure 6. MPPs are used to control which users have access to device features like color, duplex, etc. By default, HP UPD assumes that the HP MPA is installed on a server named managed-print. As a result, HP UPD searches the network for this server to find HP Managed Print Policies or HP Managed Printer Lists. Status Notification Popups (SNPs) The driver also includes status notification pop-ups during print submission that inform the user on device status, print job status, and consumable levels. This is a graphical popup window that displays a dashboard of toner supply levels, links for reordering consumables, and an instant support landing page for that particular HP device model. When the HP UPD is selected for printing, it will attempt to communicate directly with the printer to gather status and job information during printing. By querying the printer through SNMP get commands, network traffic is kept to a minimum and is only present during printing. If desired, the SNPs can be disabled. Sources HP Universal Print Driver Admin Guide HP Universal Print Driver v5.7.0.16448 Release Notes External links HP Universal Print Driver Series for Windows - overview and features Computer printers Device drivers Universal Print Driver