Author Topic: License To Print Microsoft Universal Print charging for print jobs SCAM  (Read 1373 times)

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Offline MrMobodiesTopic starter

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I came across this article:
https://old.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/nl0yaj/anyone_using_microsoft_universal_print_in_azure/
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Anyone using Microsoft universal print in azure (self.sysadmin)
submitted 2 years ago by TerdBrgler

Hello. Boss is interested in azure universal print. Looks pretty straightforward however no mention is made of cost. Yes you have to add this service to your azure resources but once u start printing Thru it do they charge you per print or anything at all? Like how many printers you have or how many prints sent? Thanks!
I couldn't believe it at first.

https://cloudywithachanceoflicensing.com/2023/04/17/microsoft-365-universal-print-allowance/
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Microsoft Universal Print is a cloud printing service   :bullshit: that * removes the need for on-premises print servers :bullshit: and printer drivers :bullshit:  and ** makes printing from anywhere easier for users and organisations.  :bullshit:

Previously, each user licenses with Windows E3 received 5 print jobs per month which were added to a central pool. Microsoft have now added an allowance of 100 print jobs per month for Microsoft 365 E3/E5 users:

License   Jobs Per Month
Microsoft 365 E3, E5   100
Microsoft 365 A3, A5, F3, Business Premium   5
Windows 10 Enterprise E3, E5, A3, A5   5
Universal Print (standalone)   5
If you have 1,000 M365 E3/E5 licenses, you now have 100,000 print jobs available each month. For organisations where this pooled allowance isn’t enough, additional print jobs can be purchased:

Quantity   Price   EDU Discount (and Price)

500 jobs   $25/mo   $7.50/mo
10,000 jobs   $300/mo   $90/mo
The standalone license is $4 per user per month.
I know a garage that sold and repair cars and a bathroom business where they had these really old print servers that had been going for over 20 years where they could print remotely through their VPN and none of this nonsense.

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removes the need for on-premises print servers... and printer drivers and makes printing from anywhere easier[/b] for users and organisations.

*Utter bullshit For a user, How HARD is it to install a print driver? They go onto the manufacturer's website and download it or were given the installation media in the package or the operating system finds it if it is included.

** That's why I'd have the print servers onsite to control the printers inside. Why have the print servers or control outside over a broadband connection when the printers are inside. Unless they mean printers in remote places which can be done in other ways that sounds very stupid to me. It does not remove the need more like begs the need for it.

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/universal-print-or-unlimited-print/ba-p/3788180
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Universal Print or unlimited print?
By Harjit_Dhaliwal Published Apr 05 2023 09:00 AM  38.1K Views

Printing is still essential.
We often hear that “print is dead”—but printing is still an essential daily activity for many people working to support their customers and partners. Universal Print makes printing easier than ever, and does away with the need for print servers, enabling a more sustainable print management infrastructure in the cloud.

As the number of organizations, people, and active printers registered with Universal Print continues to grow, we are working hard to add features that will make printing simpler and more efficient.

Listening to your needs
Microsoft 365 for Enterprise combines Microsoft 365 apps for enterprise (Office 365), Windows Enterprise E3, and Enterprise Mobility + Security. People can meet, collaborate, and stay connected across boundaries in today's modern workspace with Microsoft 365, whether they work in the office, at home, or from anywhere they have an internet connection. Printing is still an important part of collaboration processes, and Universal Print moves printing to the cloud, making it accessible from anywhere.

Print usage has increased significantly as people return to the office, even if only for a few days per week and as a result, Microsoft 365 organizations are reporting that they need to purchase additional print jobs for Universal Print. :bullshit: Furthermore, tracking print jobs across an organization takes time and is not a priority. Microsoft is constantly listening to feedback, and we are minimizing the need to track and purchase additional print jobs for Microsoft 365 customers.

** We are implementing a change that simplifies the purchase and tracking of Universal Print print-jobs, as requested by Microsoft 365 organizations. Beginning on May 1, 2023, organizations with a Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 plan will have access to 100 print jobs per license per month.

The 100 print jobs per month that are attached to every license are automatically added to the organization’s pool and are available to all employees with an assigned Universal Print seat. With this change, we meet the growing print needs of Microsoft 365 organizations and simplify print volume management.

thumbnail image 1 captioned Screenshot of the Universal Print Usage and Reports overview in the Azure portal.
Screenshot of the Universal Print Usage and Reports overview in the Azure portal.

As an illustration, consider the following: Previously, an organization with 1,000 licenses for Microsoft 365 E3 received 5,000 print jobs with the Windows E3 license included in Microsoft 365. In this example, this company will receive 100,000 print jobs from its Microsoft 365 licenses, beginning May 1, 2023.

This benefit change simplifies your cloud adoption journey with Universal Print.  :bullshit:

New in Universal Print
We are simplifying print jobs management and we are also adding more functionality.

** All major printer manufacturers have Universal Print ready printer models available, or models that can be upgraded with new firmware or a printer app. You can find them by visiting the Universal Print integrations page.
Print Support Apps (PSA) improve the print experience or offer integration with a line of business applications. Check out our blog post for more information.
The native integration of Universal Print with macOS preview is expected in June 2023 and will empower macOS users to print from any app, just like Windows users can do today. Whether people are on Windows or macOS, they will have a seamless, no learning-curve print-experience. Organizations benefit from the simplicity of a single print solution for all users.
Using a QR code scan with their iOS or Android smartphone, employees will be able to securely release a print job. We are preparing for a preview and if you want to participate, please complete this form and we will contact you soon.
More information about Universal Print can be found at print.microsoft.com, where you can learn how to get started. You can also visit Get To Know Universal Print for a quick, 10-minute walkthrough.

Continue the conversation. Discover best practices. Check out the Universal Print zone in the Windows Tech Community.

* Implementing a change by charging for print jobs in exchange to "simplify" it as if people are too stupid to set it up.

** So I see it is a proprietary print driver/interface standard set out by Microsoft where the printer manufacturers make firmware to support it but controlled and locked down by Microsoft.

Why would anybody want this piece of sh*t to firmware hijack and lock down their printer and charge them to use it?

For an outside service I'd expect flat rate not per print.

What do you think?
« Last Edit: July 06, 2023, 11:05:37 am by MrMobodies »
 

Offline sokoloff

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I think if a business offers something that you aren’t interested in, you shouldn’t buy it. Someone’s interested in this, or Microsoft wouldn’t build it. If you’re not, run your own print servers or buy networked printers.
 
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Offline nctnico

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Setting up a printer still is notoriously hard on Windows... So it looks like Microsoft has re-invented PCL5 / Postscript over the network and sells it as a fix for something they broke in the first place. You've got to give them credit for making money from their own mistake. Or people are just stupid enough to buy into it.

Setting up a printer on Linux or Macos is super easy. No need to go to the manufacturer's website at all / install a bunch of crappy software.
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 
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Offline dferyance

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Maybe if you bundle it with mouse as a service and keyboard as a service, you can get a better rate. It sounds like it isn't nothing though. They are running print servers and infrastructure for it. But I get how that feels like nickel and diming things -- which is probably why they are doing it.
 

Offline MrMobodiesTopic starter

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Setting up a printer still is notoriously hard on Windows... So it looks like Microsoft has re-invented PCL5 / Postscript over the network and sells it as a fix * for something they broke in the first place.
All I do is get the basic driver and manually install and that only takes me about 10 - 20 seconds when I got the driver.

* Something else that use to get broken:
I remember in the past when something got changed, the IP I set in the driver with wds (windows printing port) and I only know about this when someone complains that it is no longer working. I'd find it, set the port back, it would work and about a week after it would do the same thing and I remembered doing something to disable it. I think it might have been a service I turned off.

That annoyed me, just like Vista auto doing stuff behind my back, removing the file names and setting the detail view to extra large icons and removing the file names next time I open a folder because it had one picture in there and have to set whole load of things to set it back and it defaults to it again but no option to disable it but that behaviour seems to have stopped in service pack 2.

https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/669811-are-printer-ports-automatically-changing-to-wds
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Are Printer Ports Automatically Changing to WDS?
Posted by Hurdy-Gurdy on Dec 3rd, 2014 at 3:16 PM
Windows Server
I could just be going nuts, but I've noticed over the past year that printers seem to be defaulting, and changing, to WDS ports even when originally set up as a TCP/IP printer port. We have nothing but issues with WDS and it suddenly not communicating with any givin printer, and we do not seem to be alone in that trouble.
Unless it was installed like that how about they LEAVE IT ALONE and don't interfere/break it... Very stupid!
« Last Edit: July 06, 2023, 01:01:24 pm by MrMobodies »
 

Offline tom66

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Given the IT guy at a friend's workplace managed to break all the networked printers with a Windows update, a service like this could be beneficial.

At the end of the day: they are offering a $300 a month service.  That is worth a lot to a business if it means the printers are highly reliable (as reliable as printers can be).  I'm sure you can do printing yourself without any of this nonsense if you want.
 
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Offline Haenk

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Given the IT guy at a friend's workplace managed to break all the networked printers with a Windows update, a service like this could be beneficial.

We too have that on a regular base - a major Windows update, and printing on one of our printers is likely broken (paper format or whatever).
But I certainly would not pay Microsoft for a a basic function they break ever so often.
 

Offline MrMobodiesTopic starter

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Given the IT guy at a friend's workplace managed to break all the networked printers with a Windows update, a service like this could be beneficial.

At the end of the day: they are offering a $300 a month service.  That is worth a lot to a business if it means the printers are highly reliable (as reliable as printers can be).  I'm sure you can do printing yourself without any of this nonsense if you want.

That's why I try to be very careful with the updates. That couldn't be his fault thought could it? if it was out of his control and he didn't know but what if  the update also affects what's between the $300 a month service.

I remembered once, Nvidia decided to stop supporting a graphics chipset. They released a driver that allowed install. In a bathroom distribution warehouse It got automatically installed and blue screen on 6 computers with that graphics card installed. So installed the previous driver. Deselected them on the optional windows updates, well I thought I did, a couple of days it happens again. So we end up install the updates manually. Not ideal.

A windows update that has a caused the printers to stop working or changes or interferes with it should not warrant a $300 month service to correct it.

I think what they could do is start renting the printers with the subscriptions which might be worth it on a temporarily basis for mass workforce where it is call preconfigured with their firmware and you just send them back after you are finished with it where they service them for the next lot.
« Last Edit: July 06, 2023, 02:23:50 pm by MrMobodies »
 

Offline madires

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Now it's clear why Microsoft are breaking printing via Windows updates from time to time. They want to sell a Universal Print subscription. >:D
 
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Offline PlainName

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I think if a business offers something that you aren’t interested in, you shouldn’t buy it. Someone’s interested in this, or Microsoft wouldn’t build it. If you’re not, run your own print servers or buy networked printers.

Problem with stuff like this is that the legacy way will end up being removed or made impossible.
 

Offline SiliconWizard

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Now it's clear why Microsoft are breaking printing via Windows updates from time to time. They want to sell a Universal Print subscription. >:D

 ;D
 

Online themadhippy

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So I see it is a proprietary print driver/interface standard set out by Microsoft where the printer manufacturers make firmware to support it but controlled and locked down by Microsoft.
Nothing new there.Cant recall the fancy name they gave it,but the claim was to make life easier for the end user,just as long as that end user was using the latest version of windows.
 
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