Forcefully install network printer driver via IP

[Master Razor]

Hello,

I have some windows computers that need to have printers installed on them. The driver setup from manufacturer's website does not install saying it cannot find the printer. I had give it the IP address and hostname and it still said it could not find it. I did a ping on the ip address and it replied OK, and also accessed the web config page on the printer and that worked as well.
Turning the printer on/off never worked, and the issue is not tied to sleep/standby mode.
I get this issue frequently when installing, sometimes the printers are in the same vlan as their users while other times are in different vlans.
Printers manufacturers are Kyochera and HP.

Is there some way I can force the driver to actually find it? I was thinking of something like a static route twards the printer but I'm not sure if it would work?
Do you have any advice/tips/suggestions?


Thank you

[anon]

Why I Believe Printers Were Sent From Hell To Make Us Miserable - The Oatmeal

If you can ping the printer and "[access] the web config page", routes aren't a problem. I'd look into driveridentifier.com or other sites to see if you can find an older version of the drivers that works.

Fun fact: I put my 15-year-old Epson Stylus Color 440 on sale for 600 pesos back when 400 could buy a multifunction one, and someone was crazy enough to buy it. It wasn't a scam, that printer was super-reliable but only if you used it regularly, and I didn't.

[Master Razor]

That is a good idea but I was hoping of a more universal solution.
Based on your experience, what is causing this? It is weird because sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

[alpacino]

Which Windows is it?

Why I Believe Printers Were Sent From Hell To Make Us Miserable - The Oatmeal

Jesus H. Christ, I can definitely relate to this! Glad I'm not the only one. These days I always tell people that no matter the printer they buy, they are always gonna be expendable, period. There will be a time where nothing you do will save the device, but to wipe the tears and buy a new one.

Fun fact: I put my 15-year-old Epson Stylus Color 440 on sale for 600 pesos back when 400 could buy a multifunction one, and someone was crazy enough to buy it. It wasn't a scam, that printer was super-reliable but only if you used it regularly, and I didn't.

Happened a similar stuff with me, but the printer was an Epson LX 300 (or 310). It was a time when dot matrix printers were becoming rare and small stores preferred it against the poor quality and expensive deskjets, specially because they were very cost effective for printing small bills and receipts.

[Master Razor]

The majority of cases happens on Windows 7, but I've also seen this on 8 and 8.1.

[anon]

Based on your experience, what is causing this? It is weird because sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

I wouldn't know, everywhere I've been uses the old sharing method (SMB on a computer that's connected to the printer and always powered on), so my experience with these is limited. You may want to try disabling IPv6 on the printers if they're that sophisticated.

dot matrix printers

Those things were made to last forever The plastic casing on newer ones is so cheap you can see (and feel) it bend just y pressing firmly with a single finger. And when they break, a repair often costs almost as much as throwing the thing away and buying a new one.