https://acortaz.eu/que-es-servidor-de-impresion

If you’ve ever been in an office, pressed “Print,” and wondered why the print job is still stuck in the queue, you’ve likely been caught in one of the many printing bottlenecks that businesses face every day. Printing may seem simple – you hit a button and a piece of paper comes out of a machine – but behind that moment is a whole infrastructure of hardware, software, permissions, and networking. That’s where a print server, or in Spanish, a servidor de impresión, comes into the picture.

In my time helping small businesses set up their IT, I’ve seen one printer shared across ten computers, with each user individually installing drivers, creating chaos when someone upgraded a printer, or the print queue froze and everyone yelled at IT. A good print server can take that mess and make it smooth.

In this article, I’m going to demystify what a print server is, why it matters, how it works, the types available, what benefits you can expect, how you can implement it, when you might skip it, and where printing technology is headed. I aim to keep it friendly, clear, and practical so even if you’re not an IT expert, you’ll come away understanding what’s going on and whether your team could benefit.

1. Definition & Basic Role of a Print Server

So, what exactly is a print server? In basic terms, it’s a device or software that acts as the middleman between computers (clients) and printers on a network. Instead of each computer being directly wired to each printer, you connect printers to the network (or to the print server) and computers send their print jobs there. The server handles queuing, routing, permissions, and then sends the job to the right printer.

According to the definition, a print server accepts print jobs from computers, holds them in a queue if the printer is busy, and sends them to the printer when ready.

In more detail:

• The print server collects jobs from clients.

• It places jobs into a queue (“spooler”) so that even if the printer is occupied, the computer doesn’t freeze waiting.

• It sends jobs to the printer when it’s ready (and may reorder/cancel jobs)

• It may enforce printing policies (who can print what, when, colour vs black, quotas)

• It provides a single place for admin to monitor usage, fix issues, manage drivers and printers.

Think of it like a dispatch centre for printing: many users send requests, but one gatekeeper (the server) ensures they go smoothly to whichever printer is available, in the right order, with the right rights.

From my experience: when a small office tried sharing a printer via a simple network share, users would lose connection, drivers would mismatch, updates break, and someone had to reinstall. With a print server, those issues can drop dramatically.

Read Also: https://extremelytechsite.com/data-recovery

2. Types of Print Servers

There is no one-size-fits-all print server. You have choices depending on size of organization, budget, and needs. Let’s break them down.

a) Hardware Print Server
This is a dedicated physical device you plug into your network. The printer connects to it (via USB, parallel, network port) and the device handles network protocol, queueing, etc. According to one source, older “print server” devices included things like routers with print server functionality.

Pros: Often simple to install, less burden on your server infrastructure or PC.
Cons: Limited flexibility, may require firmware updates or be restricted in features. If you change many printers or have complex rules, hardware may get rigid.

b) Software Print Server
Here you use software on an existing server (Windows Server, Linux machine) or a dedicated PC that acts as the print server. For example, in a Linux setting you might use a server with CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) installed.

Pros: Flexible, more features, easier to add policies, monitor usage.
Cons: Requires a server, admin overhead, may cost more initially.

c) Cloud / Universal Print Server (Print-as-a-Service)
With more people working remotely or from mobile devices, cloud-based print server solutions have appeared. These move much of the management and queuing into the cloud. One article describes a “Universal Print Server” as a SaaS platform that works across printers of many brands, remote users, mobile devices, etc.

Pros: Great for organisations with distributed locations, remote workers, or many device types. Less local infrastructure.
Cons: Dependency on internet/cloud provider, may require ongoing subscription cost, security concerns to evaluate.

In practice, I’ve seen small businesses start with a hardware print server since it was cheap, and later upgrade to software or cloud-based as their user base grew or remote printing became necessary.

3. Benefits & Use Cases

Why bother with a print server at all? What difference does it make compared to just plugging a printer into each PC or doing a simple share? Let’s talk benefits and use-cases.

Centralised Management
When you have multiple printers and many users, it quickly becomes a management headache: installing drivers on every PC, one printer vanishes, jobs stuck, someone prints in colour when they shouldn’t, etc. A print server centralises all that: one place to manage the printers, drivers, queues, permissions. For example: “a single solution of management of print server releases applications servers from the burden of directly handling output.”

Better Print Workflow
A print server handles queueing, so you don’t get stuck waiting at your PC while the printer is busy. Even if the printer is offline, jobs can be held until it’s back online.

Cost Savings
You can enforce rules: colour printing quotas, restrict who prints what, re-route jobs to cheaper printers, reduce waste. One article said companies can avoid purchasing a bunch of under-utilised print servers by centralising.

Improved Security & Compliance
In some industries, printing sensitive documents is a risk. A print server enables authentication, tracking who printed what when, encryption of job data, etc. One source lists “security of network printing” as a key function.

Scalability & Remote Access
If you have remote workers, multiple offices, mobile devices — a cloud print server or software one can support printing from many places. The cloud article emphasises remote/ mobile printing.

Use case example: In a law firm, they have 50 users and 5 shared high-volume printers. They implemented a software print server. Now they can route large print jobs to a high-capacity machine, restrict colour printing to senior staff, and monitor page counts for cost allocation. They used to waste time and toner when staff printed big print jobs on a small machine.

For a small business with 3-4 users and one printer, you might not need anything fancy — but as you grow, the management overhead begins to bite.

In my experience: before installing a proper print server, users often call helpdesk saying “I can’t print,” “it’s frozen,” “why is it printing in colour?” After centralising with a print server and setting simple rules (e.g., default to black-white, limit duplex to save paper), the helpdesk calls dropped by roughly 40%.

4. How to Implement & Manage a Print Server

Now that you understand the what and why, let’s talk about how you implement and manage one. I’ll walk you through some steps and share real-world tips.

Step 1: Assess Your Environment

• How many users do you have?

• How many printers and what types (network or USB-connected)?

• How many locations (one office, multiple offices, remote workers)?

• What devices do users use (Windows PCs, Macs, mobile devices, tablets)?

• What printing policies do you already have (colour quotas, double-sided printing, etc)?

• Are there any security/compliance requirements (e.g., confidential printing, audit logs)?

• What is your budget for hardware/software?

This step is essential because setting up a print server that’s overkill or under-powered will cause issues down the line.

Step 2: Choose the Type of Print Server
Based on your assessment:

• For a small office: maybe a hardware print server or simple software on existing server.

• For a medium/large office with many users and printers: software print server is often better.

• If you have remote offices, multiple locations, or mobile users: consider cloud/universal print server.

Step 3: Design your Print Infrastructure

• Map printers to departments or functions (e.g., colour marketing printer, black-white admin printer).

• Determine how users will connect (via network path, shared printer, or through the print server).

• Decide on driver strategy: use universal drivers where possible, reduce driver versions.

• Determine queues and routing: perhaps job size >100 pages goes to heavy duty printer.

• Decide on quotas/permissions: who can print in colour, who can duplex, who can print large volumes.

• Setup monitoring: how will you track usage, pages, costs?

Step 4: Setup & Configuration

• Install the print server (hardware box or software).

• Connect printers and add them to the server.

• Install drivers on server (if required) and test.

• Create print queues.

• Set permissions/groups for users: e.g., all staff can print to “Office-BW”, only marketing can print to “Office-Colour”.

• Optional: configure authentication (e.g., users must sign in to release print job), mobile printing, remote printing.

• Test various scenarios: user prints from remote laptop, mobile phone, different OS, etc.

• Configure failover/back-up if needed (for critical environments). Many cloud or software print servers allow high availability.

Step 5: Management & Ongoing Tasks

• Monitor queues regularly: stuck jobs, blocked printers.

• Review usage reports monthly: print volumes, cost per page, device usage.

• Update drivers when manufacturer issues fixes; keep server patched.

• Review and enforce policies: for example, if colour print usage rises, you might add stricter rules.

• Make sure security is maintained: update authentication systems, encrypt print jobs if required, restrict remote access.

• Train users: when something goes wrong, users need a simple guide (“Choose queue ‘BW-Office’”, “Enter network credentials”, etc). From my experience, a short one-page cheat-sheet reduces help­desk tickets.

Real-world tip: I once worked at a company where the print server was on the same physical server as a critical business application, and when the application needed maintenance the print server downtime blocked everyone from printing. Lesson: isolate print server (or have redundancy) if printing is critical. Also, keep driver versions consistent: a rogue driver update once caused all colour prints to go to “white only” mode until IT fixed it.

Common pitfalls:

• Over-complexity: creating too many queues or printers for every scenario confuses users.

• Ignoring mobile/remote printing: in 2025 many users print from tablets/phones—if your solution doesn’t support, you’ll get support calls.

• Poor driver management: installing a printer driver per model per user is maintenance nightmare.

• No monitoring: without metrics you’ll never know you’re overspending on printing.

• Security neglect: print jobs can leak confidential data if not secured.

5. Comparison & Alternatives

Not every situation demands a full-blown print server. Let’s compare options and see when a print server is the right choice.

Print Server vs Simple Network Printer Sharing
In a small setting you might just share a printer from one PC and everyone prints through it. That works if you have only a few users, little printing, and no advanced policies. But drawbacks: if that PC is turned off the printer disappears; driver chaos; remote printing is harder; monitoring is poor. A print server solves those issues.

Print Server vs Cloud/Serverless Printing
Nowadays you can skip having your own server by using cloud printing services: users print via web or app, jobs go to cloud then to printer. That’s great for remote/hybrid work. But you’ll pay subscription, rely on internet, and may sacrifice some local control. If your printing is mostly in-office and you want full control, a local print server may be better.

When you might skip a print server

• If you have just one printer, under 5 users, minimal print volume.

• If printing is not critical (mostly digital documents).

• If cost of setting up/maintaining outweighs benefits.

• If you rely entirely on cloud-print and mobile devices and prefer a fully cloud model.

When you should seriously consider one

• If you have 10+ users and multiple printers.

• When you have offices in multiple locations or remote workers.

• When you need centralised print policy, quotas, reporting.

• When printing is part of your business (law office, school, print shop).

• When you face frequent print failures, driver issues, or support burden around printing.

In one of my past roles we moved from shared printers on each PC to a dedicated software print server. Support calls dropped by more than half, drivers were managed centrally, and we could add new printers without disrupting users. That saved real time and user frustration.

6. Future Trends in Printing Infrastructure

Printing may seem old-school in the digital era, but infrastructure continues evolving, especially as work changes. Here are what I see as key trends.

Mobile & Remote Printing
More people work from home, from coffeeshops, on tablets. Print infrastructure needs to support mobile device printing. Cloud print servers and apps are becoming more common. The cloud-based print server article highlights this shift.

Cloud Print & Universal Print Servers
The notion of “vendor-agnostic universal print server” is gaining ground: you want to manage any printer brand, any device, globally, via a cloud service. One article says this is “revolutionary” for companies dealing with hybrid work.

Sustainability and Waste Reduction
Print infrastructure is also under pressure from cost and environment: fewer wasted prints, more duplex by default, redirecting large jobs to efficient printers, reporting usage. Some solutions emphasise reduced paper and better resource use.

Managed Print Services (MPS)
Many organisations outsource printing: the service provider manages servers, printers, supplies, reporting. So internally you may not own the print server but still use one as part of the service.

Integration with Digital Workflows
As firms digitise, print servers are migrating into broader output management — merging with scanning workflows, document management, mobile workflows. One article mentions “Output management” as the broader domain.

Security & Compliance
With remote work and mobile devices, print jobs remain a risk (confidential documents, unauthorized printing, hacking). Print servers will increasingly offer stronger encryption, cloud identity integration (SSO), audit logs. The universal print server article emphasises those security features.

In short: if you’re only thinking of printing as “hit a button and paper comes out,” you’re missing the fact that the infrastructure behind it is changing fast, and your print strategy needs to adapt.

7. Conclusion

Printing might seem mundane, but that doesn’t mean you ignore how it’s delivered. A print server – whether hardware, software or cloud – acts as a backbone for efficient, secure, manageable printing. If your business is growing, has many users, multiple printers, remote/mobile workers, or specific printing policies, a print server is a smart investment.

On the other hand, if you’re under 5 users, one printer, little printing, you might be okay with simple sharing. But remember: what works now may cause headaches later. I recommend you evaluate your printing environment, estimate the cost of wasted driver time, print failures, support calls, and then compare to the cost of a print server solution. You might find you’re already paying for inefficiencies.

From my own experience, centralising printing infrastructure with a good print server has saved hours of support time, reduced paper/toner waste, and given staff less frustration — and that’s worth the upfront time to implement.

8. FAQ

Q: What is the difference between a print server and a network printer?
A: A network printer is simply a printer connected to a network so devices can send print jobs to it. A print server adds an intermediate layer: it accepts jobs from clients, queues them, manages them, applies policies, then sends to the printer. It gives you more control and manageability.

Q: Can I share a printer without a print server?
A: Yes. On a small scale you can share a printer by configuring one PC to host the printer and share it, or connect the printer directly to the network. That works for very small teams. But you’ll lack many benefits (queuing, driver centralisation, monitoring, security, remote printing) that a print server gives.

Q: Do I need a print server for one printer and five users?
A: Not necessarily. If you have only a handful of users, minimal printing, no complex policy or remote/mobile printing, you might manage without. But ask: will this increase? Will you add more printers or users? If yes, starting with a print server may pay off sooner.

Q: What are common protocols for print servers?
A: Some of the printing protocols include the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), LPD/LPR (Line Printer Daemon protocol), NetWare, JetDirect, etc.

Q: How much does a print server cost, and what savings can I expect?
A: Costs vary widely: a hardware print server box might cost a few hundred dollars, software solutions could be a few thousand (plus server hardware and license), cloud print services may be subscription-based. Savings come from fewer driver support calls, less wasted printing, fewer failed prints, better utilisation of printers. You’ll need to estimate your current support cost/time and print waste to calculate ROI.