Printing can be suppressed when the client OS is one of the following:

• Windows NT 4.0
• Windows 2000
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows XP
• Windows Vista
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows 7
• Windows Server 2012
• Windows 8

Printing cannot be suppressed if the client OS is Windows 98 or Windows Me.

The following table shows the printer types for which printing can be suppressed.

Table 2-17 Printer types for which printing can be suppressed

Printer type	Port used	Print suppression
Local printer	LPT port	Y
	Local port	Y
	USB port	Y
	File port	N
	TCP/IP port	Y
	LAN Manager port	N
Shared network printer or printer connected to another PC	N/A	Y
Internet printer	N/A	N
Virtual printer	N/A	Y#

Legend:

Y: Can be used

N: Cannot be used

N/A: Not applicable

#

With some virtual printers, it might not be possible to suppress printing.

Prerequisites for shared network printers

• When you suppress printing, check the printer access privileges from the PC that acts as the printer server. Make sure that in the printer's Properties dialog box, Manage Documents is enabled under the Security tab. By default, it is enabled.
• If there is a client whose OS is Windows Vista or later, or a client on which File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks is not installed:
  
  • When you create an operation monitoring policy, you must configure the settings for collecting print operation logs and suppressing print operations. For details about configuring the settings for collecting print operation logs and suppressing print operations, see 6.2.9 Setup for collecting print logs and for suppressing print operations in the manual Administrator's Guide Volume 1.
• If the client's OS is Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012, the icons and dialog boxes related to suppressing print operations or releasing such print suppression appear on the desktop.
  
  • If you use single-byte characters to specify the name of a shared network printer, the number of characters must not exceed 199. If the printer name contains double-byte characters, you can specify 200 or more characters.
• If no client's OS is Windows Vista or later, and all clients have File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks installed:
  
  • When you create an operation monitoring policy, check the settings for collecting print operation logs and suppressing print operations. For details about the settings for collecting print operation logs and suppressing print operations, see 6.2.9 Setup for collecting print logs and for suppressing print operations in the manual Administrator's Guide Volume 1.
  • To suppress printing, the printer server uses RPC to communicate with the client PC. If RPC communication is not possible, the problem might be caused by one of the following:
    The printer server's OS is Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me.
    The printer server's OS is not Windows.
    The printer server is a printer based on the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP).
    A firewall or proxy is present between the printer server and the client PC.
    The client PC is controlled by NAT.
    The printer server cannot resolve the name of the client PC.
    The client PC's Windows firewall is enabled and File and Printer Sharing is not set to Exceptions.
    

• If the printer server has suppressed printing in an environment in which a shared network printer is used, printing cannot be enabled even if the client PC releases print suppression.
• You might not be able to suppress printing in the following cases:
  
  • If Windows does not recognize a print operation as a print job
  • When a test print is performed during printer installation
  • If printing is performed before the software operation status monitoring facility is activated
• Depending on the printer, a dialog box indicating print job deletion might be displayed when printing is suppressed. The content of the displayed message differs depending on the application.
• If a single print operation is processed as multiple print jobs, print suppression applies to all of these jobs.
• If there is a client whose OS is Windows Vista or later, or a client on which File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks is not installed, note the following:
  
  • When you create an operation monitoring policy, you must configure the settings for collecting print operation logs and suppressing print operations. For details about configuring the settings for collecting print operation logs and suppressing print operations, see 6.2.9 Setup for collecting print logs and for suppressing print operations in the manual Administrator's Guide Volume 1.
  • If a print job is not reported via WMI, printing cannot be suppressed.
  • If an operation monitoring policy for suppressing print operations is applied when a print job is in the print queue of a shared network printer, that print job is suppressed. A dialog box indicating print suppression might also be displayed.
• When a shared network printer is used and there is no client whose OS is Windows Vista or later, or there is no client without File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks installed, check the settings for collecting print operation logs and suppressing print operations when you create an operation monitoring policy. For details about the settings for collecting print operation logs and suppressing print operations, see 6.2.9 Setup for collecting print logs and for suppressing print operations in the manual Administrator's Guide Volume 1.

Notes on virtual environments

Note the following when suppressing printing in a virtual environment:

• The display of the warning dialog box differs depending on the number of logged-on users.
  
  • When only a single user has logged on
    The warning dialog box is displayed to the user who logged on.
    
  • When two or more users have logged on
    The warning dialog box is not displayed.
    
• If a user who has logged onto a virtual environment enters the password for releasing print suppression and releases print suppression, print suppression is released for all users who have logged onto that virtual environment.
• If a printer connected to a PC that is executing a Remote Desktop connection is specified to be used by a terminal server, that printer behaves in the same way as a local printer.