How can i get a printer's make and model in Java?

Question

I'm actually working on a Java application that shares printers to a server, and I need this application to get the make and model of the printers it shares.

I know this question has been asked three or four times but nobody seems to have found an answer.

I've tried this code :

PrintService[] printServices = PrintServiceLookup.lookupPrintServices(null, null);

        for (PrintService printer : printServices){           
            System.out.println(printer.getDefaultAttributeValue(PrinterMakeAndModel.class));
            System.out.println(printer.getAttribute(PrinterURI.class));
        }

the first print always returns a null string and the second one gets a NullPointerException.

Some researches lead me to this page : https://bugs.java.com/bugdatabase/view_bug?bug_id=4673400

It seems like it's a know "bug" and I don't really understand the evaluation.

I'm thinking a workaround would be to get the make and model by sending a SNMP request to the printers but I don't know a thing about SNMP and I'm not sure there is a single SNMP command to get the make and model of any printer.

If anybody has an idea on how to achieve this, either by using a Java method or by sending SNMP commands or anything else that can be done on any OS, your help would be appreciated.

EDIT :

Here is a link to a topic where the same question has been asked :

• How to get model of a printer in javax.print?

EDIT 2 :

Solution :

As I said in a comment, I tried to get the make and model via SNMP by sending the OID "1.3.6.1.2.1.25.3.2.1.3.1" to the printer. It seems to work but I'm not sure it works on any printer using the same OID and it can crash if SNMP is deactivated on the target printer.

So I finally chose to get the driver name by using JNA and Winspool.drv. A part of it was already implemented in JNA but I had to add some structures and functions.

Here's the link to the existing WinspoolUtil.java and Winspool.java classes in JNA.

And here's the code with my personal update of these two classes.

Winspool :

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

import com.sun.jna.Memory;
import com.sun.jna.Native;
import com.sun.jna.Pointer;
import com.sun.jna.Structure;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.WinDef.DWORD;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.WinDef.INT_PTR;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.WinNT.HANDLE;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.WinNT.HANDLEByReference;
import com.sun.jna.ptr.IntByReference;
import com.sun.jna.win32.StdCallLibrary;
import com.sun.jna.win32.W32APIOptions;

public class WinspoolUpdate {
    public interface WinspoolLib extends StdCallLibrary {

        WinspoolLib INSTANCE = (WinspoolLib) Native.loadLibrary("Winspool.drv", WinspoolLib.class,
                W32APIOptions.UNICODE_OPTIONS);

        boolean EnumPrinters(int Flags, String Name, int Level, Pointer pPrinterEnum,
                int cbBuf, IntByReference pcbNeeded, IntByReference pcReturned);

        boolean GetPrinter(HANDLE hPrinter, int Level, Pointer pPrinter, int cbBuf, IntByReference pcbNeeded);

        boolean OpenPrinter(String pPrinterName, HANDLEByReference phPrinter, Pointer pDefault);
                
        public static class PRINTER_INFO_1 extends Structure {
            public int Flags;
            public String pDescription;
            public String pName;
            public String pComment;

            protected List<String> getFieldOrder() {
                return Arrays.asList(new String[] { "Flags", "pDescription", "pName", "pComment" });
            }

            public PRINTER_INFO_1() {
            }

            public PRINTER_INFO_1(int size) {
                super(new Memory(size));
            }
        }

        public static class PRINTER_INFO_2 extends Structure {
            public String pServerName;
            public String pPrinterName;
            public String pShareName;
            public String pPortName;
            public String pDriverName;
            public String pComment;
            public String pLocation;
            public INT_PTR pDevMode;
            public String pSepFile;
            public String pPrintProcessor;
            public String pDatatype;
            public String pParameters;
            public INT_PTR pSecurityDescriptor;
            public int Attributes;
            public int Priority;
            public int DefaultPriority;
            public int StartTime;
            public int UntilTime;
            public int Status;
            public int cJobs;
            public int AveragePPM;

            protected List<String> getFieldOrder() {
                return Arrays.asList(new String[] { "pServerName", "pPrinterName", "pShareName", "pPortName", 
                        "pDriverName", "pComment", "pLocation", "pDevMode", "pSepFile", "pPrintProcessor", 
                        "pDatatype", "pParameters", "pSecurityDescriptor", "Attributes", "Priority", "DefaultPriority",
                        "StartTime", "UntilTime", "Status", "cJobs", "AveragePPM" });
            }

            public PRINTER_INFO_2() {
            }

            public PRINTER_INFO_2(int size) {
                super(new Memory(size));
            }
        }

        public static class PRINTER_INFO_4 extends Structure {
            public String pPrinterName;
            public String pServerName;
            public DWORD Attributes;

            protected List<String> getFieldOrder() {
                return Arrays.asList(new String[] { "pPrinterName", "pServerName", "Attributes" });
            }

            public PRINTER_INFO_4() {
            }

            public PRINTER_INFO_4(int size) {
                super(new Memory(size));
            }
        }

        int PRINTER_ENUM_DEFAULT = 0x00000001;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_LOCAL = 0x00000002;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_CONNECTIONS = 0x00000004;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_FAVORITE = 0x00000004;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_NAME = 0x00000008;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_REMOTE = 0x00000010;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_SHARED = 0x00000020;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_NETWORK = 0x00000040;

        int PRINTER_ENUM_EXPAND = 0x00004000;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_CONTAINER = 0x00008000;

        int PRINTER_ENUM_ICONMASK = 0x00ff0000;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_ICON1 = 0x00010000;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_ICON2 = 0x00020000;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_ICON3 = 0x00040000;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_ICON4 = 0x00080000;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_ICON5 = 0x00100000;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_ICON6 = 0x00200000;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_ICON7 = 0x00400000;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_ICON8 = 0x00800000;
        int PRINTER_ENUM_HIDE = 0x01000000;
    }
}

WinspoolUtil :

import Model.WinspoolUpdate.WinspoolLib;
import Model.WinspoolUpdate.WinspoolLib.PRINTER_INFO_2;

import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.Kernel32;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.Win32Exception;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.WinNT.HANDLEByReference;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.Winspool.PRINTER_INFO_1;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.Winspool.PRINTER_INFO_4;
import com.sun.jna.ptr.IntByReference;

public class WinspoolUtils2 {   
        public static PRINTER_INFO_1[] getPrinterInfo1() {
            IntByReference pcbNeeded = new IntByReference();
            IntByReference pcReturned = new IntByReference();
            WinspoolLib.INSTANCE.EnumPrinters(WinspoolLib.PRINTER_ENUM_LOCAL,
                    null, 1, null, 0, pcbNeeded, pcReturned);
            if (pcbNeeded.getValue() <= 0) {
                return new PRINTER_INFO_1[0];
            }

            PRINTER_INFO_1 pPrinterEnum = new PRINTER_INFO_1(pcbNeeded.getValue());
            if (!WinspoolLib.INSTANCE.EnumPrinters(WinspoolLib.PRINTER_ENUM_LOCAL,
                    null, 1, pPrinterEnum.getPointer(), pcbNeeded.getValue(), pcbNeeded, pcReturned)) {
                throw new Win32Exception(Kernel32.INSTANCE.GetLastError());
            }

            pPrinterEnum.read();

            return (PRINTER_INFO_1[]) pPrinterEnum.toArray(pcReturned.getValue());
        }
        
        public static PRINTER_INFO_2[] getPrinterInfo2() {
            IntByReference pcbNeeded = new IntByReference();
            IntByReference pcReturned = new IntByReference();
            WinspoolLib.INSTANCE.EnumPrinters(WinspoolLib.PRINTER_ENUM_LOCAL,
                    null, 2, null, 0, pcbNeeded, pcReturned);
            if (pcbNeeded.getValue() <= 0) {
                return new PRINTER_INFO_2[0];
            }

            PRINTER_INFO_2 pPrinterEnum = new PRINTER_INFO_2(pcbNeeded.getValue());
            if (!WinspoolLib.INSTANCE.EnumPrinters(WinspoolLib.PRINTER_ENUM_LOCAL,
                    null, 2, pPrinterEnum.getPointer(), pcbNeeded.getValue(), pcbNeeded, pcReturned)) {
                throw new Win32Exception(Kernel32.INSTANCE.GetLastError());
            }

            pPrinterEnum.read();

            return (PRINTER_INFO_2[]) pPrinterEnum.toArray(pcReturned.getValue());
        }
        

        public static PRINTER_INFO_4[] getPrinterInfo4() {
            IntByReference pcbNeeded = new IntByReference();
            IntByReference pcReturned = new IntByReference();
            WinspoolLib.INSTANCE.EnumPrinters(WinspoolLib.PRINTER_ENUM_LOCAL,
                    null, 4, null, 0, pcbNeeded, pcReturned);
            if (pcbNeeded.getValue() <= 0) {
                return new PRINTER_INFO_4[0];
            }

            PRINTER_INFO_4 pPrinterEnum = new PRINTER_INFO_4(pcbNeeded.getValue());
            if (!WinspoolLib.INSTANCE.EnumPrinters(WinspoolLib.PRINTER_ENUM_LOCAL,
                    null, 4, pPrinterEnum.getPointer(), pcbNeeded.getValue(), pcbNeeded, pcReturned)) {
                throw new Win32Exception(Kernel32.INSTANCE.GetLastError());
            }

            pPrinterEnum.read();

            return (PRINTER_INFO_4[]) pPrinterEnum.toArray(pcReturned.getValue());
        }
        
        public static PRINTER_INFO_2 getPrinterInfo2(String printerName) {
            IntByReference pcbNeeded = new IntByReference();
            IntByReference pcReturned = new IntByReference();
            HANDLEByReference pHandle = new HANDLEByReference();
            
            WinspoolLib.INSTANCE.OpenPrinter(printerName, pHandle, null);
            
            WinspoolLib.INSTANCE.GetPrinter(pHandle.getValue(), 2, null, 0, pcbNeeded);
            if (pcbNeeded.getValue() <= 0) {
                return new PRINTER_INFO_2();
            }           

            PRINTER_INFO_2 pinfo2 = new PRINTER_INFO_2(pcbNeeded.getValue());
            
            WinspoolLib.INSTANCE.GetPrinter(pHandle.getValue(), 2, pinfo2.getPointer(), pcbNeeded.getValue(), pcReturned);          
            
            pinfo2.read();
            return (PRINTER_INFO_2) pinfo2;
        }
        
    }

A main class calling the three implemented functions and displaying the result :

public static void main(String[] args) {
        
        for(PRINTER_INFO_1 printerInfo : WinspoolUtils2.getPrinterInfo1()) {

            System.out.println(printerInfo.pName + ": " + printerInfo.pDescription);             

        }
        
        for(PRINTER_INFO_2 printerInfo : WinspoolUtils2.getPrinterInfo2()) {

            System.out.println(printerInfo.pPrinterName + ": " + printerInfo.pDriverName);             

        }
        
        PRINTER_INFO_2 printerInfo = WinspoolUtils2.getPrinterInfo2("Canon iR-ADV C7000s GX300 V2.0");
        System.out.println(printerInfo.pPrinterName + ": " + printerInfo.pDriverName);        
    }

I kinda struggled to finally get it to work so I hope this will help.

If you want to add some other functions of the print spooler API, Here you can find the references of this API.

Note : There is still a problem because I would like this application to be multi-platform and this solution only works for Windows. So in the future I'll have to find a solution to get the printer drivers name on a Linux OS and on Mac OS X. I'll keep you posted if I find something.

Arliearliene

"..has been asked three or four times but nobody seems to have found an answer." That might be the case if there is no answer. Where are these duplicate questions? Provide links. – Griffe

I added a link to a similar question on stackoverflow, I know I ran on this same question a couple of times on other websites through my researches but I can't find the links anymore. – Arliearliene

My organization names its printers like this - HP2200-RM623. When I choose a printer, the type and location shows up on the Print dialog. You might have to use another language besides Java to get the printer information, which you then can pass to Java through JNI. – Buckra

The problem is I'm using Java to make this application multi-platform. Using another language might kill the "easily portable" side of the project. – Arliearliene

Answer 1

For those who are interested in this subject, I kept looking for a solution that would use the basic Java libraries but, when I started looking the source code of these libraries, I found out that most of the methods that are supposed to return printer's attributes have never been implemented, they always return a Null value. So, at this moment, there is no way to accomplish this in Java.

There are two workarounds, that I posted on the second edit of my original question:

• Get these informations via SNMP calls.
• Use the windows print spooler DLL and retrieve these informations from the driver.

Arliearliene

Working with Java and printing on Windows only, was all I was trying to do. Thanks so much for sharing your work! – Blunderbuss

Answer 2

(Cherry-picking some parts of the question that are answerable.)

It seems like it's a know "bug" and I don't really understand the evaluation.

In fact, it is a Request For Enhancement (RFE) not a bug.

The evaluation just indicates that the reviewer thinks he / she has found a way they could implement this on Windows ... if and when they get around to it. It is not a workaround for you.

---

This related question talks about getting a printer's model using SNMP

• How do i get printer model via snmp in c#?

You should be able to map this to a solution using a Java SNMP library. This approach assumes that the printer is networked and is SNMP capable ... but I guess you already figured that out.

Bs

Thanks for this explanation, it doesn't answers my question but at least I learned something. – Arliearliene

I'm actually trying it but I've never dealt with SNMP so it could take me a lot of time. – Arliearliene

I tried to get it via SNMP. Sending the command "1.3.6.1.2.1.25.3.2.1.3.1" to the printer seemed to work but I'm not sure it works on all printers with this OID so I finally chose to get the driver name using JNA and Winspool.drv. I'll edit my question and add my code to it. – Arliearliene

Answer 3

Using JNA, the correct version for OP solution (without duplicated code) is this:

WinspoolExt

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

import com.sun.jna.Memory;
import com.sun.jna.Native;
import com.sun.jna.Pointer;
import com.sun.jna.Structure;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.Winspool;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.WinDef.INT_PTR;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.WinNT.HANDLE;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.WinNT.HANDLEByReference;
import com.sun.jna.ptr.IntByReference;
import com.sun.jna.win32.W32APIOptions;

public interface WinspoolExt extends Winspool {

    WinspoolExt INSTANCE = (WinspoolExt) Native.loadLibrary("Winspool.drv", WinspoolExt.class,
            W32APIOptions.UNICODE_OPTIONS);

    boolean GetPrinter(HANDLE hPrinter, int Level, Pointer pPrinter, int cbBuf, IntByReference pcbNeeded);

    boolean OpenPrinter(String pPrinterName, HANDLEByReference phPrinter, Pointer pDefault);

    public static class PRINTER_INFO_2 extends Structure {
        public String pServerName;
        public String pPrinterName;
        public String pShareName;
        public String pPortName;
        public String pDriverName;
        public String pComment;
        public String pLocation;
        public INT_PTR pDevMode;
        public String pSepFile;
        public String pPrintProcessor;
        public String pDatatype;
        public String pParameters;
        public INT_PTR pSecurityDescriptor;
        public int Attributes;
        public int Priority;
        public int DefaultPriority;
        public int StartTime;
        public int UntilTime;
        public int Status;
        public int cJobs;
        public int AveragePPM;

        protected List<String> getFieldOrder() {
            return Arrays.asList(new String[] { "pServerName", "pPrinterName", "pShareName", "pPortName",
                    "pDriverName", "pComment", "pLocation", "pDevMode", "pSepFile", "pPrintProcessor", "pDatatype",
                    "pParameters", "pSecurityDescriptor", "Attributes", "Priority", "DefaultPriority", "StartTime",
                    "UntilTime", "Status", "cJobs", "AveragePPM" });
        }

        public PRINTER_INFO_2() {
        }

        public PRINTER_INFO_2(int size) {
            super(new Memory(size));
        }
    }
}

WinspoolUtilExt

import com.sun.jna.Pointer;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.Kernel32;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.Win32Exception;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.WinNT.HANDLEByReference;
import com.sun.jna.platform.win32.WinspoolUtil;
import com.sun.jna.ptr.IntByReference;

import WinspoolExt.PRINTER_INFO_2;

public class WinspoolUtilExt extends WinspoolUtil {

    public static PRINTER_INFO_2[] getPrinterInfo2() {
        IntByReference pcbNeeded = new IntByReference();
        IntByReference pcReturned = new IntByReference();
        WinspoolExt.INSTANCE.EnumPrinters(WinspoolExt.PRINTER_ENUM_LOCAL, null, 2, null, 0, pcbNeeded, pcReturned);
        if (pcbNeeded.getValue() <= 0) {
            return new PRINTER_INFO_2[0];
        }

        PRINTER_INFO_2 pPrinterEnum = new PRINTER_INFO_2(pcbNeeded.getValue());
        if (!WinspoolExt.INSTANCE.EnumPrinters(WinspoolExt.PRINTER_ENUM_LOCAL, null, 2, pPrinterEnum.getPointer(),
                pcbNeeded.getValue(), pcbNeeded, pcReturned)) {
            throw new Win32Exception(Kernel32.INSTANCE.GetLastError());
        }

        pPrinterEnum.read();

        return (PRINTER_INFO_2[]) pPrinterEnum.toArray(pcReturned.getValue());
    }

    public static PRINTER_INFO_2 getPrinterInfo2(String printerName) {
        IntByReference pcbNeeded = new IntByReference();
        IntByReference pcReturned = new IntByReference();
        HANDLEByReference pHandle = new HANDLEByReference();

        WinspoolExt.INSTANCE.OpenPrinter(printerName, pHandle, (Pointer) null);

        WinspoolExt.INSTANCE.GetPrinter(pHandle.getValue(), 2, null, 0, pcbNeeded);
        if (pcbNeeded.getValue() <= 0) {
            return new PRINTER_INFO_2();
        }

        PRINTER_INFO_2 pinfo2 = new PRINTER_INFO_2(pcbNeeded.getValue());

        WinspoolExt.INSTANCE.GetPrinter(pHandle.getValue(), 2, pinfo2.getPointer(), pcbNeeded.getValue(), pcReturned);

        pinfo2.read();
        return (PRINTER_INFO_2) pinfo2;
    }
}

Basically, it adds PRINTER_INFO_2 support.

Bouton