Troubleshooting Common Tiff Failures

Background:

For Venio to function optimally, it is required to enable the print spooler and set up the virtual printers on the tiffing machine.

IT departments may disable the print spooler for various reasons, some of which include:

1.  Security concerns: The print spooler has been known to have vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. Disabling the print spooler can mitigate the risk associated with these vulnerabilities, especially if there are known threats and no immediate patches available.
2. Policy enforcement: Some organizations may enforce strict policies regarding printing to reduce paper waste or control sensitive information. Disabling the print spooler can help enforce these policies by preventing users from printing documents.

It's essential to communicate with your IT department to understand the specific reasons for disabling the print spooler in your organization and whether it is a temporary or permanent measure. It is generally safe to enable the print spooler if you take appropriate precautions to minimize the risk of exploitation. Here are some steps to ensure the print spooler is secure:

1. Keep your operating system and software up to date: Regularly apply security patches and updates for your operating system and any software related to printing. This helps to address known vulnerabilities and maintain the overall security of your system.
2. Limit user access: Restrict access to the print spooler service to only the venio service account which require printing capabilities. Implement the principle of least privilege, granting print spooler access specifically the venio service accounts.
3. Secure your network: Protect your network with firewalls, VPNs, and other security measures to prevent unauthorized access to your systems, including the print spooler service.
4. Monitor and audit: Regularly monitor and audit print spooler activity to identify any unusual or suspicious behavior that may indicate an attempted exploit or security breach.

By taking these precautions, you can significantly reduce the risks associated with enabling the print spooler service while maintaining its functionality for the venio service account which requires printing capabilities. However, it is essential to stay vigilant and regularly review your security practices to address any new threats or vulnerabilities that may emerge.

Here are the point and print restriction settings which may be blocking the driver installation of our virtual printers: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/kb5005010-restricting-installation-of-new-printer-drivers-after-applying-the-july-6-2021-updates-31b91c02-05bc-4ada-a7ea-183b129578a7

Resolution:

Once your IT department modifies the group policy settings to allow the distributed services to access the print spooler and to install print drivers, please follow the steps below on the tiffing machine and let us know if it helps to fix the issue:
 
1. Uninstall printer manually with PowerShell (Run as Admin)

cd 'C:\Program Files\Venio\BI Printer Installer\venioBIInstallerConsole.exe'  

& .\venioBIInstallerConsole.exe uninstall ALL NORMAL_TIFF

& .\venioBIInstallerConsole.exe uninstall ALL MANUAL_TIFF

2. Reboot the Operating System (REQUIRED!)
  
3. Install printers with following commands (PowerShell) (Replace <num_licenses> with number of tiffing licenses allocated to that machine)

cd 'C:\Program Files\Venio\BI Printer Installer\venioBIInstallerConsole.exe'  
& .\venioBIInstallerConsole.exe install <num_licenses> NORMAL_TIFF
& .\venioBIInstallerConsole.exe install 1 MANUAL_TIFF

 4. Re-run Health Checkup on Tiff