PrintVect

Share a printer with every Windows PC and laptop on your network, at home or in the office.
No printer drivers and no Windows passwords on the PCs that print.

Download for Windows · How it works · Security and privacy · Troubleshooting

PrintVect is a small, free tray app for homes and small offices: one printer and a few laptops at home, or several printers and many PCs at work. The PC that has a printer shares it in a few clicks; every other PC or laptop adds it with one click and prints to it from any program, like a printer of its own. No print server, no cloud, no accounts: printing stays on your own network.

printvect-demo.8.mb.mp4

Why

Windows' own printer sharing is hard work at home or in a small office without an IT department:

• Since the PrintNightmare security fixes of 2021, Windows asks for an administrator password when a PC connects to a shared printer and has to install its driver.
• Every PC needs the printer's driver for its own version of Windows, and some older printers have none for newer Windows.
• Connecting asks for a Windows user name and password of the PC that has the printer.

PrintVect side-steps all of that. The PCs that print use the Microsoft XPS Document Writer driver that Windows already has, and the PC with the printer prints with the driver that already works there.

How it works

flowchart LR
    subgraph client ["A PC that prints"]
        direction TB
        app["Any program<br/>Word, Excel, a browser, a PDF reader"] --> vp["Printer: PrintVect - Laser @COUNTER-1<br/>Windows' own XPS writer, nothing to install"]
    end
    subgraph host ["COUNTER-1, the PC with the printer"]
        direction TB
        pv["PrintVect in the tray"] --> drv["The printer's own driver,<br/>already working on this PC"] --> prn["Printer<br/>USB or network"]
    end
    client -- "the document, over your home or office network" --> host

Loading

1. On the PC that has the printer (the host), open PrintVect, Share my printers, Turn on sharing, and tick the printers to share.
2. On every other PC (a client), open PrintVect, Printers on other PCs: the shared printers appear by themselves. Press Add to this PC.
3. Print from any program to PrintVect - <printer> @<PC>. The job travels to the host and comes out of its printer; the Jobs page on both PCs shows what happened to it.

Features

• Finds the shared printers by itself, over Wi-Fi or cable, on every network card of the PC; a PC name or IP address can be typed in too.
• A normal Windows printer on each client, so every program can print to it.
• Jobs page on both sides: sent, printed, waiting or failed, with Retry and Cancel. A job whose host is switched off waits and goes out with Retry; a job is never printed twice.
• Asks how many copies before a job leaves the PC (can be switched off).
• Sharing PIN (optional): only PCs with the same PIN can print to the shared printers.
• Pause / Resume a shared printer; see which PCs print on this one.
• Phone hotspot friendly: warns when Windows treats the network as public and fixes it with one click; a job finds the host's new address by itself.
• Updates itself from this repository's releases with one click (the daily check can be switched off).
• Light, Dark or the Windows setting; plain-language messages written for people who are not IT staff.
• Diagnostics page with a checklist and a report to copy when something does not work.
• Free and open source under the MIT licence. Built with C# and .NET Framework 4.8 (WinForms).

Screenshots

Printers on other PCs: the printers other PCs share, added to this PC with one click; they then appear in every program's Print window.

Share my printers: tick the printers other PCs may use; the yellow note appears while there is no sharing PIN.

Jobs: every document sent from this PC or received from other PCs, with its status; right-click a job for Retry, Cancel or Copy details.

Settings: the sharing PIN, Light / Dark / System default colours, updates, and Diagnostics with a checklist and a report to copy.

Security and privacy

• Finding printers (UDP 9150) and print jobs (TCP 9151) stay on your local network. The setup program opens those ports in Windows Firewall for PrintVect only, on private and domain networks only, never on public ones.
• Without a sharing PIN, any PC on the same network can print to the shared printers; set the same PIN on every PC to limit that (Settings, Security). The PIN itself never crosses the network: each job carries a one-time proof of it, and a PC that sends 5 wrong PINs has to wait. New PINs have at least 8 characters (0.5.9); a shorter one set before keeps working, with a note in Settings. Print jobs are not encrypted on the network.
• PrintVect runs as a normal user. Only its small helper, PrintVect.Elevate.exe, asks for administrator rights, for the few tasks that need them: adding or removing a printer, starting with Windows, making a network private.
• The only internet connection is the update check: once a day PrintVect asks GitHub for this repository's latest release, and downloads it when someone presses Update now. No telemetry, no crash reports, no accounts; logs and settings stay on the PC. Details: CODE_SIGNING.md, which also holds the privacy policy.
• To report a security problem, see SECURITY.md.

Download

Download the latest PrintVect-Setup-.exe from this repository's Releases and run it on each PC or laptop (it asks for administrator rights once). PCs that already run PrintVect find new versions by themselves (Settings, Updates). What changed in each version: CHANGELOG.md.

Requirements:

• Windows 10 or 11, 32-bit or 64-bit (tested). Windows 7 SP1, 8 and 8.1 should work but are not tested.
• .NET Framework 4.8. Windows 10 (May 2019 update or later) and Windows 11 already have it. Windows 7 and 8.1 need the offline installer ndp48-x86-x64-allos-enu.exe; Windows 7 also needs SP1 plus updates KB4474419 and KB4490628 first.
• All PCs on the same network (the same Wi-Fi or router).

Not signed yet (see CODE_SIGNING.md). Until the first signed release:

• Windows SmartScreen may warn when the setup program first runs: click More info, then Run anyway.
• Chrome or Edge may hold the download back; choose Keep in the downloads list (Ctrl+J).
• On a Windows 11 PC with Smart App Control On (Windows Security, App & browser control) Windows refuses to run the unsigned setup program ("An Application Control policy has blocked this file"), including through Update now.
• The .sha256 file next to each setup program is its checksum; PrintVect checks it before installing an update, installs no release without one, and checks the downloaded file once more, held so nobody can change it, just before it starts. The checksum comes from the same GitHub release, so it proves the file arrived intact, not who made it: only code signing (see CODE_SIGNING.md) would.

Using it

The window has a menu on the left: the PC's name and whether it shares its printers at the top, then four pages, and the version at the bottom. Settings, Colours picks Light, Dark or System default (the light or dark mode of Windows, followed when it changes).

• Printers on other PCs: the printers of other PCs already on this PC, each with its status, how many jobs wait for it, Test page, Retry waiting and Remove; the printers found on the network that are not added yet (they appear by themselves; Add to this PC, Windows asks once for permission); and Find a PC by name for a PC that does not appear (type its name or IP address, Look up).
• Share my printers: Turn on sharing opens a window to tick the printers to share and set the sharing PIN; Turn off sharing stops it. Below: the name other PCs find this PC by (Copy PC name), a yellow note when there is no sharing PIN (Set a PIN) or when Windows treats the network as public (Make it private, see Troubleshooting), and the printers of this PC with a tick, the name other PCs see (for example "Counter 1 Laser"), the status and Pause / Resume (jobs from other PCs wait while a printer is paused). Printers of other PCs added here are not listed: they cannot be shared again. On the right: the jobs printed today, the PCs that print here with their Windows and PrintVect version, and how another PC connects.
• Jobs: Sent from this PC or Received from other PCs, newest first, with today's printed and waiting counts, the copies, a coloured status and the job's message under the document. Right-click a job for Retry or Cancel job (a waiting job), Remove from list (a finished one) or Copy details; Delete does the same as Cancel or Remove. Cancel all waiting cancels every job this PC still has to send, Clear list removes the finished jobs from the list shown (nothing on any printer changes). A job received here that has not reached the printer yet (for example while the printer is paused) can be cancelled on this PC too.
• Settings: Security (the sharing PIN: the same PIN on every PC), General (Colours, start with Windows, whether printing asks how many copies, how long to keep sent documents), Updates (a daily look for a newer version, Check now, Update now when one is ready), the network ports, and Diagnostics: a checklist of what PrintVect checked on this PC (Windows, firewall rules, folders, networks and whether one is public, PIN, sharing) and Copy report to paste into an email or chat when something does not work. The report contains the Windows version, .NET version, network addresses, firewall rule state, printer list and the last 200 log lines. Nothing is sent automatically.

Ctrl+Tab moves to the next page.

When a program prints to a PrintVect printer, a small window asks how many copies before the job leaves the PC (Windows' XPS writer loses the copies chosen in the program). Enter prints, Esc cancels; after a minute without an answer it prints the number shown. Don't ask again on this PC in that window stops the question on that PC; Settings, General, Ask how many copies turns it back on.

Closing the window only hides it; PrintVect keeps running in the tray. To stop it, right-click the tray icon and choose Exit. PrintVect.App.exe /tray starts it hidden (the installer's autostart entry uses this).

Installing with the setup program

Download PrintVect-Setup-<version>.exe from the latest entry on the Releases page of this repository (or the PrintVect-Setup-<n> artifact of the latest green build on the Actions page, which is a zip around the same file) and run it. The program is not signed yet, so SmartScreen warns once: More info, then Run anyway. Setup installs to C:\Program Files\PrintVect, keeps any settings already in C:\ProgramData\PrintVect, opens TCP 9151 and UDP 9150 in Windows Firewall for PrintVect only, adds a Start menu entry and starts PrintVect with Windows (hidden in the tray). Uninstalling from Settings, Apps removes the PrintVect printers, the firewall rules, the program and its data folder.

Using a shared printer from another PC

On the PC that should print: open PrintVect, Printers on other PCs, press Add to this PC next to the printer under "Found on the network" (or type the host PC's name or IP address under Find a PC by name, Look up, then Add to this PC) and answer Yes to the Windows permission window. A printer named PrintVect - <printer> @<host PC> appears in every program's print window; what you print on it comes out of the host's printer. PrintVect.Elevate.exe is the only part that runs as administrator: it creates the printer, its port and its spool folder (C:\ProgramData\PrintVect\spool\<id>), and removes them again (Remove, or PrintVect.Elevate.exe remove-all from an administrator Command Prompt to remove every PrintVect printer at once).

Sending a test job with pvct-send (no virtual printer needed)

pvct-send.exe sits next to PrintVect.App.exe. From a Command Prompt on any PC that has .NET Framework 4.8:

pvct-send list 192.168.1.5
pvct-send PrintVect-test-page.xps 192.168.1.5 "Counter 1 Laser"
pvct-send status 192.168.1.5 <job id>

192.168.1.5 is the host PC's address (shown on its Share my printers page, and under Network in Settings, Diagnostics); a PC name works too. PrintVect-test-page.xps is a ready-made one-page test file. Any other .xps file works: print a document to "Microsoft XPS Document Writer" to make one. Options: /pin <the sharing PIN> when the host has a PIN, /doc "title", /port 9151, /nowait.

If another PC cannot reach the host, the Windows Firewall on the host is blocking port 9151 (on a phone hotspot: see Troubleshooting). Without the installer, run this once on the host as administrator:

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="PrintVect Jobs (TCP-In)" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=9151 program="C:\PrintVect\PrintVect.App.exe" profile=private,domain
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="PrintVect Discovery (UDP-In)" dir=in action=allow protocol=UDP localport=9150 program="C:\PrintVect\PrintVect.App.exe" profile=private,domain

Where things are

Item	Location
Settings	C:\ProgramData\PrintVect\config.json
Job files in transit	C:\ProgramData\PrintVect\spool\ (received files: spool\incoming\, deleted once printed)
Logs (one per day, kept 14 days)	C:\ProgramData\PrintVect\logs\PrintVect-<date>.log
Admin helper log	C:\ProgramData\PrintVect\logs\PrintVect-Elevate-<date>.log
pvct-send log	C:\ProgramData\PrintVect\logs\PrintVect-Send-<date>.log
Downloaded update and its setup log	C:\ProgramData\PrintVect\updates\PrintVect-Setup-<version>.exe, update-<version>.log
Ports	UDP 9150 (finding printers), TCP 9151 (sending jobs)
Update check	HTTPS to api.github.com and github.com only (this repository's releases)

ProgramData is a hidden folder; type the path into the Explorer address bar.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to do
"PrintVect could not create its data folder" at start	Ask whoever installed PrintVect to check that C:\ProgramData\PrintVect can be written to.
No tray icon after starting	Check the hidden icons arrow next to the clock. If still nothing, look for the newest file in C:\ProgramData\PrintVect\logs\.
Chrome or Edge blocks the download as dangerous	Unsigned new program; use Download dangerous file / Keep from the download's menu (see above).
Antivirus on Windows 7 quarantines the EXE	Add the PrintVect folder and C:\ProgramData\PrintVect to its exclusions; the program is unsigned for now.
"is reachable but nothing is listening" from pvct-send	On the host, open PrintVect and switch sharing ON.
"Neither Microsoft XPS Document Writer nor ... v4 is installed" when adding a printer	PrintVect installs Windows' own XPS Document Writer itself. If it still fails: Settings, Apps, Optional features, More Windows features, tick Microsoft XPS Document Writer, OK, restart if asked, then Add again.
"is not reachable on the network" from another PC	Check the host's IP address on its Share my printers page, then add the firewall rule above on the host.
Printing stops when the PCs use a phone hotspot	Windows treats a hotspot as a public network, and PrintVect's firewall rules let other PCs in on private networks only. On the PC that shares the printer, Share my printers shows a yellow note: press Make it private and answer Yes (or in Windows: Settings, Network, the Wi-Fi, Network profile type Private). A PC that prints finds the host's new hotspot address by itself; waiting jobs: Retry waiting on Printers on other PCs.
The host says the job is still printing after 60 s	Look at the printer and at the Windows print queue on the host (Settings, Printers & scanners, the printer, Open print queue). The job is in that queue and prints when the printer is ready; PrintVect keeps reporting its page progress for up to 15 minutes.
Microsoft Print to PDF: the job shows Printing until you answer the Save window	That is how Windows works: choose a file name and the job becomes Printed.
Settings says "Could not check for a newer version: this PC cannot reach github.com"	The PC has no internet connection right now (or a proxy blocks github.com). Printing is not affected; the check tries again the next day, or press Check now later.
"The update did not run (the setup program ended with code ...)"	The Windows permission question was answered No, or the setup failed: the reason is in C:\ProgramData\PrintVect\updates\update-<version>.log. Press Update now again.
After an update PrintVect did not come back	Start it from the Start menu; the update itself is complete. Tell the person who supports PrintVect which version the window shows.
A job waits with "asks for the sharing PIN"	The two PCs have different sharing PINs (or one has none). Set the same PIN in Settings on both, then press Retry waiting (Printers on other PCs) on the PC that printed.
A job waits with "Too many wrong sharing PINs"	That PC sent 5 wrong PINs, so the PC with the printer ignores it for the minutes the message names (longer each time). Set the same PIN on both PCs, wait, then press Retry waiting.
A job waits with "proved a different identity key" or "it is not ..., the PC this printer was added from"	The PC at the printer's address could not prove it is the PC the printer was added from, so nothing was sent to it. If that PC was set up again (new Windows, or PrintVect removed and installed again), press Trust it again next to the printer on Printers on other PCs and confirm, or remove the printer and add it again; then press Retry waiting. If it was not set up again, find out which PC now has that address before trusting it.
A job waits with "runs a PrintVect older than 0.5.8"	The PC with the printer has a sharing PIN and the PC that printed has an old PrintVect. Update it (Settings, Updates, Check now), then press Retry waiting.
A job waits with "already holds ... of documents waiting to print" or "is nearly full"	The PC with the printer has 1 GB of documents waiting (a paused printer?) or little disk space left. Resume the printer or free some space on that PC, then press Retry waiting.
A job waits with "is paused there"	Someone pressed Pause on the PC that has the printer. Press Resume there (Share my printers).
A job waits with "stopped answering after it received this job"	The PC with the printer was switched off or lost the network during the job. When it is back, check whether the page came out; if not, press Retry waiting (or right-click the job, Retry). A page that already printed is never printed twice.
Update now says jobs are still being handled	A shared printer is paused with jobs waiting. Resume it (or wait until they printed), then press Update now again.
Something else	Settings, Diagnostics, Copy report, and send the text to the person who supports PrintVect.

Building from source

Install Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools with the ".NET Framework 4.8 targeting pack", then run in the repo folder:

msbuild PrintVect.sln /t:Restore /p:Configuration=Release
msbuild PrintVect.sln /p:Configuration=Release
tests\PrintVect.Tests\bin\Release\net48\PrintVect.Tests.exe

dotnet build PrintVect.sln -c Release with the .NET 8 SDK works too.

Help and feedback

• Questions, problems and ideas: open an issue. For a problem, add the report from Settings, Diagnostics, Copy report (read it first: it holds the PC's name, its network addresses and the printer names).
• Contributions are welcome: see CONTRIBUTING.md.
• If PrintVect saves you some trouble, please give it a star on GitHub: it helps other homes and offices find it.

For developers

• CLAUDE.md holds the condensed rules; the full brief is docs/brief.md.
• docs/protocol.md describes the wire protocol; docs/testing.md the manual test steps per version; docs/releasing.md how a new version is published.
• Every user-visible string lives in src/PrintVect.App/Strings.resx. After editing it without Visual Studio, run python3 tools/generate_strings.py.

Licence

MIT, see LICENSE. Fonts: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (src/PrintVect.App/Fonts).