How To Install Drivers

In most cases, the Windows® drivers found here are "self-extracting" (.exe) archives. Click the desired file. When prompted, set the destination to your desktop. Create a new folder and move the archive into it. Click the file to extract the software and related files inside of your new folder automatically. You can also extract or move these files to a floppy disk. Please note that these files will only self-extract if executed from Windows.

After extracting the files to a disk or a special directory, you should look for the installation program — usually called "setup.exe" or "install.exe" — and click it to begin installation. If neither of these files are present, you should look for a text file containing special instructions called "Readme.txt" or something similar.

Sometimes there is no installation program because you must install your driver via the Windows "Add Printer" function. You can find instructions for installing printers in the Windows help file. 

Our Macintosh® archives are also self-extracting. These files should be downloaded and then executed in a similar fashion. The installer will be present on the desktop when done — click it and follow the instructions to install. 

Types of Printer Drivers:

  • PCL5e Driver: Technically, the PCL5e has been superseded by PCL6 — however, we make this driver available because the layout of some documents may be altered if they are originally created for a PCL5 compliant printer, but are printed using PCL6.

  • PCL6 Driver - PCL6 is a general purpose text / graphics driver that’s ideal for spreadsheets, word processing and database printouts. It features superior graphics handling that’s better than the PCL5e driver, although its speed is typically slower.

  • PS3 Driver: The Adobe® Postscript Driver is generally superior to the others, but it requires a Postscript compatible printer and can be a little more complex to install.

  • IPDL-C Driver: This is a color printer driver designed specifically for optimal performance under Windows.