How to Print to local printer using RDP

This is a poor man’s way of having users connect remotely and allowing them to print locally. Using RDP, you will not have to spend money on an expensive product like Citrix unless you really have to. Note that Citrix is a great product, but it’s out of reach for customers who have limited IT budget.

1. On the remote computer check to make sure the “Printers” box is checked on the “Local Resources” tab of the “Remote Desktop Connection”.

2. On the server install the printer driver that the remote user has. 

3. When the remote user connects the server will now see all of the remote’s printer ports

4. The remote user will now need to go to the “Printers” folder of the host computer and change the port setting 

5. When they click on the “Ports” tab of the printer they will see a list of all available ports. The ports that refer to the remote user will appear as TS00x (Where x will be 1-8 depending on the number of installed printers the remote user has).

6. Started with TS001 printed a test page. If that doesn’t work, then changed the port and keep test printing until something prints on your computer.