topic Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility in Printer Software & Networking

imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

dexman335 — Fri, 24 May 2024 13:26:39 GMT

With the upcoming release of Windows computers that are powered by new ARM chips/processors, the compatibility of drivers for imageCLASS and other Canon products comes to mind.

Some of these new computers look interesting, but if the Canon drivers won't work with these newer computers, then that is problematic.

So, I'll ask the $50k question. Are the drivers compatible? If not, will new drivers be introduced shortly to make the transition from x86 to ARM as seamless as possible? 🤔
If new drivers are required, how far back in the Canon office printer line will Canon go with rolling out the new drivers? 🤔

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

shadowsports — Fri, 24 May 2024 13:37:14 GMT

Good morning,

Microsoft has been making ARM based Surface laptops for years. I'm not sure what the answer is, but for the time being I advise others not to invest in this technology since both hardware and software compatibility issues exist.

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

dexman335 — Fri, 24 May 2024 13:53:34 GMT

Morning Rick!

That was what I thought the suggestion was going to be. I'm a Microsoft Surface user. Their newest consumer facing units (Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 6) are ARM powered, while the business facing versions use familiar Intel processors.

My Surface Laptop 1 will be due for a replacement (works well but is stuck with Windows 10 unless I hack the registry).

Looks like I'll be trying to order from the business lineup. 😐

Paul

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

shadowsports — Fri, 24 May 2024 14:11:13 GMT

Hi Paul,

ARM based printer support is still limited at this time. Even this doc is probably slightly out of date.

Canon Knowledge Base - PIXMA / MAXIFY Products: Windows 10 / Windows 11 on ARM-Based Computers

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

dexman335 — Wed, 29 May 2024 22:33:19 GMT

Hi Rick,

Hopefully printer manufacturers will begin releasing firmware to accommodate upcoming Windows on Arm computers. 🙂

Paul

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

mattbender — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 18:34:20 GMT

I am testing Lenovo ThinkPad T14s G6 Snapdragon laptops in a business environment with Canon ImageRunner Copiers. So far everything works fine expect Canon drivers. I repeat - EVERYTHING other than Canon drivers works fine with ARM64 CPU architecture. I have found a basic work-around of manually installing using the built-in Microsoft PCL6 ARM64 driver, but that only provides basic print functionality and doesn't play nice with a corporate print server setup or GPO deployment. It is fine for our testing, but I wouldn't want to deploy this to mainstream users.

I hope Canon addresses this, if not we may need to re-evaluate our copier vendor. I haven't followed up with my sales rep or support contacts on this topic yet, but will be checking to see if ARM drivers are on their development roadmap - hope so.

I was using a new Intel based ThinkPad X1 Carbon previously. I personally am way happier with the Snapdragon ARM based ThinkPad. Boot times, battery life, heat levels/fan noise, responsiveness/productivity. This isn't a hardware forum, but just basic feedback for anyone considering.

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

TechMeister — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 03:58:29 GMT

I just finished installing a Surface Pro 11 with an ARM processor. Like another comment said, I got ALL of our business apps and devices to work on ARM - except our Canon copiers. Surface laptops with ARM have now been out for 3-4 years, and Canon doesn't even have a basic/generic driver for their business devices that supports ARM64? That's unacceptable, actually. We took a chance on the Surface hoping everything would work - and it almost did. Not only is Microsoft putting these CPUs in more and more new systems, now Dell and other OEMs are following suit. This issue is about to become MUCH more widespread. So, it's past time for Canon to add ARM support. I may see if we can still return the Surface for a refund. But l'm also contacting our leased copier/printer vendor to see if all of our Canon devices can be picked up and replaced with another make that offers ARM64 support - if any major brand does.

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

dexman335 — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 09:22:57 GMT

I'm not familiar with what is required to add ARM compatibility to auxiliary devices such as printers, but, I'm wondering if such manufacturers are going to need to do a complete overhaul of their devices to accommodate Windows on ARM? 🤔

Would it possibly come down to manufacturers having to offer new SKUs for devices optimized for Windows on ARM while also selling duplicates that interact with Intel & other legacy processors? 🤔

If anything, Canon would likely first roll out changes first to the imageRUNNER platform (given the nature of the product line) and then move to update the imageCLASS and other consumer-facing product lines. 😐

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

DarrenDa — Sun, 01 Sep 2024 16:29:56 GMT

Going to be a little more blunt - I have been using Surface Pro Arm devices as a primary device for almost 4 years now. The speed, battery life, and connectivity (first LTE now 5G) has been phenomenal. I almost always win the "how long does the device last on battery" game whether it is Teams meetings or just getting work done.

Except when it comes to using my Canon ImageClass devices. I finally gave in an purchased a more current ImageClass model (I was completely out of toner, so the extra cost was not as bad) to enable the inbox IPP driver to at least allow basic print functionality from Arm devices.

I don't want to sound inappropriate or impolite - but this is definitely the last time I will consider a Canon solution unless Arm support improves. I would rather look to other printing solutions then continue to lose out on the benefits of Windows Arm performance and battery life.

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

iieeann — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 17:05:27 GMT

Just bought a Surface Pro 11 weeks ago. Everything i need for my work is working, except for the Canon imagerunner copier. Since no Arm64 driver is available, I have to use the Microsoft PCL6 driver. One of the most important features i need is duplex printing, but the Microsoft PCL6 driver simply cannot detect the duplex function. An ARM 64 driver from Canon is needed.

I always read in this forum a standard reply from Canon to refer to the dealer since imagerunner is not directly supported. I don't understand if the Canon personnel really knew what he was talking about. How the heck can a dealer make the driver, that can only be done by the manufacturer and noone else. I strongly believe the reason behind why no action from Canon was because our request did not reach the technical team. The moderator here just copy paste the standard answer to refer to the dealer and yay his job is done.

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

mattbender — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 16:44:28 GMT

Thankfully I don't print too much, but I had to print something in colour the other day and it wasn't working through the MS PCL6 driver for me. Thankfully I work in IT and have plenty of computers at my disposal - it's a pain though to fire up another computer just for printing...

I agree that the right Canon people probably aren't monitoring this forum, or just don't care.

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

Rick_Floyd — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 15:30:25 GMT

The answer IS NOT to stay away from the new chip architecture. I have the same issue with the newest software in my Mac mini. Until Canon gets on the ball to resolve this, I WILL NOT RECOMMEND Canon printers to my photography associates. Their lack of solutions has rendered my ProGraf 1000 printer useless after less than 1 year. Because of their lack of support, we are no longer purchasing any Canon camera gear.

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

dexman335 — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 20:04:22 GMT

Right now, I'm looking at replacing my Microsoft Surface Laptop 1 as it is not eligible to upgrade to Windows 11. The current iteration of the S.L. features ARM processors for consumer/residential units, and Intel processors for business/commercial models.

I thought I read somewhere that Intel's Lunar Lake processor is much improved over current offerings. Windows Central contributor Zac Bowden recently revealed that Microsoft was testing a Surface Laptop powered Luner Lake processor. If things look good, I'll bite and try to order a business version to replace my current unit.

https://www.windowscentral.com/hardware/surface/next-gen-surface-laptop-8-with-intel-lunar-lake-chip-leaks-as-unauthorized-sale-appears-on-chinese-website#xenforo-comments-534688

I also own a Surface Pro 7 which is running Windows 11.

I agree that manufacturers of devices such as printers might want to start focusing on releasing drivers for WoA computers. 😐

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

stevebar — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 23:34:25 GMT

I would avoid Intel at all costs currently. Our most recent surfaces that utilize intel have been buggy and prone to high failure rates. If you view the "Moores Law is Dead" channel on youtube they have been reporting how some OEM's have been reporting high failure rates for 13th/14th gen Intel units. They quit innovating and just cranked clock speeds that burn out the CPU's quickly.

The fix here is to buy a strix variant of an AMD business computer or a Qualcomm device. ARM has lift this time in the Windows space and Canon should get on board. The average consumer is not going to know the difference between architectures. HP has universal drivers that support ARM. I am going to dump the Imagerunner before I shy away from a CPU architecture that works for all of our LOB apps and other devices. Intel is going to cost us way more in support calls and issues and productivity loss.

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

dexman335 — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 23:46:40 GMT

I remember recently reading (Paul Thurrott?) that the 13th & 14th generation processors have been unreliable. Intel, according to Paul, is extending warranties for 13th and 14th generation desktop processors by two years.

I'm holding back until computers using the next generation processors are released & vetted. I think I can keep running my Surface Laptop 1 beyond Windows 10's retirement date without any negative side effects.

Microsoft may completely switch to ARM, but as noted, manufacturers of printers and other devices need to issue updated drivers that are fully compatible with those processors. 😐

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

dexman335 — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 23:42:45 GMT

Hopefully this won't be too far up as side street. I searched articles concerning the 13th & 14th generation processors and it seems that the trouble has been largely affecting desktop processors, as opposed to mobile processors. 🤔

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

stevebar — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 23:46:40 GMT

Indeed, but I for sure have issues with the limited numbers I have. Not just hardware but software drivers are bonkers.

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

dexman335 — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 02:19:08 GMT

Hopefully drivers will improve sooner rather than later. I'm in no rush to jump to ARM computers, but if they can provide comparable performance, longer run times with less heat generation than Intel processors, then the change is inevitable. 😐

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

intel1919 — Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:47:35 GMT

Well, I bought a ImageCLASS MF753 in July 2024 as it was $200 off at Staples to replace a 8 year old HP Laser MF device. Love it!! My wife and I share it in our home offices to mostly print but also scan a lot directly to our respective Dell XPS docked laptops over the network to a shared file folder. Fast, easy.

Well, come Xmas 2024, I bought my wife a new Dell XPS 13 - 9345 with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite CPU (ARM architecture) running Windows 11. Super fast, works great -- except for the ability to use the network scan functionality. The Master Setup download file will not run (which installs all of the Canon software). It shows that the MF Scan utility is installed, but errors when I run it saying I don't have drivers installed. Printing directly to printer via network works fine using Microsoft drivers, i.e. the Printer showed up using stardard Windows 11 "add printer" functionality. I see that Canon has released a bunch of ARM drivers/software for the PIXMA and MAXIFY lines, but not ImageCLASS line? Come on Canon -- get this built and released PLEASE!!

Re: imageCLASS Drivers ARM Compatibility

dexman335 — Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:59:36 GMT

An earlier comment noted that the driver incompatibility extends to the imageRUNNER platform as well. 😐