Also, some of the universal printer drivers try to be an all in one single driver that handles all print devices by manufacturer X ... Which could be why the Canon(s) grouped-up on you.-Stoic Joker
Interesting. Tomos has the same grouping with his Canon but I've seen that others with other makes have the same phenomenon; dk if those are using the type of 'universal brand' driver to which you refer.-cranioscopical
Many are, thing to remember is while there is many brands...They are all using the Same few technologies for lobing the job to the printer. So most of the bad habits get shared as well. HP doesn't even develop drivers anymore (quote form an HP rep) they just let the Uni-Monster auto-configure itself to whatever is needed for the latest devices (a bit scary me thinks).
The grouping doesn't bother me at all. I simply want to pick a 'printer', from any drop-down, that will behave as I want with no intervening steps.-cranioscopical
If you ever do an update or clean install for the main HP Universal Driver Package it will try to default to the single instance (all printers through me) configuration. I've never selected it (because it sounds a bit sketchy), but I may need to one of these days just to see what actually happens.
I frequently use the multiple print driver instance configuration as a safety net for check printers or specialty form to keep users from screwing up either their books (not all accounting software reprints checks smoothly), or wasting pricy numbered documents (like narcotics perscriptions) ... So I well understand the need for the config you were after.