How to Rename a Printer in Windows 11

Renaming a printer in Windows 11 can help you identify it more easily, especially if you have multiple printers connected to your computer. By assigning a custom name, you can ensure that you’re sending print jobs to the correct device without confusion. Here are several methods to rename a printer on your Windows 11 PC.

Using the Settings app

Open the Settings app by clicking on the Start menu and selecting the ‘Settings’ icon. Then, click on the ‘Bluetooth & devices‘ option on the left sidebar.

In the ‘Bluetooth & devices’ section, select ‘Printers & scanners‘ to view all connected printers.

From the list of printers, click on the one you wish to rename. For example, if you want to rename ‘Microsoft Print to PDF’, click on it to access its settings.

On the printer’s detail page, click on ‘Printer properties‘ to open the properties window.

In the Printer Properties window, click on the ‘Change properties‘ button located at the bottom. This allows you to modify the printer’s settings.

You’ll now be able to edit the printer’s name. Replace the existing name with your preferred one, such as ‘Office Printer’, and click ‘OK‘ to save the changes.

Return to the ‘Printers & scanners’ page, and you’ll see that the printer now appears with its new name.

Using PowerShell

Open the Start menu, type PowerShell in the search bar, and select ‘Run as administrator‘ to launch PowerShell with administrative privileges.

In the PowerShell window, enter the following command to list all installed printers:

Get-Printer | Format-Table Name

Press Enter to execute the command. This will display a table with the names of all printers connected to your system.

To rename your printer, use the following command:

Rename-Printer -Name "CurrentPrinterName" -NewName "NewPrinterName"

Replace "CurrentPrinterName" with the exact name of your printer as listed, and "NewPrinterName" with the desired name. Press Enter to run the command.

After executing the command, you can confirm the change by revisiting the ‘Printers & scanners’ section in the Settings app. The printer should now display its new name.

Using Command Prompt

Click on the Start menu, type cmd in the search field, and choose ‘Run as administrator‘ to open the Command Prompt with administrative rights.

In the Command Prompt window, enter the following command:

cscript %WINDIR%\System32\Printing_Admin_Scripts\en-US\prncnfg.vbs -x -p "CurrentPrinterName" -z "NewPrinterName"

Make sure to replace "CurrentPrinterName" with the exact name of your printer and "NewPrinterName" with the new name you want to assign. Press Enter to execute the command.

After running the command, you should see a confirmation message indicating that the printer has been renamed successfully.

By following these methods, you can easily rename your printer in Windows 11 to make it more identifiable. If you ever wish to revert to the default name, you can remove the printer from your system and add it again, and Windows will assign the original name automatically.

Using the Settings app

Using PowerShell

Using Command Prompt

More from Windows