Microsoft has released out-of-band emergency updates for Windows 7, 8.1, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012 to fix printer issues arising from the March 2021 Patch Tuesday updates.
Now that Microsoft has ironed out the bugs in its recent Windows 10 OOB printing updates, they have now released versions of Windows’s older versions.
These updates resolve the following issues when printing:
- Elements of the document might print as solid black/color boxes or might be missing, including barcodes, QR codes, and graphics elements, such as logos.
- Table lines might be missing. Other alignment or formatting issues might also be present.
- Printing from some apps or to some printers might result in a blank page or label.
The updates are currently available from the Microsoft Update Catalog at the following links:
- KB5001639 for Win7 & Server 2008 R2
- KB5001640 for Win8.1 & Server 2012 R2
- KB5001641 for Win8 embedded & Server 2012
- KB5001642 for Server 2008 SP2
Like the Windows 10 OOB updates, these are optional updates and only need to be installed if you are affected by the recent printer issues.