[cups] Instructions for installing /printers/<queue name>.ppd-based printer on Windows?

[Michael Mol]

I have a scenario where the manufacturer's native Windows drivers are buggy
and causing headaches, and all my Linux clients seem to be able to print to
the same model of printer natively just fine using CUPS.

Using the basic set of instructions I've found for using CUPS IPP printers
on Windows (using the MS Publisher Color driver) doesn't reveal printer
features like duplexers, and I need those.

Thankfully, the PPD exposed by cups (ipp://printer/printers/queue_name.ppd)
provides the needed information for that, but I'm having a devil of a time
finding a good way to use that PPD on Windows.

What I've found so far:

First, you can't simply tell Microsoft's PS driver to use the specified PPD
file, except (in some apparent cases I really don't care about) if you're
printing to a file.

There's an Adobe "driver" everyone keeps referencing (
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=44&platform=Windows)
... but that was last released in 2002, is long unsupported, and is in fact
a 16-bit driver assembler application (
https://forums.adobe.com/message/2827979#2827979); it won't even run on
modern Windows systems.

Windows supports something called "PScript Mini Drivers" (
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/ff551675(v=vs.85).aspx)
which I *think* are just INF files telling Windows to associate the
PSCRIPT5.DLL driver with the PPD identified in the INF file. But the
closest thing to a full set of instructions I've found for this are
outdated, to say the least. (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/142057)
I have not been able to make this approach work. Worth noting further, the
referenced (recent) documentation notes an NTF file for listing fonts,
where I'll note I can see the supported font list in the PPD file provided
by the IPP server; so it seems there's something further missing in those
instructions, too.

Finally, there's IPP Everywhere (https://www.pwg.org/ipp/everywhere.html)
which sounds promising, but is still beta, and I really don't want to roll
beta printer software out when my root problem is buggy printer drivers.

And my various google searches over the past few business days don't turn
up much targeted at modern versions of Windows, or even many recent mailing
list or forum postings; it's like this is something people haven't cared
about for the past decade.

Has anyone, in recent times, been able to print to PostScript printers
using IPP from Windows clients with access to advanced features like
duplexers or staplers? Input and output tray selection? Is there, anywhere,
an actual, current set of instructions for accomplishing this?

I really don't want to have to use native drivers, and I'm getting quite
frustrated...