The application I work on includes a print server that needs to print to a number of different printers and plotters at a number of different sizes (ANSI A, B, D, E, ISO A0, A1, A2, A3) in both landscape and portrait configurations. Users are not print savvy and so specify their print job very simply (document, zone, paper size), but this leads to a lot of configuration on the back end because we have to include information to match up each printer configuration with the "abstract" configuration. Typically this means adding a new printer or, heaven forbid, an entirely new zone/building involves a tremendous amount of configuration and fine-tuning, not to mention looking up and maintaining a number of otherwise meaningless values that tie the particular driver to the particular destination paper size and orientation.
It would be nice to have a set of .NET components that are able to plaster over all of these details with a much simpler interface. Does such a creature exist? Is there a simpler solution? Is there at least some approach I could take to implement a component that would perhaps reduce the pain involved at the configuration level?