Under Windows XP non-administrators cannot net use lpt1 if there exists a physical port lpt1. This is by "design" according to Microsoft.
So, you need to remove this restriction.
. Download the Microsoft SDK tool Devcon.exe from Microsoft at this site:
Devcon.exe is a sort of command line Device Manager on steroids. Place this in an accessible directory to the user during login.
. Copy and paste the below into notepad, and give it a .CMD extension:
REM remove local lpt1 assignments on client
REM *PNP0401 is the local lpt1 assignment
devcon disable *PNP0401
REM do the redirection to a network/local printer. Persistant is optional
net use lpt1: \\printerserver\printername /persistant:yes
REM the client is now using a network printer on lpt1
REM a Dillinger99 trick to set the default attribute
rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /in /n\\printerserver\printername /y
REM End of the batch file
In the alternative, if this is the case of a single workstation, you could always disable the device under Device Manager to remove the restriction. This can make things confusing and/or difficult if you have a large number of users.