We have also this problem on our environment. Here's the setup:
VMWare 5.0 host (HP Proliant DL380 G7)
virtual machine printserver Windows 2008 R2 X64 datacenter edition
clients: x86 -> win7 and win xp
The whole environment is patched to the latest service packs and updates.
We use for the HP printers , Universal Print Driver version: 5.3.1.10527 (PCL 6 and PS)
When we open office apps or other apps also on the clients and we click on printer properties or preferences after selecting a printer we have a delay of +- 30 seconds to 1 minute.
It is only the first time when the computer boots, when you click on printer properties a second time it is fast (+- 5 seconds)
When you click printer properties after a long while (in my test 1 hour) the problem returns.
It is driving me nuts, please help and share your solution.