Publisher2000 extremely slow printing in XP

[Evelyn Ruut]

Hello,

Can anyone shed light on why, on my computer, MS Publisher 2000 printed
quickly in Windows 2000 Pro but has slowed to a crawl in Windows XP Pro?
Before upgrading to XP, a one-page Publisher file containing business cards
printed almost immediately. After we formatted the hard drive, installed
XP, XP SP2, and Publisher 2000 from scratch, and downloaded all Windows and
Office updates (including Office SR 1a and SR 3), Publisher 2000 now takes
at least 5 minutes to print the same file. The printer (LaserJet 5P) seems
to ruminate and struggle to process this seemingly-simple print job.
Problem can't be the printer, as the same file used to print quickly in
Windows 2000. Some kind of glitch between Pub2000 and XP? Anyone know of
some undocumented patch not found on Windows Update?

Found one poster on groups.google.com reporting the same problem, and the
person who replied mentioned something about "blends" (what are they?).

Best Regards,
Evelyn

(to reply personally, remove 'sox')

 

[JoAnn Paules [MSFT MVP]]

Did you update your printer drivers?

 

[John Inzer]

Hi Evelyn,

Small world huh?

The most current WinXP driver available
from HP for your LaserJet 5p is dated
4 Mar 2002 but it may be better than the
basic driver WinXP installed for you.

WinXP Driver for HP LaserJet 5p
http://tinyurl.com/3q3j4
There's also an Automatic Driver Checker
you can access at the bottom of the page
(listed under Self-Help Resources).

It also may be worth a try to run disk cleanup
to delete all your temp and temporary internet
files and empty your recycle bin.

(310312) Description of the Disk Cleanup
Tool in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310312

(260897) How to Delete the Contents of the
Temporary Internet Files Folder
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=260897

And maybe the following articles will be useful:

(308028) Resources for Troubleshooting
Printing Problems in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308028

(870622) How to troubleshoot problems that
you may experience when you try to print to
a local printer by using Office programs in
Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=870622

(198259) PUB2000: Troubleshooting Text
Printing (Laser Printers)
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=198259

 

[Evelyn Ruut]

JoAnn,

Thank you for your help. This was exactly the reason for the slow printing.
As a person who is not too familiar with desktop publishing, I wasn't sure
which driver to download and install, so I installed both. One was called
HP LaserJet 4, 5, 6 Family PostScript driver, and the other was called the
same except "PCL5e" instead of "PostScript". Just to be safe, I rebooted,
and when I tried to print the .PUB document, printing commenced within 3
seconds. What puzzles me, still, is why you would need to update the
printer driver in Windows XP and not in Windows 2000, when Windows XP is
newer than Windows 2000. You would think XP would have newer drivers built
in.

For any other users who are experiencing this problem, here is how to update
the printer driver: Download the updated driver files from HP's website.
Unzip them into a folder. Click on Start | Settings | Printers and Faxes |
HP LaserJet 5P | Printer | Properties | Advanced tab | New Driver. Point to
the driver files and proceed as directed. Another way: Delete the printer,
then reinstall, but instead of using XP's built-in driver, click on Have
Disk and point to the updated driver files instead. Once the newer drivers
are installed, the printer still appears as "HP LaserJet 5P". AFAIK, the
only way to confirm that the drivers are the newer ones is to click on
Properties | About and see that the tab looks slightly different than it did
before. For example, on my computer, the tab now shows the driver version
(2.0.12.2), the component files, and the HP logo. This slow-printing
problem is a direct result of the outdated printer drivers, and is
apparently NOT related to your spool settings (spool or direct-to-printer),
nor is it related to the amount of RAM installed in the LaserJet.

Thanks again, JoAnn!

- Evelyn Ruut.

Did you update your printer drivers?

--
JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Hello,

Can anyone shed light on why, on my computer, MS Publisher 2000 printed
quickly in Windows 2000 Pro but has slowed to a crawl in Windows XP Pro?
Before upgrading to XP, a one-page Publisher file containing business
cards printed almost immediately. After we formatted the hard drive,
installed XP, XP SP2, and Publisher 2000 from scratch, and downloaded all
Windows and Office updates (including Office SR 1a and SR 3), Publisher
2000 now takes at least 5 minutes to print the same file. The printer
(LaserJet 5P) seems to ruminate and struggle to process this
seemingly-simple print job. Problem can't be the printer, as the same
file used to print quickly in Windows 2000. Some kind of glitch between
Pub2000 and XP? Anyone know of some undocumented patch not found on
Windows Update?

Found one poster on groups.google.com reporting the same problem, and the
person who replied mentioned something about "blends" (what are they?).

Best Regards,
Evelyn

(to reply personally, remove 'sox')

 

[Ed Bennett]

What puzzles
me, still, is why you would need to update the printer driver in
Windows XP and not in Windows 2000, when Windows XP is newer than
Windows 2000. You would think XP would have newer drivers built in.

It may be that you used an original HP driver under Windows 2000, whereas
under Windows XP the driver is the default Microsoft-provided one.

Alternatively, it could be that you've switched from PostScript to PCL or
vice-versa, which can dramatically affect the quantity of data required for
a particular document.