Slow Printing in 2003 Publisher

[Wendy]

I have a user printing a document with a size of 1.6 MB. When she sends the
job to a network printer (HP LaserJet 4550C) it prints VERY slowly. It will
print a page, then pause, and then print another. I had this problem once
before on the same model printer, in that case it had a low toner message for
yellow so I changed the cartridge and I was back in business. This printer
does not have a low toner message, but her magenta is at 8%. Is this a
problem with Publisher? She can print at regular speed when printing from any
other application. Any ideas for me??

 

[Brian Kvalheim [MSFT MVP]]

Hi Wendy ([email protected]),
in the newsgroups
you posted:

|| I have a user printing a document with a size of 1.6 MB. When she
|| sends the job to a network printer (HP LaserJet 4550C) it prints
|| VERY slowly. It will print a page, then pause, and then print
|| another. I had this problem once before on the same model printer,
|| in that case it had a low toner message for yellow so I changed the
|| cartridge and I was back in business. This printer does not have a
|| low toner message, but her magenta is at 8%. Is this a problem with
|| Publisher? She can print at regular speed when printing from any
|| other application. Any ideas for me??

Microsoft Office Publisher 2003 and older are critical about printer
drivers. Usually upgrading (or downgrading in some cases) will fix
the problems you are encountering.

If you have not already done so, you would want to visit the
manufacturers website of your printer to download and install the
latest printer driver that is available. It's important to note that
the CD-Rom that came with your printer will most likely NOT have the
most recent driver for your printer.

Popular Printer Driver Sites:
-----------------------------
Canon
http://www.usa.canon.com/html/cprSupportDetail.jsp?minisite=10000&a=b&navfrom=DrivD

HP
http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/eng/support.html

Lexmark
http://www.lexmark.com/US/support/drivers/index.html

Epson
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/index.jsp
and visit the downloads/drivers section

Brother
http://www.brother.com/E-ftp/info/index.html
-----------------------------

Search for the printer driver that represents the make and model that you
are using and download that driver. I would make sure you select "Save"
when prompted for download, not "Run". Typically many save to My Documents.
Do not install or run the setup.

Go to Start > Settings > Printers and right click on your current printer
and choose delete from the menu that appears. If prompted to remove all
files, choose yes. Then restart your computer.

Once your computer restarts, go to the folder where your new printer driver
was downloaded and double click the file to extract the printer driver.
This should prompt you through the setup routine for the new driver. If
your computer "detects new hardware" upon restart, it's ok to hit cancel
on that dialog. Go ahead and continue your setup routine of your newly
downloaded printer driver.

If the file that you downloaded is not an executable, but only a file
that is *.inf, then you will need to follow these steps:

1. Go to Start >Settings > Printers
2. Choose "Add Printer"
3. Choose Next
4. Select "Local Printer" then click Next
5. At the next dialog box choose "Have Disk"
6. Browse to the location of your newly downloaded *.inf file
7. Follow the remaining prompts (you may have to insert your Windows CD)
8. I would recommend restarting your computer at this point.

Now try a new print from Publisher.

This should fix your troubles. If not, either contact your printer
manufacturer directly and inform them of the problem you have experienced.
They might request that you try an older printer driver.

Post back if you have any further questions. Feel free to visit my website
at http://www.publishermvps.com for some great information.
--
Brian Kvalheim
Microsoft Publisher MVP
http://www.publishermvps.com
~pay it forward~

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and
confers no rights.

 

[Miss Perspicacia Tick]

I have a user printing a document with a size of 1.6 MB. When she
sends the job to a network printer (HP LaserJet 4550C) it prints VERY
slowly. It will print a page, then pause, and then print another. I
had this problem once before on the same model printer, in that case
it had a low toner message for yellow so I changed the cartridge and
I was back in business. This printer does not have a low toner
message, but her magenta is at 8%. Is this a problem with Publisher?
She can print at regular speed when printing from any other
application. Any ideas for me??

As your printer is female, are you sure it isn't time-of-the-month...?

 

[Wendy]

Brian,
I thought I had this better resolved, but since the user doesn't print from
Publisher often she only "thought" it was resolved. Since this printer is on
the server and I did not want to take the chance and change the driver for
everyone, I created it as a TCP/IP port printer and used the newest driver on
the HP site. This turned out to be the same driver we have on the server.
Using the TCP/IP port sped it up a bit, but not enough to make a real
difference. Time wise we are talking about it taking 2-3 hours to print 50
one-sided copies of a brochure. Any other ideas for me?
Thanks~

 

[Mary Sauer]

Are there gradient fills in any of your images?
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/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;870622