files not printing correctly to an HP 800 designjet

[ixo@adobeforums.com]

put this up in the creative suite forum, however no one has replied, so i'll give it a whirl here...

hello, i'm trying to print an A0+ file from indesign to a HP 800 designjet printer (non-PS) and i'm getting the right side of the poster that's not printing. the roll is 915 mm wide, and the file is 851 (5 marge +841+ 5 marge). i was thinking that it was only an indesign problem, however i've got the same problem with illustrator, and acrobat pro. i've got the latest HP drivers, XP is up to date, i've tried recreating a number of test files, however i'm still getting the same results. it's as if the output can't print larger than 669mm instead of the 900 or so that it should. printing from other, non-adobe products, works just fine. any ideas?

[Satoski Komiyama]

Sounds like you hit 32767 limitation in somewhere. If you're printing at 1200 dpi, then 669mm is around 32767 pixels which is the maximum number in 16 bit integers. Are you printing in Bitmap printing mode or GDI printing mode? I'd suggest turning on and off the Bitmap printing option in Illustrator and InDesign. My guess is that you're printing in Bitmap printing mode and your driver can not print bitmap images beyond 32767 limit. If it still doesn't print in both Bitmap printing on and off, then please try reducing printing resolution at Printer Properties.

satoski

[BobHill@adobeforums.com]

Thanks for that one, Satoski, and ixo, please come back with your findings. I've not heard this explanation before on integer limits on bitmap printing.

Bob

[ixo@adobeforums.com]

hello, i've tried printing in bitmap mode, only from illustrator, because i can't find that function in indesign, without any luck, i just get a printing error from illustrator, so it's not even getting to the printer! i'm regretting the fact that we didn't buy a postscript printer. that's all i can do for the moment, as the HP driver does not allow me to adjust the dpi. i'll keep looking around though...

[Satoski Komiyama]

If it fails in the middle of Bitmap printing, most likely Spooler's consuming whole memory. You may want to try turning Spooler off; Printer Properties > Advanced > Print directly to the printer.

I've just installed "HP DesignJet 800 42 by HP" printer driver Rev. 5.35 on my XP, and I see it has an option for adjusting the dpi. You can change the printing resolution at Printer Properties > General > Printing Preferences... > Basic Setup > Quality > Fast (draft)/Normal (final)/Best (enhanced). It also has an interesting option at Printer Properties > General > Printing Preferences... > Advanced > Document Processing > Maximum performance/Avoid out of memory.

BTW, how much memory do you have on your PC and printer?

satoski

[ixo@adobeforums.com]

hi satoski, i have 256 megs of ram (not much, i know) running XP and 96 in the printer. okay, i see what you mean about the resolution, i thought you were talking about an option where you can see the actual printer resolution, the printer also allows you to adjust the print setting, much like the way ID does. do you have a HP 800? or did you just download the driver. i still haven't found the option in ID to print in bitmap mode, it's not in the same place as illustrator. are you sure that it is possible in ID cs?

[Satoski Komiyama]

Hi ixo,

Illustrator CS barely launches on XP with only 256 MB ram. You can not do any real jobs on your PC. If your artwork is fairly involving, anything could happen. If your artwork is very simple, it may print the large format.

I think InDesign doesn't have Bitmap printing option. I'm saying that printing from Illustrator in Bitmap printing may help. However, if you have only 256 MB ram, chances are less than GDI printing (turning off Bitmap printing) mode. In general, Bitmap printing consumes more memory in Illustrator than GDI printing, and Bitmap printing generates larger spool data than GDI printing, thus Spooler consumes much more memory.

I don't have the actual printer, only installed the driver on my PC. I'm trying to explain general tips for avoiding printing errors in non-PostScript printers. The most importat thing is trying both Bitmap printing and GDI printing by turning on/off the Bitmap printing option in Illustrator's Print dialog. The next importance is reducing the amount of memory consumption by lowering printer resolution in Printer Properties and turning off Spooler if necessary.

satoski

[Adam_Crespi@adobeforums.com]

Not sure if I'm having the same problem, but it sounds similar. I'm running Illustrator CS on a dual 3Gz Xeon system, with 2Gb of RAM, lots of swap space, a Hawking USB print server, and printing to an HP DesignJet 500. My prints seem to stop about 3/4 of the way done, but not consistently. Currently, I am about ready to send bombs to Adobe and HP out of frustration, or perhaps just retreat back to the world of 3d animation. I've tried printing directly to the printer, spooling, not spooling, flattening transparency, flattening artwork, different resolutions, etc., etc. Any and all suggestions are most welcome, as I am at wits end here in sunny CA.

Adam

[ixo@adobeforums.com]

hello everybody, i'm also at wit's end in rainy france! i have a competition poster to print, and i can't wait much longer! i've been in contact with adobe tech support in france, who hand balled me off to england, and all they keep telling me is to try the most obvious things, which i had already tried, i've reinstalled the printer driver, XP is up to date, the printer hardware is up to date, illustrator (indesign and acrobat have the same problem) is up to date. thanks to adam, it looks like it has nothing to do with memory or processor speed. i've checked HP tech support, and funnily enough, yes, you guessed it, others are having the same problem, unfortunately without any other suggestions. it seems as if the CS collection had some/a lot of code rewritten, i'm just wondering what they did or left out to stop it from working, on the same printer we never experienced the same problem with older adobe versions! i get the feeling that it is not a HP problem, although it would be great if they put their heads togeather to work this one out. is it a conflict between adobe and the HP GL/2 printer language? hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this...