Printing problems (PDF files-HP Color Laserjet 1518ni: return the printer?

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Printing problems (PDF files-HP Color Laserjet 1518ni: return the printer?

Hi everyone, I recently switched platforms and became a Mac user and had to buy a new
printer because my old HP deskjet is not compatible with my computer. So, I bought an HP
Color Laser printer, supposedly Mac compatible, but every time I try to print a PDF file it only
prints the first page. And then stops printing. I spent hours with the HP customer service, reinstalled
the driver, changed configurations, but it still does the same thing. The customer service representative could not solve the problem. I was wondering if there is any one else who had a similar issue with printing? Is it Mac OS X 10.5.5 that causes the problem? I am about to return the laser printer; it would be so helpful if I got some feedback. If it is a printer issue, then, which printer would you folks recommend that is not too expensive but efficient (I use the printer a lot and need an efficient one) and a printing speed of around 12-20ppm that actually does work with the Mac?

Thanks in advance!
Asli

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Oct 21, 2008 7:09 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 22, 2008 12:05 PM in response to eyzil

Does printing multiple page files from other applications, such as TextEdit, also print only one page?
Is there anything helpful in Console? Or the cups log (viewable in Console)?

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Answer 2

eyzil Author

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Oct 22, 2008 7:49 PM in response to John Blanchard1

Multiple pages from word documents would print, but not websites--at least not directly.
I just tried and converted a website to a pdf file (it was a very simple and plain text with no images), it did print it but not other pdf files that are journal articles, etc. The main problem is to open any other pdf file than that one and try to print it... It just gets blocked somehow. And the print queue won't move forth when I want to print other documents afterwards. I have to add and remove printer for it to work.

On a different note: I have just switched to Mac platform about a month ago; I wasn't sure what a console is? How can I check it?
Thanks!

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Answer 3

Oct 22, 2008 9:58 PM in response to eyzil

What are you using to view PDFs? This was a known bug with Adobe Reader 7 and some HP printers. Apple's own Preview should work. Adobe Reader 9 should also work. Adobe Reader 8 might or might not work depending on the exact version.

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Answer 4

Oct 23, 2008 10:35 AM in response to eyzil

Console is an application in /Applications/Utilities that keeps track, in various files, of the what the system is doing. You can open Console, then check /private/var/log/cups/error_log. It's easy to get to as long as you have the list hierarchy shown on the left.

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Answer 5

eyzil Author

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Oct 23, 2008 10:50 AM in response to Charles Dyer

I will try these options with the Console and see how it goes; thank you.

The Adobe version that I am using is 9-Professional. The HP representative
thought this could be a memory issue but I doubt that... It is a color printer, it should
be able to handle larger files I thought but well, let's see....

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Answer 6

eyzil Author

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Oct 23, 2008 11:42 AM in response to Charles Dyer

Thank you for calling my attention to the Adobe issue. I did try and print a PDF file with Preview and it worked! How was the issue solved with Adobe 7? Maybe Adobe pro7 also similar bug issues; is it to Adobe that I should be reporting this or to Apple?

Thanks again.

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Answer 7

eyzil Author

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Oct 23, 2008 11:44 AM in response to eyzil

Sorry I meant Adobe Pro 9, not Adobe Pro7, when I asked about similar bug issues to the Adobe 7.

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Answer 8

Oct 23, 2008 12:46 PM in response to eyzil

Asli Igsiz wrote:
Thank you for calling my attention to the Adobe issue. I did try and print a PDF file with Preview and it worked! How was the issue solved with Adobe 7? Maybe Adobe pro7 also similar bug issues; is it to Adobe that I should be reporting this or to Apple?

Thanks again.

It's definitely an Adobe problem. The only solution I ever saw was either to print from Preview or to use later versions of Adobe Reader 8 or any version of Reader 9. I asked Adobe support what the problem was. I never got a reply.

You should know that Preview (and any other application which reads PDFs using Apple's PDF engine) has a problem with displaying Times Roman Italic, and only Times Roman Italic when launched under OS X 10.5.5. All other fonts appear to work normally; at least I haven't found one which has a problem, including other Times Roman font faces, including Times Roman Bold Italic. Preview seems to print properly, but the on-screen display has problems. The same files display properly with apps which don't use Apple's PDF engine, and also with apps which use Apple's PDF engine under versions of the OS earlier than 10.5.5, going back to at least 9.2.1. Apple is aware of the problem.

There seems to be at least two problems with the main PDF engines for OS X, Apple's and Adobe's.

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Answer 9

eyzil Author

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Oct 23, 2008 2:25 PM in response to Charles Dyer

This is very useful info; thank you. I was wondering how I could disable Mac's own PDF engine and use my own Adobe Pro9 for readings, etc? If this is a larger issue, maybe it would be useful to open a new entry later, on the subject of the Adobe?

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Answer 10

Oct 23, 2008 2:58 PM in response to eyzil

So far as I know this can't easily be done.

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Answer 11

eyzil Author

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Oct 24, 2008 12:25 AM in response to Charles Dyer

Thanks so much for the replies; they have been of great help.

While playing with the Adobe and the printer configurations I solved the problem; I can now print all files from PDF. So, for all those who have a problem with printing a PDF file in an Adobe 9/MacOs 10.5.5 and HP laser printer combination:

Open System Preferences>Print and Fax> add the HP printer. Once you add it and it appears under printers, click on its icon, then on the Options and Supplies to the right, and open the Driver Tab and select Generic Postscript Printer, not HP printer.

Then, click on the Adobe 9 icon that is also listed under the printers, and once you click on the Adobe 9, repeat the same as you did with the HP printer [Options and Supplies>Driver Tab>Select Generic Postscript Printer].

Your printer is ready to go! I can now print all PDF files without any problem.
Thanks for all the help, and I hope this will help others in return.

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