I have a file that is about 25MB, I'm printing it across a network which is apparantly working fine. The first three pages or so print OK, then between each page the printer runs it's transport rollers for 10 secs, then the display says 'Calibrating' for 10 secs, then 'Processing' for 10 secs, then the page prints... not great for a 'fast' printer! Has anyone any ideas about whether it's the printer or the network? and whichever, what to do about it?
Kind thanks in advance

It sounds like you are printing directly from the application that created the 25MB file. Have you tried printing to a PDF file, and then sending ing the PDF to the printer ? That can result in a smaller file, and faster printing, particularly if you have hi resolution images in the document.

Fred Wagner

  

is this your own home network, or a corporate network where talking about?

if it is a corporate environment, have your IT staff look into the issue, it could be a failing platter/drum unit in the printer, or a network bottleneck...

the paper in use could also be a source of the problem, e.g. too dusty, which the printer then tries to clear out too often, or it can't seem to grab the paper correctly...



 

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

Thank you for the responses...
I might have been misleading, it is a 1.5MB pdf file that says it's 25MB when it's in the print queue...
It's a corporate network which my MIS people say is fine and OK.
The paper is new as far as I know, though I will put clean in to try again. Could it be that the printer needs cleaning?

These might be worth a try, depending on how the file was created -
1 - Print it from the original app, without making it into a PDF.
2 - In Acrobat, Save the file as JPEG 2000 - jpf format, then create a new PDF by combining the JPF's, and print that PDF.
3 - if there is significant text in the file, use Acrobat's OCR feature (Text Capture) to further reduce the file. Save it, try printing that version.

Fred Wagner

  

Thank you again for your time Fred...
My problem is, I was given the file as a pdf, so I can't get it from it's source app or recreate the pdf.

But... from what you're saying, it sounds like you think it might be file specific as opposed to the printer or the network? Would I be right? In that case I need to do a little more experimenting with other files etc.

My problem is that we are using the printer for printing of other large files from time to time, and have never had the issue before and immediately blamed the set up rather than the file.

Our MIS people said the configuration of the printer is OK, the network is OK, so as the printer is out of warranty they can't help.
So... I've assumed it's a printer problem.
It's the 'calibrating' and 'processing' that comes up on the display that makes me wonder why it would do that...

Thanks again for your help, I'll try some other files that are large and see what they do.

Kind Regards

emmasdad - since given the file as a PDF, you can try options 2 and 3 in my earlier post, if you have access to Acrobat Standard or Acrobat Professional.
Another possibility - it might be that the original document was optimized for PostScript - see if your Xerox machine has a PostScript driver, and try using that when printing.

Fred Wagner

  

If I send a few pdfs created how I've always created them, with default settings... it takes ages inbetween each one... they aren't big files :o(

If all the PDF's take too long to print, it could be that the files are on a network drive, and you're sending them to a network printer, so you're simultaneously pulling them to your PC, and pushing them to the printer, across the name network connection, creating congestion. Try copying them to your local drive, and then printing them.

Fred Wagner

  

Hi Fred,

I tried 2. it made a bigger file and it took much longer...
I've not tried 3 as there isn't much text in the file...

Try copying the original to your local drive, and then printing....

Fred Wagner

  

Tried copying from my desktop, that didn't change anything....

Is anyone else in your organization having a problem printing to this printer ? Have you reported your problem to your help desk?
Is your PC notably slow doing anything else on the network - intranet, email, etc? - if so, your physical network connection could have a problem - pinched cable, bent tightly, wrapped around a steel post, etc...
Do you have at least 10% free space on your local drive ?
How does your drive look in Defrag ? if lots of red, or if the blue looks like a DNA map (lots of tiny segments) have you defragged lately ?

Fred Wagner

  

Tried this file from different machines on the same network, still the same issue....

What size paper is the file calling for ? Could it be a big engineering drawing or Project flowchart ? how does it look in Print Preview ?
Also - if the file got bigger when you exported it as JPF and created a new PDF from it, did it still have the printing problem ?  Does it eventually print in either configuration?
Are there more than one page in it the file ? If so, have you tried to send each page to the printer separately ?

Fred Wagner

  

OK, try this...

set it to print as image...

When you hit the menu item PRINT, the printer dialog should appear, on the first page at the bottom there should be the button called advanced, there you can set the check mark for PRINT AS IMAGE...

from some of the readings I've done, it seems that it is a compatibility issue, between older PDF formats and the newer Acrobat Reader...

see:

Printing PDF is slow with 64-bit
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/9592

 

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

Fred,
It's not a big drawing and the page size is A4.
It's 24 pages long... printing single pages separately hasn't helped, I get the same response, calibrating after the 3rd/4th print or so...

BBB...
Print as image did nothing, same result...
I have a 32 bit machine... I'm using the latest Acrobat Pro version, I saved the file as a Acrobat v6 and it printed faster! not as lightening as I'd expect, but quicker...without the calibrating message on the printer display!

All your help is very much appreciated both...