no 'N' when I print

[Grypht]

I'm trying to print a doc file on a Dell laserjet W5300 printer and the 'N' doesn't print. So I tried with various files and it's kind of random which files get their 'N' and which doesn't.

I tried printing a test page from the printserver and I got "Wi dows 2000" but when I get the path it's winnt\...

When I print a pdf file I get an error message: Error: u defi ed (undefined), OFFENDING COMMAND: Stack: savetype.
Most of the time when I try to print pdf files, I get an error on the printer: 900 Service, RIP Software (from the DELL forum, it seems it's a generic error)

I tried to adjust the driver settings, but it only gave me the "900 service" error more often.

Anyone ever seen this kind of problem?
Thanks

 

[HamishZA]

This strikes me as some kind of translation table thing, but can't for the life of me think where!

Here's just a few quick thoughts, to help with diagnosis:

Make a plain text file in say Notepad, and in a Dos window, COPY it to the printer at LPT1: assuming it's local. That might help isolate when the fault occurs.

Also, try using different drivers- what language does the Dell expect? If it's PCL/PS, try using some other (not necessarily Dell) PCL or PS driver. Try Generic/Text only maybe. Does Dell have a later version driver? Or even an older one....

Try a Print-to-File and see if the n's are in the output or not.

Got another Dell around somewhere?- borrow someone else's and try that!

Does anyone else use your printer, shared or networked? If so ask them if their output is OK.

If the printer is used by others, does your fault occur after a particular user has printed a particular type of document and left the printer in a certain state?

 

[HamishZA]

Alternatively, use a Thesaurus to help you chooses synonyms which don't use the letter n

 

[Grypht]

Thanks for the hints,

Here's some precisions:
The printer is connected and shared on the network.
Several users are having the missing 'N' problem.

PDF files seems to cause the "900 Service" error 95% of the time (I have to try to "print as image")

We have 2 of those Dell W5300 printers and both have the same problem (so it could be hardware or the driver)

I've tried their latest driver = still having the problem
they only have 1 driver on their website, but the one we got with the printer is older (so we got 2 releases)

I'll have to resort in calling their tech support (uggghh)
Thanks,

 

[Jomama46]

That is really weird, please keep us informed!

Jomama

 

[DansDadUK]

These symptoms can occur when the driver is downloading a font (rather than selecting a printer resident font) and the download of the character has been corrupted.

Reasons for corruption include:[ul]
[li]bad driver[/li]
[li]bad PC-resident font (unlikely)[/li]
[li]hardware problems: check cable;connections;timeouts[/li]
[li]something on the network converting <LineFeed> characters to <CarriageReturn><LineFeed> character pairs (in the mistaken belief that the data is Text rather than Binary).[/li]
[/ul]
although there may be other reasons.
Analysis of a 'print-to-file' should establish whether or not fonts are being downloaded, and may (with luck) even show any corruption.

 

[Grypht]

Well, still no luck with this problem.
I cannot find an alternate driver version then the one on the website de DELL:
"Dell Laser Printer W5300 PS3 (which makes me think postscript 3 able)
version 8.5
for PostScript Level2 and LanguageLevel 3 Printers"

I sent a print to file, but i do not know how to analyse the data it gave me. It came out in .prn file.

 

[UncleRick]

Your .prn file is the pdl langauge of the driver you used. If you used a PostScript driver, the contents of the file is PostScript. If it was a PCL or ESC-P driver then that is what the .prn constists of.

Just as a test try using a different font. A good test would be to type the same line a couple of times but use a different font for each line. If you find that Times New Roman and Courier New are the some of the fonts causing the problem then you have run up against an old problem. Update the fonts on your system.

If that is not the case then look in the driver for a feature that looks something like "use printer fonts" or "download fonts" or something along those lines. Try the different settings to see if there are any changes.

Just some guessing but hopefully it will be helpful.
Smile,