HP LJ 4 printing PDF files very slowly on new Windows 7 Laptop
The printer is an HP LJ 4100, with a Gigabit JetDirect card. (The original card broke, and this is a replacement) It is attached directly to the network, using a standard TCP/IP port. The client is using a new Dell Laptop attached to a dock, and connected via Ethernet. The router is a very recent Apple Airport Express configured in routing mode.
Regular MS Word and WordPerfect docs print very quickly. Adobe PDF files - which are scans of documents - can take 20 to 30 seconds per page to render and print. The documents are letter-sized legal/court documents scanned at 600 dpi. Some of them are 100 pages long.
(I spoke with the client about the 600 dpi resolution. He said that very often these docs are marked up by pencil or light-colored pen, and the writing won't show up in a 300 dpi scan. He does have a very good Canon scanner. Many lawyers still use paper for correspondence, and won't send him a PDF by email.)
Are there any software or driver settings that can speed up printing? Currently the driver is HP LaserJet 4100 PCL 6.
Client says that when he was using an XP machine to print the same PDF files, they printed much faster. (But that was with the original JetDirect card installed)
I am not sure if the JetDirect has a USB port, or if connecting via USB would help. In addition, there is a Mac in the office printing over the network, and If I have a choice don't want to add a layer of complexity by having a Mac print to a shared Windows 7 printer.
Naturally the client would like to save the expense of a new laser printer.
But would purchasing a HP LaserJet 600 with a speed of 52 ppm also solve this problem? There is also a model HP LaserJet 3000 which looks to have a better processor.
Thanks.
Regular MS Word and WordPerfect docs print very quickly. Adobe PDF files - which are scans of documents - can take 20 to 30 seconds per page to render and print. The documents are letter-sized legal/court documents scanned at 600 dpi. Some of them are 100 pages long.
(I spoke with the client about the 600 dpi resolution. He said that very often these docs are marked up by pencil or light-colored pen, and the writing won't show up in a 300 dpi scan. He does have a very good Canon scanner. Many lawyers still use paper for correspondence, and won't send him a PDF by email.)
Are there any software or driver settings that can speed up printing? Currently the driver is HP LaserJet 4100 PCL 6.
Client says that when he was using an XP machine to print the same PDF files, they printed much faster. (But that was with the original JetDirect card installed)
I am not sure if the JetDirect has a USB port, or if connecting via USB would help. In addition, there is a Mac in the office printing over the network, and If I have a choice don't want to add a layer of complexity by having a Mac print to a shared Windows 7 printer.
Naturally the client would like to save the expense of a new laser printer.
But would purchasing a HP LaserJet 600 with a speed of 52 ppm also solve this problem? There is also a model HP LaserJet 3000 which looks to have a better processor.
Thanks.
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ASKER
I appreciate all the good advice. What would be the answer to the client's question why this problem didn't exist in Windows XP, but started with Windows 7?
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ASKER
Yes. I'll check the driver settings on XP
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ASKER
Problem was solved - installed LJ4050 PCL5 driver to replace the LJ4100 PCL6 driver.
The PDF files now print much faster.
Thanks to all.
The PDF files now print much faster.
Thanks to all.
ASKER
Epilogue: The PCL5 driver alone didn't solve the problem. The advice to print at 300dpi instead of at 600dpi was taken, and this resolution plus the PCL5 driver enabled fast printing.
ASKER