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 Printing
problems are sometimes the most frustrating network problems. The problems
can be caused by many different things including poorly written software.
The first thing to do when confronted with this problem is to make sure
you have the latest printer driver from the manufacturer. It is also
important that all of the computers that will be printing to the printer
have the same version of the printer driver. Properly configuring the
printer port and the spool settings will also greatly reduces the problems.
Below are some of the issues we have come across over the years.
- One important configuration is the spool setting. We have found
it is better to spool the entire print job before sending it to
the printer. This way if a print job is not completed due to a program
or network error in most cases other users can still print. We have
found this to be especially true if you are printing from Internet
web pages.
- Another problem we frequently encounter is the use of the wrong
printer cable. Older dot-matrix and laser printers can use just
about any type of parallel printer cable. However, newer laser and
inkjet printers require parallel cables that are IEEE 1284 compliant.
It is easy to tell if the cable is IEEE 1284 compliant because it
will be labeled either on the connector or the cable itself. For
a full description of the IEEE 1284 specification please visit the
IEEE Home page by clicking here.
- Properly configuring the parallel port is another major source
of problems. Most motherboards will give you several options for
configuring the port. Frequently the default is not going to be
what you need. We have also found that many times it is best just
to set the port to "Compatibility Mode", although different printers
do require different settings. Below is a list of the different
types of parallel port settings.
- Compatibility Mode (Also known as “Centronics”
or standard mode)
- This mode transfers data in one direction only, from
your PC to the peripheral (forward direction).
- Nibble Mode
- This mode transfers data in one direction only, from
the peripheral to the PC (reverse direction).
- Byte Mode (Also known as bi-directional)
- Transfers data in both the forward and reverse direction.
- Enhanced Parallel Port Mode (EPP)
- Transfers data bi-directionally at up to 2MB/sec. Primarily
CD-ROMs, tape drives, removable drives, and other non-printer
devices use this mode.
- Enhanced Capability Port Mode (ECP)
- Bi-directional data transfer with DMA support. New generation
printers and scanners use this mode.
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