 |
» |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HP Designjet Printers - Problems Printing PDF Files from Acrobat Reader Using the HP-GL/2 Driver
Introduction
Large-format printing of PDF files from Acrobat Reader can often result in
unexpected problems. |
NOTE:
|
This issue is not limited to Acrobat Reader and may occur in other software applications such as Adobe Illustrator, PhotoShop when using the HP-GL/2 driver. The problem will not occur if using a PostScript driver from the Adobe applications. |
Problems with Acrobat Reader usually occur when printing large page sizes at high
resolutions, and can manifest themselves in different ways depending on the
versions of the Acrobat Reader and the operating system:
The reason for these problems is that Acrobat Reader’s print engine is not able to
process large page sizes (the size of the page is in terms of pixels).
This issue may not occur when using printer drivers that can only render up to 300 (or 360) dpi, or when using PostScript drivers. Adobe applications use an alternative path to
print PS (not passing through the OS normal data structures) that avoids this
problem.
For more information on Adobe PostScript, see Adobe's website at http://www.adobe.com/.
Resolution and page size concepts
Document resolution - The resolution that the driver reports to the application
and that will be used to render the data in the application
to transfer it to the driver. It is completely independent of
the printing resolution and it depends on the print mode
selected in the driver (and on the driver itself).
Rendering resolution - The resolution at which the driver places graphic objects
using printer coordinates. In PCL3GUI, it is equal to the
rendering resolution. In HP-GL/2 it can be different,
although it tends to be the same.
Page size - Once a page size is selected in the driver, it is reported to
the application in terms of pixels. The page size in pixels
is obtained by multiplying the physical page size by the
rendering resolution (in both axes).
The cause of the problem
Problems with Acrobat Reader occur when the page size in pixels is too big for the
application to handle. This page size depends on the document resolution, which, at
the same time, depends on: The driver
The print quality
The optimization
Having Max. Detail (Enhanced IQ) ON or OFF
So it is possible that the problem will always be observed with a particular driver, or
that it can be solved by changing the print mode.
Workarounds
As the problem is caused because the page size in pixels is too big for the application
print engine, the possible solutions involve reducing the page size. As the physical
page size cannot be reduced, the parameter that has to be changed is the document
resolution. Use a print mode (print quality setting) that renders at 300 dpi (as the problems normally happen when
the rendering resolution is set at 600 dpi). Use the resolution tables provided below for additional print quality setting resolution information.
Set ZoomSmart Scaling in the printer driver to 100%.
By scaling to 100%, the page and the
drawing will remain unchanged. However, the ZoomSmart algorythm reduces
the rendering and document resolutions by 2. So, by scaling to 100%, all the
print quality parameters will remain unchanged (carriage speed, printing
resolution, number of swaths, etc.) while the document resolution will be
reduced by 2, reducing the page size in pixels and avoiding problems in the
application. The only side effect is that CAD drawings with sharp lines and
circles will show more jaggedness due to the lower rendering resolution. This will
not affect images so noticeably.
Document resolution tables
The following tables illustrate the document resolutions of current Designjet printers.
The highlighted cell indicates the default print mode of each driver. The value
between brackets corresponds to the effect of having the Max. Detail (or Enhanced
IQ) setting ON (only the cases where the document resolution changes because of
this setting are taken into consideration). Designjet 5500
|
|
Optimized for lines
|
Optimized for images
|
|---|
| Fast
|
300 |
300 |
| Normal
|
300 |
3001
|
| Best
|
600 |
600 |
1 Default print mode
Designjet 800
|
|
Optimized for lines
|
Optimized for images
|
|---|
| Fast
|
300 |
150 (300) |
| Normal
|
6001
|
300 (600) |
| Best
|
600 |
600 (1200) |
1 Default print mode
Designjet 500 + HP-GL/2 card
|
|
Optimized for lines
|
Optimized for images
|
|---|
| Fast
|
300 |
150 (300) |
| Normal
|
6001
|
300 (600) |
| Best
|
600 |
600 |
1 Default print mode
Designjet 500
|
|
Optimized for lines
|
Optimized for images
|
|---|
| Fast
|
300 |
150 (300) |
| Normal
|
6001
|
300 (600) |
| Best
|
600 |
600 |
1 Default print mode
Designjet 1050
|
|
Optimized for lines
|
Optimized for images
|
|---|
| Fast
|
150 |
150 |
| Normal
|
3001
|
300 |
| Best
|
600 |
600 |
1 Default print mode
Designjet 100
|
|
Optimized for lines
|
Optimized for images
|
|---|
| Fast
|
300 |
300 |
| Normal
|
600 |
3001
|
| Best
|
600 |
600 |
1 Default print mode
Designjet 120
|
|
Optimized for lines
|
Optimized for images
|
|---|
| Fast
|
N/A |
300 |
| Normal
|
N/A |
3001
|
| Best
|
N/A |
600 |
| High Res
|
|
600 (1200 if Photo paper is selected) |
1 Default print mode
|
|
Printable version
