Resolving Printing Problems

Document is cut off mid-print

When you plot a layout, the plotter prints a wide black stripe and then spools out an a few feet of paper, or you print and the print job spools up but never comes out of the printer

This behavior is caused by the print data overflowing the plotter's internal buffers. There are simple steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of this happening.

1. Reduce the DPI (dots per inch) in your layout For 24x36 sheets choose 200 DPI, which will create about a 100 MB print job.
   For 36x48 sheets choose 150 DPI, which is about 115MB.
   For the color laser printers 200 DPI is recommended.
2. It is difficult to know the size of the print spool file by looking at the file's size on the disk.

   With the exception of the (uncompressed) TIFF format, the commonly used image formats like JPG and PNG files include some form of compression. A 25MB JPG file can easily expand to a 250 MB print job if the file includes significant consistent color regions like a solid black background.

   Use the Image Size option under the Image menu in Photoshop to view the actual pixels in an image. Multiplying that value by 3 will give the size of the print spool file that will be sent to the printer.

3. In the Advanced Printer settings choose "Spool file in Computer" if the printer keeps running out of memory, and you have followed the previous steps.
4. You can view the progress of a print job by double-clicking the printer icon beside the clock in the taskbar. The size of the print job will be displayed in the panel.
5. Printing directly from CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator is not recommended. Export the layout as an Adobe PDF file, and print the resulting document from Acrobat Reader.

The printed colors don't match what I see on my screen

If you are printing a document containing images, it is best to make sure the images are converted to CMYK mode, instead of the default RGB mode. This mode maps the colors in the image to the ones that are a closest match that can be printed. Printers and monitors have different ranges of colors that each can print, and sometimes you can display something on your computer screen whose colors can't be printed accurately. If you have large areas of color in a graphic or illustration, it is best that you choose a color swatch from the Pantone color list, rather than choosing from the range of RGB colors. A similar option is to download the swatches from the printer manufacturer's website. Most companies offer swatches that are compatible with Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Draw.

If you are still experiencing problems after following these steps, visit the IT department staff for help, or ask a question.