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The purpose of this document is to address some of the most common printing issues in the University of Kentucky's computer labs. The Questions and Answers in this document were written based on issues mentioned in refund requests made during the past year, and from talking with computing lab personnel.
If you feel there is a printing issue that needs to be included in this text you can Contact Us with the specifics.
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Question:
How can I print to something other than Letter, i.e. 11x17, 8.5x11, Legal, Ledger?
Answer:
First, make sure the printer can actually store that paper. If it's a color printer, only the one in Architecture Lab is capable of printing onto something other than Letter paper. If it's a Lexmark black and white printer, it also can not print to anything other than Letter paper. Only the Canon multifunction devices can print to another paper size. On the Canon's, you can check what paper is in it either by looking inside the paper drawers or by checking the 'System Monitor' button in the bottom right of the copier touchscreen. After you know what it has, you can print on it using a queue with the 'Canon ir2200-3300 PCL5e' driver installed, which for most locations will be the duplex queue. You'll go into 'Printing Preferences' and select the paper size you want under 'Page Size'. Then print. It's that simple.
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Question:
What should be done if a patron experiences difficulty with a UK Student ID?
Answer:
If the patron knows that they paid the Student Technology Fee, and yet they continue to experience difficulty using their PLUS Account, the magnetic stripe of their UK Student ID card may be damaged and may need to be reformatted. Contact the UK Student ID office at 257-1378, or have the student go to room 107 of the Student Center.
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Question:
Why are there are extra blank pages being printed at the end of a document?
Answer:
If you scroll to the end of the document, or use Print Preview, you'll find that there actually are blank pages. Delete the blank pages from the end of the document.
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Question:
Why is it, that what prints out does not look like what is on the computer monitor?
Answer:
This is often the case, and the very reason why programs have a Print Preview option. The screen layout may not be the same as the actual page layout. The only way to be sure what is printed looks like what is wanted is to use Print Preview. In fact, Print Preview should really be used before any document is sent to the printer. By the way did I mention that it's a good idea to use Print Preview.
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Question:
Why does the printer not print, and says to Configure Paper; or Change Tray 2, Plain Legal; or Load A4, or asks for some type of paper other than letter?
Answer:
In each case the printer is searching for a different size paper than it contains. The document was configured or sent to the printer as something other than letter size paper. The document needs to be changed to fit on letter size paper. The printer cannot print on paper it does not contain.
On Canon copiers, enter the System Monitor screen in the bottom right side of the touch screen, select a Letter tray and hit OK. Unfortunately, turning the printer off will purge all documents that have been sent to the printer (documents that show at the Print Station will not be effected).
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Question:
Why won't the color printer print the document in color?
Answer:
Sending a document to a color printer alone does not insure that it will print in color. After choosing print a box comes up that allows you to select a printer. To the right of the printer selection is a Properties button. Click on this button and make sure that Color and not Grayscale is selected.
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Question:
Why won't the PDF file print?
Answer:
Most PDF files are image files, even the ones that appear as text. In the Print Window where you can select a printer, on the left, there is a setting for Print as image. Select this before printing the PDF file.
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Question:
Why instead of printing a graphic or a document with a graphic, multiple pages with something that looks like this (see below) came out of the printer:
`A`A(ohohas (dfkjeois;lkjf aeluu0i0u(fdjewjfdkf}diioo(of
Answer:
The document contained one or more images sent to the printer in Binary. Images must be sent to the printers as ASCII in order to print. Where this selection appears depends on the program. The most frequently used programs where this is a problem are PhotoShop, Illustrator and PageMaker. Images saved as binary and exported to text documents can also cause problems.
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Question:
Why does it take so long for some documents to print?
Answer:
The speed at which a document is printed depends on a number of factors including; the size of the file, the page per minute speed of the printer, network congestion, and the printers ability to render images. Obviously, a larger file will take longer for the printer to process. The printers page per minute speed effects how long it will take to print a document once printing has begun. Network congestion does appear to be a factor. While less frequent, it has also been noted that a document, sent twice from the same computer, and printed on the same printer does not always take the same amount of time to print. Also, when anything containing images is sent to a printer (including PDF files) the image must be rendered again, and this does take time. Each of these factors is being investigated for ways to improve printing speed.