[Leaplist] Printing challenge resolved! -- Windows? HP driver?

[Bruce Metcalf]

Bryan J. Smith wrote:
> Bruce Metcalf wrote:  
>> I believe I have discovered the problem. When I tell the printer 
>> that the media is [envelope], it assumes it's being loaded in 
>> portrait orientation, and rotates any input to print correctly. 
>> Well, sorta correctly. I have to insert the envelopes upside down 
>> from the way the little picture on the feed tray shows, but that's 
>> close enough I can get my work done, which is what matters.
> 
> In re-reading the thread, did I hear you correctly that this was a 
> Windows system? If so, this isn't an OpenOffice.org question at all, 
> it's a Windows print spool question.

Yes it s a Windows system (Win2kPro), but the problem wasn't in the 
spooler, it was in the printer. When I told it the media was plain paper 
instead of an envelope, it didn't rotate. Something in the HP5550 
automatically puts pages in portrait orientation when envelopes are the 
specified media.


> No Windows application can override the Windows print spool. In fact,
> the Windows print spooler in NT is notorious for _ignoring_ many
> application calls. This is especially the case if you load the 
> _vendor_ print driver, which "dorks up" a lot of things. Vendor 
> printer drivers can also "fight" in Windows.

Indeed. However, it appears that in this case, it's the printer itself 
that has the last word.


> Rule #1 in Windows printing:  Never load a vendor driver if you can 
> help it.  If it's Postscript, load the Adobe Postscript software, and
> then load the printer's PPD. That solves the problem nicely for 
> myself. I'm all 100% Postscript printers at home myself, and 
> OpenOffice.org/StarOffice for Windows never has such issues.

This sounds like a grand plan. When I'm able to switch to Linux, I'll 
implement it.


>> It appears this "auto-rotation" is an undocumented "feature" of the
>> HP 5550. Who knew?
 >
> I'd say it's how the HP 5550 drivers for Windows is the problem
> here.

Normally, I'm happy to blame things on Windows, and I'll even let HP 
drivers take some of the blame, but in this particular case it looks 
like the printer firmware is to blame.

Well, the combination of printer firmware and inadequate user guides, 
anyway.


>> My sincere thanks to all who responded, and that thanks is not
>> lessened in the slightest by my tripping over the answer for
>> myself.
> 
> Well, I think posting a Windows question on a Linux group was part of
> the problem. Try PC_Support next time....

You're right, that would have been more appropriate. My bad.

Bruce