Slow Printing to Shared Printer

[Jim Snively]

I recently replaced an HP LaserJet 2100 with an HP LaserJet 2420 connected
on LPT1 on one computer and shared on a five node Windows XP peer-to-peer
network. The users have been complainng about slow print speed ( time to
spool rather than time actually printing). I called HP techical support and
they said they DO NOT support printer networking this way - and want me to
buy a $389 JetDirect adapter. They also indicated that Microsoft supports
printer sharing not HP. Does anyone here have any suggestions that can help
printer performance in this situation.

BTW the printer is connected by a 25 foot IEEE 1284 compliant cable and the
printer can not be "seen" using HP LaserJet "tool" program on the host
machine. HP says they only support a 5 foot cable. Any thoughts about this
as well.

Jim Snively

 

[Malke]

I recently replaced an HP LaserJet 2100 with an HP LaserJet 2420
connected on LPT1 on one computer and shared on a five node Windows XP
peer-to-peer
network. The users have been complainng about slow print speed ( time
to
spool rather than time actually printing). I called HP techical
support and they said they DO NOT support printer networking this way
- and want me to
buy a $389 JetDirect adapter. They also indicated that Microsoft
supports
printer sharing not HP. Does anyone here have any suggestions that
can help printer performance in this situation.

BTW the printer is connected by a 25 foot IEEE 1284 compliant cable
and the printer can not be "seen" using HP LaserJet "tool" program on
the host
machine. HP says they only support a 5 foot cable. Any thoughts
about this as well.

If the LJ2420 has an ethernet connection, use it. If it doesn't,
purchase a simple network print server. Linksys and Netgear are two
major companies that make reasonably-priced print servers. You're
always going to have problems with the printer connected locally.

Malke

 

[Alan Morris [MSFT]]

Disable document rendering on the "server" and have the clients perform this
task.

Printer Properties, Advanced, Enable advanced printing features

Uncheck this feature and the documents will be processed on the clients,
then sent to the "server" and redirected to the printer.

Also, what is the recommended LPT configuration for the 2420?

--
Alan Morris
Windows Printing Team
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[Jim Snively]

Alan,

HP recommends connecting the printer via a TCP/IP address. This means
buying an
ethernet adapter for the printer (JetDirect) or perhaps a less expensive
printserver like
Malke recommended.

HP did say to use WinPrint as the print processor and RAW as the datatype.

Before investing in additional hardware I will try disabling advanced
printing features.
The HP 2100 printer we replaced did not have the print performance issues we
have
with the new printer. Perhaps the HP LaserJet 2100 didn't have such
features or we
had them disabled.

Jim Snively

Disable document rendering on the "server" and have the clients perform
this task.

Printer Properties, Advanced, Enable advanced printing features

Uncheck this feature and the documents will be processed on the clients,
then sent to the "server" and redirected to the printer.

Also, what is the recommended LPT configuration for the 2420?

--
Alan Morris
Windows Printing Team
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.

If the LJ2420 has an ethernet connection, use it. If it doesn't,
purchase a simple network print server. Linksys and Netgear are two
major companies that make reasonably-priced print servers. You're
always going to have problems with the printer connected locally.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User