The information in this article applies to:
Troubleshooting issues that may arise when printing to a dot matrix printer may involve some different or additional steps not typically associated with general printer troubleshooting. Generally speaking, dot matrix printers are not as widely compatible with various Windows applications as are laser or ink-jet printers. Following is a list of things to consider when working with issues that may arise when printing to a dot matrix printer.
The first step in troubleshooting printing problems is to gather all the information that may be pertinent. The following information should be gathered before proceeding with troubleshooting:
The following are general troubleshooting procedures to be followed when experiencing issues printing to a dot matrix printer.
Determine whether printing works correctly in MS WordPad. If you cannot print correctly in WordPad, the cause is most likely a printer or printer driver problem with your operating system, and you will probably not be able to print successfully in Tabs3 or PracticeMaster programs until the problem is resolved. You will need to work with your computer hardware technician to resolve this issue.
Is the problem reproducible when previewing? When a statement or report is printed, three things happen. First, the program determines what information should appear on the statement or report and then sends that information to the printer driver. Second, the printer driver determines how the information will appear on the printed page and then sends the information to the physical printer. Finally, the printer prints the statement or report using the information received from the printer driver. Determining whether the problem affects only printed output, only previewed output, or both can help you determine the cause of the problem.
If the appearance of the statement or report when printed differs from its appearance when previewed, this may indicate a problem with the printer driver (such as corruption of the driver files). Make sure you are using the most current version of the correct printer driver for the operating system on your computer. For example, a printer driver for an OkiData MicroLine 390 for Windows 98 may not work well at all when printing from Windows XP.
There are many factors that can contribute to undesirable printed output, such as margins, fonts, and custom paper sizes. Use the following steps to troubleshoot this problem.
If the problem occurs when printing reports, try printing a statement to see if that is affected as well. Likewise, if the problem occurs when printing statements, try printing reports and see if they are affected. If one or the other prints fine and uses a different printer or a separate installation of the same printer, try duplicating that installation's driver and settings in the affected installation.
For example, check the printer driver used by the installation that works, and configure the installation that does not work properly to use the same driver. Likewise, check the margins and font specified for the installation that works, and use those same settings for the installation that does not work properly.
The following issues may be experienced when printing to a dot matrix printer.
If printing is very slow, please see KB Article R10008, "Troubleshooting Performance and Speed", for troubleshooting information.
If the printer loses page alignment when printing documents that contain many pages, a known issue with Windows XP operating systems may be the source of the problem. Microsoft has identified an issue that causes this to happen. To work around this, try installing a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 supported Rasdd.dll-based printer driver for your printer. Additional information is available in Microsoft's Knowledge Base Article 329752, "Page Alignment Is Lost When You Print a Long Document to a Dot-Matrix Printer".
If some words are being truncated or cut off (for example, "stateme" instead of "statement"), use the following procedure to correct this.
When the Optimize for Print to File check box is selected, the software will make adjustments using character counts instead of font calculations, thus eliminating clipping problems.
As an alternative, Tabs3/PracticeMaster Software Version 12 and later includes the DropBox window, which serves as a temporary holding area for Tabs3/PracticeMaster reports and statements that are output as PDF files via the DropBox output option. Files in the DropBox can then be printed, e-mailed, saved, as well as dragged or copied to another location. Printing to DropBox can resolve many printing issues, including certain fields being cut off. It is recommended that the Optimize for Print to File check box in Advanced Printing Features be cleared when printing to DropBox.
Note: DropBox files are saved in a temporary folder that is cleared when DropBox is closed (i.e. when the last Tabs3/PracticeMaster software application is closed). Make sure that any files that need to be retained are saved in a permanent location prior to closing the software.
Above all, bear in mind that successfully printing from modern operating systems to a dot matrix printer often requires trial and error to determine the combination of settings and options that will provide the best results. Patience is required because this process may not immediately be successful. This is true regardless of the Windows application from which you are printing. With the right combination of settings and options, most dot matrix printers can be made to work smoothly and efficiently with current Windows operating systems and modern Windows software.
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