Printer(s) won't print black

[Lee Schneider]

I'm running Word on OSX, and find that with an HP DESKJET 812C and/or
with an Epson 760 I can't get either printer to print black. Not in
word, anyway. I can print black in photoshop. Not in word. I can
get word to print a weird alternating gray-blue. No black. I have
tried cleaning the print cartridges on both machines. same result.
ideas? thanks for your help.

 

[Eric Olson [MSFT]]

Greetings Lee,

Here are some suggestions:
1. Make sure that the text color chosen is truly Black. On the color
palette, Black is the color in the uppermost left corner. Pausing briefly
over that square with the pointer will reveal the color name.

2. Make sure you have are using the appropriate and most up to date printer
driver with each printer.

3. Test with Apple's TextEdit program. This would be a closer comparison
than Photoshop. If the problem occurs with TextEdit, their is probably a
problem either with the printer or the printer driver.


Eric Olson [MSFT]

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

 

[rDeVost]

Lee, I'm experiencing the same thing. I suspect that what
is happening is that Microsoft is telling the printer to
simulate black using RGB (red/green/blue) rather than just
telling it to print black ink, the result of which is
"fuzzy" type. I'm printing to a Xerox Phaser 7700. The
problem isn't limited to Word X but rather the entire
Office X package. All my other software packages still
print fine. The only work-around I've found is to apply a
very dark gray to the text rather than black or automatic.
I've been told by my printer manufacturer that the problem
is "unsolveable." I'm still looking for an answer. I'd also
be interested if anybody else has found an answer.

 

[rDeVost]

P.S. Isn't it also ironic that Microsoft Internet Explorer
wouldn't let me post a response to your message. I had to
revert to Netscape...

 

[Beth Rosengard]

There's no reason why you should have problems posting from IE. However
certain portals to the newsgroups are better than others. Try this one:

<http://communities2.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx
?guid=366BA05D-4181-BB41-B201-4C83D5F6024C>

Better yet, use Entourage (or a dedicated newsreader if you prefer) to read
newsgroups. If you'd like more information on using Entourage as a
newsreader, post back.

--
Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/WordMac/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/toc.html>

 

[Eric Olson [MSFT]]

Here are some more suggestions:

1. Check Print Options. What happens when you choose Grayscale? Black and
White?
2. How are you choosing printing? Clicking on the Print button on the
toolbar or going to the File menu and selecting print. Any differences?
3. Try the following test:
Open a document (which is displaying the behavior, sounds like any doc) in
the latest version of text edit and print.
Save as PDF and print.

If either of these displays the same problem, then it will most likely be a
driver problem.
Otherwise, try setting the black content to 99% gray and see if that changes
anything. If so, it may be a workaround. If this works, then you could set
your default font color to 99% gray and save that in normal.

If the problem persists, I suggest calling Microsoft Product Support
Services at 425- 635-7056 if you have support incidents available or at
800-936-5700 for paid support for $35.00. This would allow us to collect
more data and see if we can reproduce this issue.

Paid support costs $35 dollars, but if it turns out to be a problem with
Word, that charge will be reimbursed.

Eric Olson [MSFT]

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

 

[rDeVost]

Eric, thanks for responding.

I'm not sure where to check Grayscale and Black and White
options. I can go to Printer Features and choose Black and
White under color correction but I don't see Grayscale. I'm
familiar with that option in Powerpoint but not in Word.

I don't see any visible difference in choosing print from
the toolbar vs. the file menu.

Text Edit does not reproduce the problem.

When Word creates the PDF, it passes along the same
information so that the new PDF also prints blurry.

My tests yesterday included setting the font color at very
dark gray which does then print correctly. I was wondering
how I could, in fact, set the default font color to gray.
If you could pass that information along, it would be very
helpful. Also, if you can add colors to the color palette,
that information would be tremendously handy to have too.

I haven't called Microsoft regarding this product. How many
support incidents per product do they make available to the
consumer? (I'd have to get far too many signatures to
approve the $35 expenditure.)

-----Original Message-----
Here are some more suggestions:

1. Check Print Options. What happens when you choose Grayscale? Black and
White?
2. How are you choosing printing? Clicking on the Print button on the
toolbar or going to the File menu and selecting print. Any differences?
3. Try the following test:
Open a document (which is displaying the behavior, sounds like any doc) in
the latest version of text edit and print.
Save as PDF and print.

If either of these displays the same problem, then it will most likely be a
driver problem.
Otherwise, try setting the black content to 99% gray and see if that changes
anything. If so, it may be a workaround. If this works, then you could set
your default font color to 99% gray and save that in normal.

If the problem persists, I suggest calling Microsoft Product Support
Services at 425- 635-7056 if you have support incidents available or at
800-936-5700 for paid support for $35.00. This would allow us to collect
more data and see if we can reproduce this issue.

Paid support costs $35 dollars, but if it turns out to be a problem with
Word, that charge will be reimbursed.

Eric Olson [MSFT]

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

Lee, I'm experiencing the same thing. I suspect that what
is happening is that Microsoft is telling the printer to
simulate black using RGB (red/green/blue) rather than just
telling it to print black ink, the result of which is
"fuzzy" type. I'm printing to a Xerox Phaser 7700. The
problem isn't limited to Word X but rather the entire
Office X package. All my other software packages still
print fine. The only work-around I've found is to apply a
very dark gray to the text rather than black or automatic.
I've been told by my printer manufacturer that the problem
is "unsolveable." I'm still looking for an answer. I'd also
be interested if anybody else has found an answer.

.