Problem Changing Image Quality

[HMB]

Version: 2004
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: intel

I wanted to change from 'economode' to a higher print quality, so I tried the following: File --> Print--> Copies and Pages --> Image Quality --> Economode --> Highest Quality. That did not work. My printer (HP P2015d) continued to print in economode.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

HMB

 

[CyberTaz]

It sounds like the setting is specific to your printer driver - none of
those I have include a print quality setting in the Copies & Pages dialog.
So, the first thing I'd suggest is that you check the HP site for an updated
driver. Another troubleshooting step: Try changing the setting in different
programs, such as Preview itself or TextEdit. If the problem persists there
you might need to work through HP.

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Bob:

Yeah, that's a pretty standard option setting for the HP inkjets. I have
the same driver here: a chunky little 350 MB of it!

What he did should have worked.

You're right, the latest version of the driver might help. Re-installing
the driver might help. I suspect the PPD has corrupted...

Cheers

It sounds like the setting is specific to your printer driver - none of
those I have include a print quality setting in the Copies & Pages dialog.
So, the first thing I'd suggest is that you check the HP site for an updated
driver. Another troubleshooting step: Try changing the setting in different
programs, such as Preview itself or TextEdit. If the problem persists there
you might need to work through HP.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[HMB]

Re your reply of March 25:
I have an iMac with Leopard and when I inserted the printer installation CD, my HP LaserJet P2015d basically installed itself.

I've set my computer for automatic software updates and to the best of my knowledge, all drivers are up-to-date.

I've recently discovered that the only way I can
change the print quality is by making a change to the HP Device Configuration. This involves many steps (Applications --> HP EWS Device Configuration --> HP Device Configuration --> HP P2015 --> Settings --> Print Quality --> Economode (select 'on' or 'off') --> Apply & finally exit). This sets the print quality for Word, Preview, Safari, etc. I want to be able to change the print quality when in one of these programs, but I cannot. The option is there, but doesn't work! (I clicked the following: File --> Print --> Copies and Pages --> Image Quality --> Printer's Current Setting --> Save Toner or Highest Quality.)

You suggested reinstalling the driver. How do I do this? You also said you "suspect the PPD has corrupted". How do I fix this? (I'm not very computer savvy.)

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

HMB

 

[CyberTaz]

Hello HMB -

I'm not sure how you went about 'setting your computer for automatic
software updates' but unless HP has an auto-updating feature of their own
your printer driver isn't being updated automatically. The OS X Software
Update feature pertains strictly to *Apple's* updates to OS X and Apple
programs, Office's AutoUpdate pertains only to updates to MS Office
software, etc. Go to the HP site & see if there is an updated driver
available fro your printer... AFAIK, that's the only way [or at least the
most likely] to find out

If it does become necessary to reinstall your original driver software
you'll find specific instructions on how to go about it in your user
documentation or through the HP support site. You may also find some useful
information if you use Apple Help & search for topics such as 'reinstall
printer' or 'troubleshoot printing'.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[HMB]

Thank you for your prompt reply. I registered with HP for future updates, but otherwise, I think I really messed up!

I checked HP's site for drivers & decided to uninstall & then reinstall my printer.(The software version online at HP was higher than the one indicated on my CD).

After the reinstallation, I discovered that even though my printer appears as the default printer in System Preferences/Print & Fax, it but does not appear anywhere in Finder (Library/PPDs/Contents/Resources/en.lproj) or in Applications.

I can't uninstall & reinstall again because there are no icons to work with. (Unfortunately, I followed the uninstall instructions & emptied the trash!)

Please help!
Thank you.

HMB

 

[CyberTaz]

Maybe you're looking in the wrong place - the location (in Tiger though) is:

HD/Library/Printers where there is an hp (lower case) folder.

Have you checked to see if the printer shows up in a program's File> Print
list of printers? Also, when I downloaded it a few minutes ago the installer
ran without any kind of prompt about pre-existing versions, so I the install
didn't take I'd try doing it again.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[HMB]

When I click File/Print, the printer name appears (e.g. in Firefox and Word), but I can't find it in Finder or Applications. I suspect that the printer name appears in programs because it's connected to the computer (but isn't properly installed). Is that possible?

The location of the printer file in Leopard is definitely (Library/PPDs/Contents/Resources/en.lproj). The first thing I had to do to uninstall was to find HP LaserJet P2015.gz file in the 'en.lproj' list. I then had to move this file to the Trash. When I reinstalled, this file did not reappear. (I was, however, given a message saying that the installation was successful.)

What I'd like to do is uninstall the printer & try again, but since I can't find the missing file, I can't follow the uninstall directions.

Any suggestions?
Thank you.

HMB

 

[HMB]

One problem solved: I was able to restore my printer to its previous state via Time Machine. (I'm still getting used to a Mac & had forgotten about this feature.) I then uninstalled & reinstalled the printer from the CD & downloaded the latest driver from HP.

Still unsolved: I still cannot change the Print Quality from within a specific program. I can only do it via the HP Device Configuration. Do you have any suggestions?

HMB

 

[CyberTaz]

I'm afraid that's a issue that will need to be addressed through HP and
possibly Apple. The program (Word or otherwise) simply calls for the print
service & has nothing to do with what is supplied. The content & settings of
the dialog are provided by the OS & printer driver.

You might find more information on the HP support site or in Apple's
Discussions Forum. For Apple start here:

http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa

Good Luck |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac