Xerox 214/212 Digital Printer/Copier Driver version 01.00.00 for use with Windows NT 4.0 Readme Notes Table of Contents: 1.0 General Information 1.1 Changing Display Languages 1.2 Important Information on regarding your Xerox 214/212 User Guide 1.3 Uninstalling Previous Releases 1.4 Trademark Notices 2.0 General Problems; Using the Standard and Enhanced Drivers 2.1 Data Communication Errors: PCL XL Errors, Garbled Text, Blank Pages, Timeouts, ECP Mode Errors, etc. 2.2 Deleting a Job from Print Manager Causes Printing Problems with the Next Job 2.3 Grainy or Low Resolution Output on Complex Jobs 2.4 Parts of a Graphic Printed on a Separate Page 2.5 Font Substitution 2.6 Fonts Printing on Top of Each Other or on Embedded Graphics 2.7 "Job Finishing Player" Application Boxes Appear on the Windows Task Bar 2.8 Application Settings Override Driver Settings 2.9 Shading, Fill Patterns and Graphics Differences in Printer Driver Image Quality Modes 2.10 Light Colors 2.11 Raster Mode vs. Vector Mode 2.12 Print Quality Feature 2.13 Watermarks in Raster Mode 2.14 Special Paper Sizes (A5/8.5 x 5.5) 3.0 Software Application Interactions 3.1 Misplaced Graphics/Text in HTML Files 3.2 Reverse Order Printing in Microsoft Excel 3.3 Other Microsoft Excel Printing Issues 3.4 Special Characters in Corel Quattro Pro 8.0 3.5 Missing Graphics/Text in Microsoft Outlook 97 4.0 Euro Currency Symbol Support for Windows and the PCL 6 Driver Package ______________________________________________________________________________ 1.0 General Information The default driver for this printer is the PCL5e compliant printer driver. The printer is supplied with a PCL6 driver package, which contains two distinct drivers. The "Standard" driver is the PCL5e compliant driver. The "Enhanced" driver, referred to as the PCL XL driver, makes the driver package PCL6 compliant. Each driver has strengths and weaknesses. If you experience problems with a print job, we recommend using the other driver. In most cases, graphics improve with the Enhanced driver. In some cases, (i.e., large Acrobat files, Visio files, et. al.), printing speed improves with the Standard driver. 1.1 Changing Display Languages Unlike Windows 95/98, the NT 4.0 Driver does NOT enable you to change the driver display language at any time from the Windows Taskbar. Driver displayed languages are selected only at the time of driver installation. If you wish to change your displayed driver language with Windows NT, you will have to reinstall the driver. 1.2 Important Information Regarding Your User Manual The user manual delivered with your printer/copier has preliminary information regarding Windows NT which does not apply to this driver version. The following section outlines the differences between your manual and this driver version. 1.2.1 Job Saved Settings Job saved settings is only available in the Windows 95/98 driver. 1.2.2 Image Quality Tab This version of the Window NT driver supports Image Quality tab features. 1.2.3 Overlays This version of the Windows NT driver supports the Overlay feature, but is defined as Watermarks. 1.3 Uninstalling Previous Releases To uninstall any previous release of the Windows NT 214/212 driver follow these steps: 1. Select the Start menu. 2. Select the Settings... and then the Printers menu. 3. In the Printers folder right click on the printer you want to uninstall. 4. Select Delete from the menu. 1.4 Trademark Notices 212/214 Digital Printer/Copier is a registered trademark of Xerox Corporation. Xerox and the Digital X are registered trademarks of Xerox Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Quattro Pro is a registered trademark of Corel Corporation. 2.0 General Problems; Using the Standard and Enhanced Drivers 2.1 Data Communication Errors: PCL XL Errors, Garbled Text, Blank Pages, Timeouts, ECP Mode Errors, etc. Infrequently, print jobs may time out or print incorrectly, exhibiting garbled text, blank pages, or other problems (e.g., PCL XL errors). This could be the result of communication errors between the PC Windows environment and the printer. Please try one of the following corrective actions: 1. Consult the PC manufacturer and /or the Microsoft Technical Support web page for possible solutions to the ECP communications issues. 2. If you have a problem printing with the Enhanced driver, try printing your file using the Standard driver. In some cases, printing with the Standard driver may resolve problems encountered by the Enhanced driver. 2.2 Deleting a Job from Print Manager Causes Printing Problems with the Next Job If you cancel a job in Print Manager (spooler) and there is another job waiting in the queue, Windows does not reliably communicate to the printer that one job has ended and the next job is beginning. For example, if the printer is processing a bitmap image, it has no way to know that the commands for the next job are not part of the image information. Additionally, this can happen when processing text commands. If the printer does not reliably detect the start of the next job, you may receive erroneous printed output. Symptoms include XL errors with the Enhanced driver (illegal operation or illegal data length) and erroneous output including garbled text, blank pages, etc., with either the Standard or Enhanced driver. The Enhanced printer driver might recover and handle the next job in the queue, or you might need to resend the next job to the printer. If the Standard driver continuously prints blank or garbled pages, DO NOT PULL OPEN THE PAPER TRAY. Press the Print Pause/Resume button on the Printer's Control Panel and wait for the machine to stop. Power off the machine, wait 5 seconds, and then power on the machine. In each case, print the job again. Another workaround is to pause the next job before canceling the current job. However, depending on what the printer is doing, it may take several minutes for the printer to receive the information that the current job has stopped. This problem is intermittent and more likely to occur with the Enhanced driver. It is a problem with all PCL printers. 2.3 Grainy or Low Resolution Output on Complex Jobs Sometimes when printing large or complex graphics files, you may encounter a "grainy" or lower resolution output. This occurs because the printer has engaged a compression algorithm to reduce memory requirements. 2.4 Parts of a Graphic Printed on a Separate Page In rare instances when sending large jobs to the printer, you may notice a separate printed sheet containing partial graphics. We recommend printing your file in Vector mode. If the problem persists, try reducing the file size by changing the amount of complex graphics on one page, or by lowering the resolution of your images. 2.5 Font Substitution If an application file uses a font that is not available on the current printer, Windows invokes font substitution logic. The details of specific decisions Windows makes in a given situation are sometimes difficult to understand. Because this logic is controlled by Windows, the driver cannot control the substitutions. For example, if an italic font in a specified font family is not available, Windows automatically uses an italic font from another family or a non-italic font from the same family. If your output displays the wrong font, check the font substitution by opening the application with a blank document. If the desired font is available, the problem is not due to font substitution. If the desired font is not available, the font is only referred to in the file you are trying to print, but it is not available on your system. Either change the file to use a different font, or obtain the missing font and install it on your system. 2.6 Fonts Printing on Top of Each Other or on Embedded Graphics Occasionally, fonts appear to print on top of each other or seem "squished" when printing documents that contain embedded objects (as pictured below). This may also be observed in some embedded graphics or charts. Double-click on the embedded object to update the links and to resolve the problem. If the link cannot be refreshed, it is lost. Refreshing the object will not re-establish the link. Output may render incorrectly. Both drivers offer font printing as Downloaded True Type Outlines, Bitmap SoftFonts, or Print as Graphics. Although selecting resident fonts enables faster printing, you may encounter font substitution if you share files with other users on different PC systems. Bitmap SoftFonts print slower because the printer driver supplies "pictures" of the characters. Experiment with these selections if text does not print to your satisfaction. 2.7 "Job Finishing Player" Application Boxes Appear on the Windows Task Bar You may notice an application box on your task bar with the name "Job Finishing Player," as pictured below. This is an internal executable that runs whenever Reverse Order Printing is selected. This application does not affect Windows operation, and it automatically closes when your print job finishes spooling. 2.8 Application Settings Override Driver Settings In some cases, the print settings of an application may take precedence over the printer driver settings. It is suggested that all print options be selected in your application before you send a job to the printer. This is most important for the paper size and number of copies options because of differences in the way each application handles these settings. 2.9 Shading, Fill Patterns and Graphics Differences in Printer Driver Image Quality Modes In some applications, graphic objects that appear separate in the file display may show through one another when printed. This is most likely due to objects that are hidden underneath one another and not visible in the file display. Similarly, fill patterns and shading levels may not print as they appear in the file display. To resolve this discrepancy, print the file in Vector mode. Raster mode is used in the printer driver for maximum graphics handling. Vector mode is used to optimize the speed and performance of your printer. 2.10 Light Colors On occasion, light shades of blue, yellow, and other hues may not print satisfactorily, especially in text. This is a result of the conversion of color to black and white by the printer driver. Change the affected sections to darker colors to alleviate the problem. 2.11 Raster Mode vs. Vector Mode The primary difference between Raster and Vector modes is that Raster mode uses Windows to process data, and Vector mode enables the printer driver to use its own processor. This allows for smaller spool sizes and shorter printing times in Vector mode since data is sent directly to the printer driver. Although Raster mode generally increases spool size and printing time, it maximizes the print quality of graphic images. Note: Raster mode is unavailable in the Windows NT version of the Enhanced driver. 2.12 Print Quality Feature The Standard driver offers a Print Quality feature, which enables printing in Normal or Toner Saver mode. Normal mode prints at the highest quality, while Toner Saver mode prints using less Toner, which may result in lower quality output. Note: The Print Quality feature is not available in the Enhanced driver. 2.13 Watermarks in Raster Mode Watermarks may obscure text and graphics when printing a job in Raster mode. We recommend using watermarks only when printing in Vector mode. 2.14 Special Paper Sizes Use the manual by-pass tray when printing on A5 / 8.5 x 5.5 paper. 3.0 Software Application Interactions 3.1 Misplaced Graphics/Text in HTML Files Depending on how a web page was created, it may not be able to correctly format a page for printing. If your mouse is on the current "frame," that page will print correctly. In Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher, there is an option in the Print Selection box which allows you to print all frames. If the graphic section on a web page is created in JavaScript or an equivalent language, you must use Internet Explorer 4.x or equivalent to print. If you still experience problems, try the following: 1. Use another browser version. Try using a different version of your web browser to improve printing. The major browser vendors usually have different versions available on their web sites. 2. Use another browser. Different web browsers often vary widely in their ability to print web pages. 3. Try "printer friendly" formatting. Some web sites offer a reformatted page exclusively for printing. Use this version whenever it is available. 3.2 Reverse Order Printing in Microsoft Excel Excel sends each individual worksheet within a workbook to the printer as a separate job. Depending on how the worksheets are selected, pages may appear to print out of order when using Reverse Order Printing. 3.3 Other Microsoft Excel Printing Issues Since Excel sends individual worksheets as separate jobs with unique settings, you will receive a network cover sheet for each individual worksheet printed if your printer is networked. You may also find that driver settings are effected by this behavior. To avoid these issues, use the same settings for all worksheets in your file. 3.4 Special Characters in Corel Quattro Pro 8.0 Corel QuattroPro offers some non-ASCII font characters that will not print in PCL. If you observe blotched or shaded "special" characters in Quattro Pro documents, change them to standard characters that are offered in your installed fonts. 3.5 Missing Graphics/Text in Microsoft Outlook 97 Certain graphics and/or text in Outlook 97 documents may not print in Raster mode. We recommend using Vector mode to print Outlook 97 documents. 4.0 Euro Currency Symbol Support for Windows and the PCL 6 Driver Package Information and executable files that enable Windows based PCs to print the Euro Symbol are available to download on the Microsoft home page (www.microsoft.com). To print the Euro Symbol using this driver package (after your PC is configured to print the character), select the "Print as Graphics" option under the Image Quality tab in your selected driver. Refer to the Microsoft web page for more information on printing and displaying the Euro Symbol on your PC. July,2000 (revA)