Printing

Make sure you have the latest, greatest printer drivers. Many printer companies release quarterly updates that fix known incompatibilities and enhance speed. Look on the manufacturers' BBS or on the Microsoft Network and online forums. To seewhich version of drivers you currently have installed, in Windows 3.*x*, open Control Panel, double-click on the Printers icon, click on Setup and then About. In Windows 95, click the Start menu and choose Settings/Control Panel/Printers. Right-click on Properties for the printer you want to check. Click on the Paper tab, then on the About button to see the driver version.

Take advantage of any power management features your printer offers. Many new models can be set to go into a sleep mode when the printer is inactive for a predefined length of time. Features like these are usually accessed either through the printer's control panel or the Windows driver.

Using the draft or low-resolution mode on your printer makes long print jobs go faster and saves toner. If what you are printing is not a final version, the light but readable text of a low-res draft mode should be good enough, while using only about half the toner.

A straight paper path keeps envelopes from curling up. Many units offer a secondary, face-up exit tray that pushes the paper straight out of the rear of the unit. Use this tray to keep your envelopes from getting crumpled.

To print faster, bypass DOS and print directly from Windows 3.*x*. In Control Panel, double-click on the Printers icon and then click on the Connect button. Check the Fast Printing Direct to Port Box to speed up your printing.

Boost the speed of Print Manager by adding a temporary directory to Windows 3.*x*. Normally, Print Manager spends a lot of time looking for a place to spool the files, but by creating this directory you give it a place to go. First, create a directory called C:\WINDOWS\TEMP. Next, call up your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and add this line after the PATH line:
SET TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP.
Save the file (in ASCII format), reboot and you're there.

If dear, departed Win 3.*x* printers are still listed as a printer option in your software, clean up your act. Go to Control Panel and double-click on Printers. From the Installed Printers list box, highlight the name of the old printer and click on Remove. Windows will ask you to confirm the deletion, and when you do, that printer will be gonzo.

Down with Print Manager

Don't use Print Manager if you are printing to a printer connected to NetWare. Network printers spool faster than Print Manager and won't tie up your system resources. Also avoid it if you are printing locally, but getting output quickly is more important than regaining control of your PC.

Up with Print Manager

Use Print Manager if you are sharing a printer using Windows for Workgroups, which requires Print Manager. It's also advisable if you want to use your computer while your job is printing in the background. If your application is as slow as molasses during background printing, open Print Manager's Options menu, select Background Printing and then click on the Low radio button to maximize your foreground application's speed.

The less complicated your documents are, the quicker they will print. When possible, stick to normal text, rather than bold, underline or italic. Avoid using numerous typefaces if speed is of the essence.

To cancel all the jobs you've got printing, click once on the Print Manager icon to access the Control menu. Click on Close, and when you confirm your choice, every print job that is waiting to be loaded to the printer will be cleared from your buffers.

Cut down the time you spend reconfiguring your computer for various print jobs by installing the same printer, located on the same port, *twice* using Control Panel. For example, create one printer installation for printing on legal-sized paper and another for letter-sized, or once in native mode and once in emulation mode. Treat each scheme as a separate printer. Go to Control Panel and choose Printers. Choose Add and then Install. You will be presented with a list of options. If your printer is listed, then choose the appropriate driver or, if not, choose Install Unlisted or Updated Printer.Then choose the orientation of the paper, paper size and paper source. Repeat the process for your second configuration.

A network interface card inside your printer or attached to its parallel port is an inexpensive way to accomplish high-speed printing across your network without dedicating a PC to the job. Making your printer a node on your network can let you share a single printer among many users. Many vendors offer adapters that support multiple network operating systems and protocols for significantly less than the cost of a dedicated print server. Most of these devices also include remote administration tools and software utilities for NetWare, Windows for Workgroups and Windows NT.