Tips & Suggestions on Printing Large Documents

There are two main areas to look in order to gain an understanding of how a document is printed.

1. The first area is the print spooler located inside your computer. This spooler grabs your document and places it in a file on your harddrive. The main purpose of the operation is to speed printing, but when printing unusually large documents it often fails. Because this failure is known, Microsoft gives you the option to shut it off.

   How can I shut off my Spooler? Use the steps below that correspond to your operating system.

   • Windows XP Go to "Start", "Printers and Faxes", "Right Click" then choose "Properties" , then choose the "Advanced Tab". You will then see "Send directly to the printer". *Make sure this is checked and then click "Apply or Ok"
   
   
   • Windows Vista Go to "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "Printers", locate the printer you want to change, then "Right Click" and choose "Properties", then choose the "Advanced Tab". You will then see "Send directly to the printer". *Make sure this is checked and then click "Apply or Ok".
   
   
   • Windows 7 Go to "Start", "Devices and Printers", select your printer, "Right Click", then to "Printing Preferences" then choose the "Advanced Tab". You will then see "Start Printing Immediately" *Make sure this is checked and then click "Apply or Ok".
   
   

2. Secondly, once the document has left your PC, many printers will read your data into a print buffer. This buffer, like the spooler, will speed printing with average sized documents. On some printers it also allows for added features such as reversing page order, duplexing, etc.

   If you can shut this buffer off, great! The settings on every printer are very different so you would need specific information about your printer to know how to accomplish this. Please refer to the documentation that came with your printer.

   Short of turning off the buffer, you can at least be sure you are not aggravating the problem by asking for a special feature like reverse order.

You now have an understanding of the entire document flow and what each setting means as your data travels to the printer, and how it effects the handling of large documents.