Word file causes huge print file

[domino3]

I have a document which is 454kb, which is basically a long table over 14 pages. When I try to print the document it takes 20 minutes per page (no other document I have takes that time) and the print file seems to be 6.5mb.

Does any one know what would cause such a discrepancy between the file and print size, and how I could speed up the printing?

Thank you.

 

[xlhelp]

Go to Tools, Options, Compatability, Font Substitution and see if there are fonts in the doc that are not installed on the system.

Also, make sure "allow fast save" and "allow background saves" are unchecked under the save tab and see if prformance improves.

Also, make sure you have enough virtual memory for the driver to load.

last resort, re-install print drivers and see if that makes a diff.

 

[tf1]

Is it just one document only? Which version of Word?


Regards: tf1

 

[domino3]

It is only one document that has this problem. I'm using Word 2003 SP2.

 

[tf1]

Open Word and use File, Open, select the file and then choose Open and Repair (The little arrow at the side of the Open button).

Does that find the corruption?


Regards: tf1

 

[domino3]

I'm afraid it doesn't seem to have helped. It made any repairs instantly,and is taking just as long to print.

 

[tf1]

The only other suggestion is to try using the Table to Text option using Tab as the separators. Save and close the docunet. Then reopen it and use the Text to Table option. The table will need reformatting but it should remove the corruption.


Regards: tf1

 

[cheerio]

Try saving the file as rich text format (RTF).

Then open the rtf file and save it as a DOC file.

 

[ernieah]

Sometimes Word (and other) word processing programs will
get a file which is for printing in "pcl code" (Hewlett Packard, I think). Such files have a HUGE amount of "coding" to achieve print commands to the printer (in
"pcl"-code).When such a file is viewed with an ACSCII-coded editor (such as vim, notepad, wordpad, etc.), the content of these "pcl" files reminds one of a LONG computer program.

Even a one-page printout may have SEVERAL pages of "pcl" code for sending to the printer to achieve the one-page printout.

End-of-memo: Best to you..from ernieah.
I don't sell books, or work for any
publisher or computer company.

 

[macropod]

Hi ernieah,

Unless the application is sending a simple bitstream to the printer, it has to communicate in a language the printer understands. That's typically either PCL or postscript, neither of which is of itself responsible for a large spool file.

The mere fact that the PCL or postscript spans multiple pages in Notepad or whatever for each printed page is of no consequence - it's the number of bytes sent that matters. Both PCL and postscript are capable of sending textual representations of the data that are much more efficient than sending the data as a bitstream.

Cheers

[MS MVP - Word]

 

[macropod]

Hi domino3,

The discrepancy between the file and print size indicates something is wrong - as if the print driver doesn't have the smarts to render the table properly, so it's sending it to the printer as a bitmap.

I'd suggest checking the driver settings to see if there's one related to sending text as graphics, in particular, and what options might be available to generate a more compact spool file.

Cheers

[MS MVP - Word]