Category Archives: Printer

Canon, Command Prompt, DELL, Epson, HP, InkJet, LaserJet, Microsoft, OfficeJet, Printer, Samsung, SBS 2003, SBS 2008, SBS 2011, Small Business Server 2003, Small Business Server 2008, Small Business Server 2011, SNMP, Windows, Windows 2000, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Xerox, XP Mode

Microsoft Windows – Network Printer/s Unexpectedly Show Offline

When using Microsoft Windows (various editions and versions) you may find that your Network Printer Unexpectedly Shows Offline.  This can occur for a number of reasons and todays blog will try and help get you printing again.

First you should verify that you can ping the printer you are trying to print to, you can usually find the hostname or the IP address of the printer from the “Ports” tab of the printers “properties” page.

It should look something like this:

Printer Name or IP Address is where we can see which port the printer is trying to print to, we can then enter a “command prompt” by typing “cmd” into the “run” box and then type the ping command and the ip address or hostname of our printer.  Example is “ping 192.168.1.230” or “ping hpinkjetprinter”

If we do not get a response from the address or hostname then it could indicate that the printer has been assigned a different IP address (DHCP) by the server or your Router.  It could also indicate that the printer is turned off, the network cable is unplugged or damaged, if the printer is wireless it may be that the signal is no longer in range or that the wireless credentials it was setup with have been changed (WEP or WPA Key, SSID).  Many Servers or Routers support reservations so that you can ensure your printer always gets the same ip address, alternatively you can find the hostname of your printer and set the printer port to the hostname, if the ip address changes the computer should then still be able to resolve the hostname to the current and valid ip address of the device.

If your printer is responding to a ping command but you still cannot print then it may be an issue with the configuration of the printers “Standard TCP/IP Port” you will several options on the port configuration page that can effect your ability to submit a print job to the network printer, it may also cause the printer to incorrectly report that it is offline.

One particular issues that I have witnessed first hand is an HP OfficeJet Printer showing offline when the “SNMP Status Enabled” is ticked under the  “Standard TCP/IP Port” printer port configuration tab.  You may be able to ping the printer and access its web configuration but the printer will continue to show offline in Windows and print jobs will remian in the print queue.  Once the “SNMP Status Enabled” is unchecked the printer will appear online again and print correctly.

You amy also find that your printer only supports RAW or LPR mode, you can usually find further information on the “Protocol” that your printer supports via the technical manual or sometimes via the printers web configuration page.

Last but not least please remeber to check that you have the latest printer drivers from the manufacturers website, any firmware updates or software updates should also be installed to ensure the optimum performance and reliability of your product.  It is also important to remember that you should ensure the printer you are accessing is compatbile with your operating system and that driver support is either providd natively within Windows or the manufcaturer supply drivers via their website.

Canon, DELL, Epson, HP, Microsoft, Printer, Samsung, SBS 2011, Small Business Server 2011, Windows, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Xerox

Windows 7, 2008 R2 and SBS 2011 (RTM or SP1) – You may experience slow printing performance when compared to previous versions of Windows

You may experience slow printing performance in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 or SBS 2011.  This is when compared to previous versions of Windows such as Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.

A hotfix KB 2526028 is available to improve the overall printing performance of these current desktop and server operating systems can be obtained from Microsoft.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2526028

Adobe, Canon, HP, Microsoft, Printer, SBS 2011, Small Business Server 2011, Windows, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Xerox

Which Printer Driver – PostScript (PS) or PCL [How About Both!]

Leave a comment

Printers are probably the biggest source of problems for most IT Admins.  Paper jams, low ink, leaky toner and streeky printing are just some of the joys you will often face.  Another common issue is slow or incomplete printing, what’s the answer to this equally common user woe?

Well your in luck because this is one thing you may be able to ensure is not an ongoing issue for your users.  Most printer manufacturers (i.e. Xerox, Canon and HP) offer Universal Print Drivers (UPDs) to tackle these very issues.

As a rule of thumb PostScript Drivers are best for printing from Adobe applications such as Acrobat (PDF) and/or other complex documents.  PCL Drivers are usually best for priting basic documents, Microsoft Word Documents (doc, docx) and Excel Spreadsheets (xls) to name a few.

You may find it best to install and share your network printer twice, one instance using the PCL Driver and the other using a Postscript (PS) driver.  You then just need to educate your users which printer instance to select from the printer list according to the document type they are dealing with.

Please feel free to comment on your own experiences