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Author Topic: Photoshop CS4 and Z3100  (Read 11038 times)

the ridge runner

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Photoshop CS4 and Z3100
« on: December 31, 2009, 12:37:10 pm »

Any ideas as to what is going on would be appreciated.  I have a z3100 on XP Pro SP3, newly built computer, i7/Asus/3Gb RAM.  After much installing and reinstalling of the lastest z3100 driver, and I think even reinstalled CS4 once, I have the printer working smoothly.  However, I'm still having issues with CS4 that I never had with CS3 on my other, less powerful, computer.  Outlined below is my problem.

1.  Open CS4, edit/choose file, etc, select Print, open z3100 options window, set options, paper size, etc. Print, everything goes fine, print looks great. BTW, I always use Print Preview to check myself before hitting the final print button.

2.  After sometimes one, or sometimes more prints the following happens.
     a.  after going through the exact same printing setup procedure, when the Print Preview screen comes up, the page is sized and oriented properly, but no image is showing to be printed, it is blank.
     b.  I close the print preview window and go back to CS4 and try again.
     c.  This time CS4 tells me I need to install a printer before I can print anything.  I check XP's printers dialog and the z3100 is right there as the default printer.
     d.  I shut down CS4 and restart it, then open my file and print it as normal, no problems.
     e.  I am able to print several more prints, or maybe not...I have found no pattern, but eventually I get the blank preview screen and the whole debacle starts over again.
     f.  If there is a pattern, it is when I try to print a different file with different paper dimensions, but I haven't verified this yet.

Any ideas would certainly be appreciated!
Ed
« Last Edit: December 31, 2009, 12:45:58 pm by the ridge runner »
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David Saffir

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« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2009, 02:36:21 pm »

this is a tough one. Haven't heard about this issue before.

My first instinct when the driver starts acting up is to reinstall it.

Next thing I normally try is to delete the Photoshop preferences file (may be corrupted) and reset the preferences.

Does the HP Printer Utility see the printer OK? can you see ink levels for example? If you can't, even intermittently, that can indicate a connection problem.

Last, how is your printer connected? If USB, use a cable that is correct length. If network, you have two choices: use Auto IP (on printer panel) to set IP address. Or, you can set the IP address manually.

David Saffir
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the ridge runner

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« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2009, 03:48:21 pm »

Quote from: David Saffir
this is a tough one. Haven't heard about this issue before.

My first instinct when the driver starts acting up is to reinstall it.

Next thing I normally try is to delete the Photoshop preferences file (may be corrupted) and reset the preferences.

Does the HP Printer Utility see the printer OK? can you see ink levels for example? If you can't, even intermittently, that can indicate a connection problem.

Last, how is your printer connected? If USB, use a cable that is correct length. If network, you have two choices: use Auto IP (on printer panel) to set IP address. Or, you can set the IP address manually.

David Saffir
http://davidsaffir.wordpress.com

Yes, I have been through about 3-4 driver un- and re-installs, that helped, as I actually had both the z3100 44" Photo and the z3100 44" PCL-3 drivers, now I only have the PCL-3 driver, which seems to be the correct driver.  Like I say, I don't have to worry about the printer driver now, as soon as I restart CS4, it's there with no issues.

I have had a bit of connectivity problems, and found that restarting the printer helped in one instance, the USB cable is a bit longer than it should be, maybe, but since it works MOST of the time, I really can't think that is the problem.

I have deleted the prefs file, but I actually found another one in another docs and settings folder (long story--trying to move everything from old computer to new one left me with a bunch of docs and settings folders...i have to determine which ones are which.)

Also the HP printer utility finds the printer almost always...the one time it couldn't, I had to shut down and restart the printer itself, and that worked.

At least I am able to print, but it surely takes a lot more time having to restart CS4 all the time.

Thanks for the ideas!
Ed
« Last Edit: December 31, 2009, 03:48:50 pm by the ridge runner »
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Xanthor

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« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2009, 10:18:03 pm »

I have a similar problem.   Photoshop says the device is offline and may be unavailable.   It responds and prints but nothing appears in the print preview window properly.   Im curious - do you have any other HP junk installed?
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the ridge runner

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« Reply #4 on: January 01, 2010, 11:23:58 am »

Quote from: Xanthor
I have a similar problem.   Photoshop says the device is offline and may be unavailable.   It responds and prints but nothing appears in the print preview window properly.   Im curious - do you have any other HP junk installed?

All I have installed is the HP driver and printer utility.  Have you tried a complete uninstall, and by that I mean delete EVERYTHING HP, including all folders, all registry entries, etc?  The HP uninstall does not even delete the HP directories, so you can't be sure it overwrites the data in them on reinstall.  You might try using the REVO uninstaller if you don't want to do it manually (http://www.revouninstaller.com/) there is a freeware version.

Also as mentioned before, deleting the Photoshop prefs file may help to reset that part of PS that is screwing with you.

But, are you saying the printer prints the prints correctly, even though no image shows in the preview window?  I had not tried printing from a blank preview window?
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kaelaria

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« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2010, 11:28:08 pm »

It's a communications issue.  If you are still USB, switch to Ethernet or use an appropriate length cable.  I run into it on occasion and need to hard reboot the printer to get clean communication to the router.
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the ridge runner

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« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2010, 11:40:53 pm »

Quote from: kaelaria
It's a communications issue.  If you are still USB, switch to Ethernet or use an appropriate length cable.  I run into it on occasion and need to hard reboot the printer to get clean communication to the router.

I can see that, but tell me why I no trouble printing the first print from CS4, but on the second or third try, I get the "must install a printer error."  So, I got to the HP Utility and see the printer and make contact with, check levels, etc., then go back to CS4 and try to print and get the same error.

I've also noticed that if I don't get the "no printer" error, when I go to the CS4 print window and try to set up the printer, CS4 freezes and the only way I can shut it down is from the processes tab in task manager.  This is after making at least one or two successful prints.

However, I just tried to print from Qimage and it froze up.  I'm going to switch to network intead of USB and see what happens, I will report back as soon as I have figured out if it truly is a communication error.

Thanks for the ideas/help.
ed
« Last Edit: January 03, 2010, 12:41:36 am by the ridge runner »
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kaelaria

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« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2010, 11:45:47 pm »

Why?  No clue.  All I care about is how to fix a problem.
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the ridge runner

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« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2010, 02:10:05 am »

Quote from: kaelaria
Why?  No clue.  All I care about is how to fix a problem.

I switched to ethernet, but with CS4, so far, I'm having basically the same problem, black print preview, then "must install printer."

However, I am showing both the USB printer and the ethernet printer then the XP printer's dialogue, should I just delete the USB printer manually there?
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the ridge runner

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« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2010, 12:52:22 pm »

I'm continuing to have the same issue with CS4 even with the ethernet connection.  Print one or two, show blank page in preview window, go back to CS4, try again, no printers found.

Shut down CS4, re-open it, printer is there, and I can print from it at least once before the whole scenario begins again.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2010, 12:53:42 pm by the ridge runner »
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the ridge runner

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« Reply #10 on: January 04, 2010, 01:30:09 pm »

UPDATE:  After a complete uninstall of the HP driver, including ALL registry entries, left-over folders, anything HP....and a complete uninstall-reinsall of photoshop CS4, I am still having the same issue...print one successfully, then can't find printer again...GEEEEEEEZZZZZZ!!!!
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rdonson

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« Reply #11 on: January 04, 2010, 05:43:33 pm »

Since the obvious things didn't seem to work have you checked the spooler?  XP Pro SP3 and HP have had some issues in the past that could be solved through some DOS command line goodies.  If this works you might consider putting the following commands into a .BAT file and using a desktop shortcut to it to make it easy to execute.

net stop spooler
del %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\spool\PRINTERS\*.* /q /s
net start spooler
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Regards,
Ron

the ridge runner

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« Reply #12 on: January 04, 2010, 08:37:03 pm »

Quote from: rdonson
Since the obvious things didn't seem to work have you checked the spooler?  XP Pro SP3 and HP have had some issues in the past that could be solved through some DOS command line goodies.  If this works you might consider putting the following commands into a .BAT file and using a desktop shortcut to it to make it easy to execute.

net stop spooler
del %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\spool\PRINTERS\*.* /q /s
net start spooler

Thanks Ron...this did not work to allow me to find the printer again in Photoshop.  I was able to shut down and restart photoshop and print on the second attempt, but on the third attempt and thereafter, shutting down CS4, running the batch file, then restarting CS4 did not find the printer.  I had suspected it was a print spooler problem at one point...thanks for sending this info, though, I keep the batch file handy for future reference.

Ed
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rdonson

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« Reply #13 on: January 04, 2010, 10:19:14 pm »

Hmmmmm.... download a trial version of Qimage and give that a try for printing.  If that works then its something quirky with CS4.

Qimage trial version
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Ron

the ridge runner

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« Reply #14 on: January 04, 2010, 11:16:14 pm »

Quote from: rdonson
Hmmmmm.... download a trial version of Qimage and give that a try for printing.  If that works then its something quirky with CS4.

Qimage trial version

I am successfully printing consecutive, different images from Lightroom 3 (beta.)  I have printed several different images with no problems (after I figured out the print dialogue.)  

And, I have succesfully printed 2 different images from Qimage.  In both programs, the printer setup window (driver) pops up quickly and is responsive, never hangs, although it seems Qimage got confused because of my confusion about the print setup and kind of hung up, but a restart fixed it and it finds the printer every time.

I may install CS3 on this machine and see how it performs...I never had any printing problems with it on my other computer.  I don't like Qimage so far, as it is not letting me print the image at the original size on the same size paper that Photoshop did.  ARRRGGGHHH!!!!

I suppose I should mention that I printed from Qimage while Lightroom was running and vice versa.   I have had Lightroom running while working in PS, but if PS is working correctly, it shouldn't matter and just put the print job in the queue/spooler.  So about the only think I have yet to experiment with is whether Lightroom running may cause the problem.

Here is something else I've noticed about PS CS4 behavior.  After a fresh reboot of XP, CS4 takes quite a while to load, but when I shut it down and restart it, CS4 starts much faster, almost immediately, as if a bunch of it is still loaded in the RAM, or at maybe in the scratch drive.  Is there any way to flush this out??  A CS4 setting somewhere or a registry entry?  I'm wondering if this is why CS4 doesn't discover the printer again upon restart.

Also, I have the OpenGL Drawing option "Off."

Here are some other settings:

>Temporary file path: d:\temp\
>Photoshop scratch has async I/O enabled
>Scratch volume(s):
 > D:\, 931.5G, 593.0G free
  >C:\, 931.5G, 776.4G free

Now, I'm wondering if the fact that I have a "Temp" folder on d: instead of a "temp" folder makes any difference.

This is pointing more and more to a CS4 problem--I may try one more complete uninstall/reinstall.  Thanks for the suggestion, if I find a fix, I'll be sure to post it here.

Ed
« Last Edit: January 04, 2010, 11:39:24 pm by the ridge runner »
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kaelaria

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« Reply #15 on: January 04, 2010, 11:33:50 pm »

You are installing all the CS4 updates too right?
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the ridge runner

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« Reply #16 on: January 05, 2010, 11:30:07 am »

Quote from: kaelaria
You are installing all the CS4 updates too right?

CS4 11.0.1

Okay...I left my computer on all night and just now when I started CS4 it found the z3100 I pulled up a file I printed yesterday and went through the process of printing it, and got to the preview window and everything looked fine--I didn't print because I didn't need another one of those.  So, I pulled up an image I did want to print, set everything up and now I'm at the preview window and it is blank.  Shut the preview down and come back to CS4 and go File>Print and after a delay of 20 seconds or so, the CS4 print window pops up.  I check my page settings again for the z3100 and they are still there, click okay after several seconds, I"m back to the CS4 print dialogue.  This time when I hit "print" it now tells me, once again, that I need to install a printer.

I run the batch file I created to stop and start the print spooler, go back to CS4 (without a restart) and go File>Print again...and once again after a long delay (maybe 30 seconds) the CS4 print dialogue opens.  I hit the print button, and get the warning that I need to SELECT a printer.  The XP print dialogue window pops up, showing the z3100 (I have no other printers installed) and when I click on the icon, the print button is still grayed out.

I try the "find printer" option and it finds the printer, but it's find it on my other computer which is networked and asks to install the driver from that printer on this machine.

NOW....I have been experimenting with CS4 on another older computer...not as powerful, but same OS, 3Gb Ram, etc.  I was able to print 2 prints before things started to bog down.  I never got the "need to install printer" msg, but all print dialogue windows became extremely sluggish and eventually non-responsive.  I restarted CS4 and was able to print right again away.  I also printed one print from CS3 on the old computer.

Everything is pointing to a CS4 problem, or a mismatch with the HP driver and CS4.

Any thoughts on a re-update of the printer bios?  I appear to be current on that.
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kaelaria

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« Reply #17 on: January 05, 2010, 11:33:37 am »

I will say that all these problems went away when I went from a 32 bit OS to 64 some time ago.
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the ridge runner

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« Reply #18 on: January 05, 2010, 01:33:05 pm »

Quote from: kaelaria
I will say that all these problems went away when I went from a 32 bit OS to 64 some time ago.

Yeah, well, I ain't there yet and it's not in the immediate future, so I'm stuck with what I have.

BUT, here is what I've found.  I went to HP's website and downloaded the latest firmware, although the printer was showing that I was current, I went through the firmware update procedure.  Without restarting my computer, I restarted CS4 and tried a print, it worked.  I pulled up a different image file, opened the HP dialogue, set the paper size, etc, hit the print button and low and behold, the print preview came up perfectly and I'm printed that image.  Now I'm getting the "no printer installed" msg again.  Shut down and restarted CS4, printed one file, then couldn't find the printer again.

I'm about to give up and go back to CS3

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kaelaria

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« Reply #19 on: January 05, 2010, 01:35:26 pm »

Maybe you just need to reinstall windows cleanly - sounds like you really have something amiss, and it's certainly not normal.
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