Expert: Glen Demers - 11/7/2010

Question
QUESTION: I have CS3 with iMac 10.4.11 My problem is printing to HP Laserjet 1200 from
InDesign. Photoshop and Illustrator print fine. In the iD print dialog box the
automatic printer selection is Postscript File. when I try to select my HP
printer (which shows as an option) i get a notice "Printer selection failed
restoring previous selection) which makes a PS file but no print. That's my
problem. Can you help


ANSWER: Hi Howard,

The Mac OS installs most HP printer PPD's and sometimes the HP Laserjet Utility will install a second PPD for the same printer. Try selecting a different PPD file for the printer:
Start the Printer Setup Utility. Select the printer, and then choose Printers > Show Info. Choose Printer Model from the pop-up menu. Choose HP from the Model Name menu. Select the second PPD file from the Model Name list. Click Apply Changes. Close the Printer Setup Utility.

If there is only one PPD then re-create the instance of the printer:
Start the Printer Setup Utility. Select the printer, and click Delete. Click Add. Choose a connection method from the top pop-up menu. Select a printer, or enter the printer's IP address. Choose the printer model from the Printer Model menu, and then click Add.

Hope this helps,
Glen Demers
Prepress Technician, Best Printing Online
www.bestprintingonline.com

For more InDesign tips please visit our help pages here: http://www.bestprintingonline.com/indesign.htm

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I've tried all that and ID print dialog box still shows Postscript as primary printer
and it will not accept a change to my HP. Photoshop prints OK/

Answer
Hi Howard,

The PPD may be damaged. You can test this by going to Applications>Utilities and launch the Terminal application. Type cupstestppd[sp] (include a space after cupstestppd). Locate the ppd you want to test and drag it to the Terminal window. Press Enter key in the Terminal window. Terminal returns a message indicating whether the PPD passes or fails the test. If it fails, trash the PPD and re-install it. The HP disc should have a utility that will connect you to their download center and allow you to get the latest PPD for your printer.

Hope this helps,
Glen Demers
Prepress Technician, Best Printing Online
www.bestprintingonline.com

For more InDesign tips please visit our help pages here: http://www.bestprintingonline.com/indesign.htm