Expert: LizaL - 7/20/2005

Question
Hi Lisa,

Thanks for your email and for helping me with this.
Here are some answers to your questions to me;

1. I am using an HP Deskjet 9300
2. I am using Photoshop 6.0 and when this is open I try to set the printer settings trough
chooser. There is not another option when I click on the Apple icon in Photoshop when it is open
on my screen.
3. I have set the printer settings on the pc the normal way; in applications and utilities. The
printer is working fine with the Mac, just not with Photoshop 6.0.

I am suspecting the problem is the older version of Photoshop after reading your email, but I am
not really an expert.

I hope you can shed some light on this.

Thanks again,

Liselotte



-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
Hello LizaL,

I hope you can help me, I have not found a helpfull answer
anywhere to my rather simple question.
I have a mac osx and use Photoshop 6.0. I have an image I want
to print but I don't seem to be able to make it work. I have gone
into chooser to set the printer preferences but am not able to
add my printer.
I have checked connection and I am able to print from this pc
from other applications, just not from Photoshop.
Do you know how I add the printer to Photoshop so this
application will recognise it and I can print my designs?

I hope you can help.

Many thanks in advance,

Liselotte
Answer -
Hi Liselotte,

I need to ask you some questions first before I try and answer your question:

1. What kind of printer is this? Please be specific and tell me the manufacturer and the model.

2. You say you're using OS X, but you also mentioned setting printer preferences in the chooser.
Chooser is an OS 9 application, not OS X -- so are you running Photoshop in Classic mode, and
not OS X?

3. In OS X, printers are added through the Printer Setup Utility application. This application is
located in the Applications folder, within a folder called Utilities. If you open this application, you
can double-click on the Add icon, and, providing your printer is connected correctly, and you
have the correct drivers installed for it, you should see it come up on the list. It looks like this:

http://little-works.com/all_experts/print_setup.jpg

If you have OS X, this is how all printers are set up. So I'm suspecting you might have OS X
installed, but are working in Classic, the OS 9 component of OS X. Classic basically emulates OS
9, allowing people to use older applications that aren't compatible with OS X. And it has access
to the Chooser, and other older utilities.

Also, Photoshop very often has trouble printing to PostScript printers -- i.e., laser printers, as
opposed to inkjet printers. This could be part of your problem, too.

Anyway, if you would, let me know about your printer. I'm not sure how much I can help since I
can't actually see your connection, but I could certainly point you in the right direction to check
your drivers, and possibly download new ones.

Lisa

Answer
Hi again Liselotte,

I will tell you up front I'm not sure if I can answer your question. I'm still not clear on some of the things you told me, but maybe I can point you in the direction of some more support. Here are my thoughts:

1. If your printer prints from other applications but just not Photoshop, I'd suggest you trash Photoshop and reinstall it. Make sure you delete your preferences too, which are found by opening your user directory, then opening the Library folder within, and then looking in the Preferences folder.

2. And you should make sure that you have the right drivers installed for your printer, which can be found here:
http://www.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html

Enter your printer model in the search box, and you'll be taken to a page that has the correct drivers for your printer. Install those, and restart your machine.


These are all normal procedures for troubleshooting Mac printer problems, but as I mentioned before, make sure you've added that printer to your printer list using the Printer Setup Utility.


3. You never answered my question about whether you're using Classic mode or OS X to run Photoshop, and this might matter quite a bit, as applications tend to behave differently in Classic mode.

If you're not clear on OS X and Classic, and their differences, I would suggest reading more about the two on the Apple site:
http://www.apple.com/support/

I'm still confused about how you've set things up, and I would also suggest you try asking your question on the Apple site, in their support forums.

You see, I'm not sure what you mean when you say you "set the printer settings on the pc the normal way; in applications and utilities." Did you add the printer through the Printer Setup Utility? If so, the printer should be available in all applications.

You said "I am using Photoshop 6.0 and when this is open I try to set the printer settings trough chooser." But I don't know how you did this, when there is no Chooser application in OS X.

Also -- you said, "There is not another option when I click on the Apple icon in Photoshop when it is open on my screen." And there shouldn't be, if you're using OS X. As I mentioned, there is no Chooser in OS X.

I really don't think I can give you any other help -- other than to first determine if you're using Classic mode, and if so, switch to OS X and try printing from Photoshop in that mode.

Also, try emailing support at HP and see if they can give you any suggestions.


Sorry,

Lisa