We often hear of problems of this type, i.e., graphically-rich PDF files opening and viewing correctly on screen, but failing to print at all, print completely, or print correctly on certain printer models.
Generally speaking, when these files are made available for us to examine here at Adobe, we find nothing wrong with the files themselves and that they print without a problem on the printers we have in house, admittedly a very small sample of the literally tens of thousands of printer models out there.
The vast majority of the problems we receive are for printing to non-PostScript devices. For PostScript printers, Acrobat and Adobe Reader actually generate their own PostScript from the PDF, letting the driver insert specific /setpagedevice operators to control paper feed and paper size as well as any other printer custom functions. For non-PostScript devices, Acrobat and Adobe Reader (and for that matter, InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop as well) depend upon the printer driver provided by the printer manufacturer. Unfortunately, many of these drivers are less-than-stellar in converting GDI (in Windows) to whatever protocols, including PCL or even raster bitmap, might be used by their particular device.
Here is what we would recommend for problems with a particular printer:
(1) Check and see whether it supports PostScript as well as some other PDL (page description language). If it does support PostScript, but you are using a driver for a different PDL such as PCL5 or PCL6, install and use the PostScript driver.
(2) If the printer has absolutely no support for PostScript (whether Adobe PostScript or CloneScript), see whether the printer manufacturer has posted an updated driver on their website. Often, the printer drivers shipped with Windows or even the printer itself are fairly old and have been replaced by newer, fixed versions.
(3) If all else fails, there is the Print as Image option in Advanced Print Setup. Select that option along with specifying the resolution of the device itself. As a result, Acrobat or Adobe Reader effectively serves as a RIP and yields a full page raster image for the driver, generally bypassing driver anomalies (although sometimes some dodgy drivers seem to choke on large raster images). Print as Image yields gigantic queue files and is relatively slow, but sometimes it provides the only way of printing to poor quality device / driver combinations.
At Adobe, we really wish there was a better solution to this, but unfortunately, there are printer vendors who cut corners for lower prices and higher margins, leaving their customers in the lurch. (Unfortunately, the popular press really doesn't do much in the way of really testing printers anymore. Talking heads tend to make recommendations based on price and check-list features as opposed to reliability and true quality!)
- Dov
