Printing Troubleshooter

This troubleshooter provides solutions to common printing problems. Many variables are associated with printing, and not every possible printing difficulty is presented here. However, this troubleshooter points out some common trouble areas and helps you avoid them.

What's wrong?

 Nothing prints

 My printout is unreadable

 I can only print a partial page

 Printing is slow

 My Gold reports aren't printing properly

 I'm getting an error message

Tip

•	To view additional printing topics, click Related Topics.

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About printing Gold reports

Margins -- Timberline margins now automatically default to .50 inch bottom and right margins and .25 top and left margins. You might have to increase the right margin up to 1.29 inches if printing on 14 7/8 x 11 inch wide carriage paper. If the printable area (as determined by the margins) cannot accommodate the report you want to print, Gold applications will automatically step down the point size or characters per inch until the report fits on the page. If the print size is too small to read, try printing the report in landscape mode (laser jet printers only) or use a wider paper (14 7/8 x 11) for dot matrix printers. Your printer has to support these options.

Fonts -- Timberline recommends using Courier New 12 and selecting Use printer fonts. Selecting Use printer fonts in the Gold applications has no effect if printing to a laser jet printer, however it enables faster printing on a dot matrix printer.

Note

•	For best results when printing a financial statement in landscape orientation, do the following:

•	Set the printer to portrait.

•	Use Timberline default margins on the Reports tab in the Options window (Tools menu): Top .25, Bottom .50, Left .25, Right .50.

•	Select the landscape orientation in Design Options on the financial statement design.

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Specifying print quality settings
Specifying print quality settings on dot matrix printers

  1	Click the Start button.

  2	Click Settings, then Printers.

  3	Select the printer you want to use.

  4	From the File menu, select Properties (Windows 98/Me/XP) or Document Defaults (Windows NT) or Printing Preferences (Windows 2000).

  5	Find the tab that contains print quality settings and set the print quality to Draft.

Note

•	For Windows 2000 and XP, you will only see a change in print quality if you adjust the resolution.

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Printing is slow

The following steps apply to dot matrix printers only.

  1	Set your print mode to Draft.

 How?

  2	From any Gold application, select Customize from the Tools menu and mark the Use printer fonts box.

  3	From any Gold application, select Customize from the Tools menu and set the default font to Courier New 12.

  4	Start the Report Designer application.

  5	Open your report in Report Designer and select Page Setup from the File menu. Click Print Options and mark the System default box under Design Font.

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My Gold reports aren't printing properly

What's wrong?

 Asterisks are printing in my Gold Report columns

 The font is condensed (prints too small)

 The font is wrong

 The margins are incorrect?

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Specifying margins in Timberline Software

Timberline recommends .5 inch bottom and right margins and .25 top and left margins.

Follow these steps to define or change your margins in Timberline.

  1	From the Tools menu, select Options.

  2	Click the Reports tab and specify the default margins.

  3	Click [OK] when finished.

Tip

•	You might have to increase the right margin up to 1.29 inches if printing on 14 7/8 x 11 inch wide carriage paper.

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Asterisks are printing in one or more Gold report columns

If asterisks are printing in your Gold report columns, try the following:

  1	Open the Gold report in Report Designer.

  2	Increase the column width.

  3	Try printing again.

Note

•	Unlike Report Designer, Financial Statement Designer does not use asterisks to indicate that a number is too large for a column. In Financial Statement Designer, asterisks generally mean there is a problem calculating a number. For more information, see "asterisks are printing" in the Financial Statement Designer Help index.

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The font is condensed (print is too small)

If the font on a report is too small, it indicates that the width of the report is too wide for the width of the paper selected. When a report is wider than the paper it is printing on, Timberline Software automatically incorporates a printing feature known as shrink to fit. This feature automatically scales down the font to have the whole report fit on the paper selected. For more information on shrink to fit, click here [image].

If the font is too small, try the following:

  1	On laser printers select the landscape format.

  2	On dot matrix printers use 14 7/8 x 11 inch paper (your printer has to support wide carriage paper sizes). Do not print in landscape format with dot matrix printers.

  3	If it is a custom report, try to limit the report to 120 columns or less.

  4	You should also make sure your margins correspond to the Timberline Tested Printer margins. To do so, click Related Topics and select Timberline tested dot matrix or laser printers, as applicable.

Note

•	For best results when printing a financial statement in landscape orientation, do the following:

•	Set the printer to portrait.

•	Use Timberline default margins on the Reports tab in the Options window (Tools menu): Top 0.25, Bottom 0.50, Left 0.25, Right 0.50.

•	Select the landscape orientation in Design Options on the financial statement design.

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About shrink to fit

If a Timberline report is wider than the size of the paper selected for printing, the "shrink to fit" feature automatically scales the font to fit the report on the paper selected. The following settings are necessary for "shrink to fit" to provide consistent printouts:

•	The default system font on the General tab (Tools menu, Customize) must be Courier New 12 when the report is printed.

•	Within each report design, the System default check box must be marked in the Design Font section of the Print Options window (File menu, Page Setup).

•	The character format for all report fields and text within a report design must be "default".

Note

•	The above settings do not apply to financial statements. To shrink wide financial statements to fit the page, you must mark the Shrink To Fit box on the Design Options window of the statement you want to shrink to fit. Statements shrink to fit horizontally only; no vertical shrink-to-fit processing is performed (e.g., multi-page statements do not shrink to fit on a single page).

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About character format

Timberline assigns a character format of "default" to an item (report field or text) when it is added to a report design. This means that the default system font specified on the General tab (Tools, Customize) is used when the item is printed unless the report's design font is set to not use the system default. In this case, the font specified in the Print Options window (File, Page Setup) is used.

When you modify the font using the Font command (Format, Character menu), the character format is changed to "custom". To determine whether an item has a character format of "default", select Fonts from the View menu and temporarily add a field to the design. Any item with the same color as the newly added field has a character format of "default".

To change the character format from "custom" to "default", click the item or block a range of items and select Reset to Default from the Format, Character menu.

Note

•	The above information does not apply to financial statements. To shrink wide financial statements to fit the page, you must mark the Shrink To Fit box on the Design Options window of the statement you want to shrink to fit.

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The font is wrong

  1	Check your default font.

 How?

  2	From any Gold application, select Customize from the Tools menu and mark the Use printer fonts box.

  3	Try printing again.

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Specifying font settings

To override the default font for a report or form:

  1	From any Gold application, select Customize from the Tools menu.

  2	Select the font you want to use.

  3	Choose a default scalable font size of 12 in Courier, Courier New, or Times New Roman for best results.

  4	To print at the fastest speed when printing to a dot matrix printer, go to any Gold application and select Customize under the Tools menu and mark the Use printer fonts box.

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Checking print to file

To ensure that your file was sent to the printer and not to a print file:

  1	From any Gold application, select Customize from the Tools menu.

  2	If the Print to file box is marked, your print job was sent to file.

  3	Unmark the Print to file box and try printing again.

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Nothing prints

This topic points out some of the common reasons why nothing prints. Because there are many variables associated with printing, every possible problem is not presented here. However, if nothing prints, it may be due to one of the items listed below.

What do I check?

 Are you using the correct printer driver?

 Did your output go to a file?

 Is the correct printer set up and selected?

 Is the document in the queue?

 Is there a problem with a connection?

 Is there a problem with the printer settings?

 Is there a problem with the TMP/TEMP folders?

 Is there data to print?

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Checking files and folders

Whenever a software application sends a message to the printer to print a document, the printer driver creates a file and puts it in a TEMP folder on your hard drive and a TMP folder in your Timberline directory. If these files (identified by $$$filename) continue to stack up over time, it can interfere with printing. To avoid this, make sure that your TEMP/TMP folders are empty before trying to print.

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Checking printer settings

If nothing prints, check the following settings to determine if there is a problem.

•	Port settings -- Port settings route your files to the printer you have selected. Check your port settings to ensure that your computer is sending the file to the correct printer. For instructions on specifying port settings, click Related Topics.

•	Spool settings -- Spooling is the process used by your printer driver and application to produce all the files needed to print your document. It is common for printing problems to stem from spooling, so you should check your spool settings. For instructions on specifying spool settings, click Related Topics.

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Checking printer connections and switch boxes

If nothing prints, check the following connections to determine if there is a problem.

•	Printer cable connection -- If you are using a local printer, i.e., your computer is physically connected to your printer, make sure that the printer cable is securely connected to the printer at both ends.

•	Network connections -- If you are trying to print over a network, i.e., printer is not physically connected to your computer, check your network connections.

 How?

•	Printer switch box -- Printer switch boxes are used between two or more computers using one printer. If your computer is connected to a switch box, make sure that the switch is set to print from your computer.

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Verifying data availability

Make sure that the data you sent to print are available:

  1	From any Gold application, select Printouts from the File menu.

  2	In the Print Selection window, click the Print preview button (if available).

  3	If a message appears, "Nothing to print", then there is no data to print.

  4	Create a new file that includes the data and try to print again.

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Checking print in queue

To check to see if your document is in queue (when printer is local or connected via a network):

  1	Click the Start button.

  2	Click Settings, then Printers.

  3	Select the printer you want to use.

  4	A status box should appear. If your document is in line to print, it will show up here.

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My printout is unreadable

If your characters are printing in unexpected locations on the page or in symbols and non-English words, check and make sure the driver installed on the workstation corresponds to the emulation set on the printer.

Tip

•	To ensure that you are using the correct emulation, click Related Topics and select Timberline tested dot matrix or laser printers, as applicable.

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Setting print resolution

  1	Click the Start button.

  2	Click Settings, then Printers.

  3	Select the printer you want to use.

  4	From the File menu, select Properties (Windows 98/Me/XP) or Document Defaults (Windows NT) or Printing Preferences (Windows 2000).

  5	Find the tab that contains print quality settings.

  6	Select your desired print resolution.

  7	Click [Apply] or [OK].

Note

•	For Windows 2000 and XP, you will only see a change in print quality if you adjust the resolution.

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I can only print a partial page

  1	The default form size on the selected printer may have been set to a custom size or a size that does not match the size of the paper currently in use. Check the custom form size on the selected printer and set to the default size. For instructions on setting form size, click Related Topics.

  2	Check your Gold application margins.

 How?

  3	If the above items have checked out and you still can't print, the printer may have insufficient memory. Try reducing the print resolution. For instructions on setting print resolution, click Related topics.

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Setting up a form (Windows NT/2000)
Setting up a form

(For Windows NT/2000/XP)

  1	Click the Start button.

  2	Click Settings, then Printers.

  3	From the File menu, select Server Properties.

  4	On the Forms tab, mark the Create a New Form box.

  5	Name your form ("Checks" for example).

  6	Create a custom form size (8.5 inches wide by 7 inches long works well for checks).

Note

•	You must have Full Control Access to create custom form sizes and change margin settings for forms and sources.

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Choosing a form size

A form defines the paper size and margins. A source specifies the location of the paper at the printer, i.e., which paper tray with which size paper. To choose from a list of form and source options:

  1	Click the Start button.

  2	Click Settings, then Printers.

  3	Select the printer you want to use.

  4	From the File menu, select Properties (Windows 98/Me) or Document Defaults (Windows NT) or Printing Preferences (Windows 2000).

  5	Find the tab containing paper size options.

  6	Click Paper size.

  7	Choose the correct paper size for your document.

  8	Try printing again.

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About printer drivers

A printer driver is software (usually shipped with your printer) that allows your computer to work with your printer. Your printer driver and printer must be compatible.

Although you can set up printing options in Gold, these options must be available on your printer driver, or you will not be able to print correctly.

Please see Related Topics below for information about selecting your printer driver.

Tips

•	If you are using a dot matrix printer, be sure to use the printer driver on the Windows operating system CD.

•	If you are using a laser printer, Timberline recommends you download your driver from the printer manufacturer’s web site. This will ensure that you have the latest driver.

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Adding a printer

  1	Click the Start button.

  2	Click Settings, then Printers.

  3	Select Add Printer.

  4	Follow the instruction as they display in the Add Printer Wizard.

  5	If you have downloaded your printer driver (recommended for laser printers), click the [Have Disk] button during the Add Printer Wizard. Browse to the location of your downloaded file and proceed.

  6	Be sure that you have defined the correct settings for your printer.

 Dot Matrix printers?

 Laser printers?

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Verifying printer setup

  1	Click the Start button.

  2	Click Settings, then Printers.

  3	Verify that there is a printer icon for the printer you want to use. If there is not, you must set up a printer.

 How?

  4	Select the printer you want to use.

  5	To set the above printer as the default go to the File menu and select Set as Default (Windows 98/Me/XP and NT) or Set as Default Printer (Windows 2000).

  6	Go to the File menu and select Properties. On the General tab, click [Print Test Page].

  7	If the page does not print correctly, verify that there is paper in the printer, that the printer isn't jammed, and that there are no problems with the printer cartridge or toner.

  8	Once you can print a test page, go to your Gold application and select Print Setup from the File menu to confirm that the default printer is listed.

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Specifying port settings (for local printers in Windows 98/Me only)

  1	Click the Start button.

  2	Click Settings, then Printers.

  3	Select the printer you want to use.

  4	From the File menu, select Properties.

  5	Click the Details tab.

  6	Click the Port settings button.

  7	Unmark the following checkboxes (if these options are available):

•	Spool MS-DOS print jobs.

•	Check port state before printing.

  8	Try printing again.

Note

•	If the ECP option is available and marked, unmark this option.

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Common error messages and what to do to fix them

Message	What to do
Illegal operation. Program will be aborted.	If your Gold application is looking for a printer driver and cannot find it, the program will shut down. Install a driver from the printer manufacturer’s web site (recommended for laser printers) or, in the case of dot matrix printers, from your operating system CD. OR This could also mean your system resources are too low. Reboot the computer and try printing again.
There was a problem printing to port.	Check to make sure your printer is configured to use a valid port. See Port settings in the Help index for more information.
There was an error writing to LPTx.	1.  Click the Start button. 2.  Click Settings, then Printers.  3.  Select the printer you want to use. 4.  From the File menu, select Properties.  5.  Click the Details tab (Windows 98/Me) or the Scheduling tab (Windows NT) or the Advanced tab (Windows 2000 and Windows XP). 6.  Click the Spool Settings button (Windows 98/Me only). 7.  Mark the Print directly to printer box.
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Specifying spool settings (Windows 98/Me)
Specifying spool settings

(For Windows 98/ME)

The file you sent to print may be hung up in queue. First, turn the printer on and off and try printing again. If this doesn't work, try the following:

  1	Click the Start button.

  2	Click Settings, then Printers.

  3	Select the printer you are using.

  4	From the File menu, select Properties.

  5	Click the Details tab and then click the Spool Settings button.

  6	You will see the following seven options regarding how your document is spooled.

Top section of window

•	Start printing after last page is spooled (usually best).

•	Start printing after first page is spooled.

•	Print directly to the printer.

Middle section of window

•	Enable bi-directional support for this printer.

•	Disable bi-directional support for this printer.

Bottom section of window

•	RAW spool data format (usually best).

•	EMF spool data format.

  7	Try selecting the following check boxes:

•	Start printing after last page is spooled

•	Enable bi-directional support for this printer

•	RAW spool data format first.

These options usually result in the most stable printing environment. If this combination does not work, select other options one at a time and try to print until you find the best result for your system.

Tip

•	For information on specifying spool settings in Windows NT/2000/XP, click Related Topics.

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Specifying spool settings (Windows NT/2000/XP)
Specifying spool settings

(For Windows NT/2000/XP)

The file you sent to print may be hung up in queue. First, turn the printer on and off and try printing again. If this doesn't work, try the following:

  1	Click the Start button.

  2	Click Settings, then Printers.

  3	Select the printer you are using.

  4	From the File menu, select Properties.

  5	Click the Scheduling tab (Windows NT) or the Advanced tab (Windows 2000/Windows XP).

  6	Try selecting the following check box:

•	Spool print documents so program finishes printing faster--Start printing after last page is spooled.

  7	Try to print again. If unsuccessful, try other spool options on this tab and reprint.

Tip

•	For information on specifying spool settings in Windows 98/Me, click Related Topics.

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Checking network connections

If you are having trouble printing over a network, i.e., the printer is not physically connected to your computer, check the following:

Queuing

Make sure that your file is in the print queue:

  1	Go to Start, Settings, and double-click on your printer icon.

  2	Check the status list. If your print job is listed, you know that your network connection is working.

Note to Novell® network users

When using Windows 98/Me connected to Novell networks, your application may halt when you try to print. This problem is related to the "cache writes" setting in the Novell Client. The default setting for "cache writes" is ON. This setting should be turned to OFF to avoid problems:

  1	Go to Control Panel.

  2	Open Network.

  3	Double-click Novell NetWare Client32.

  4	Click the Advanced tab and scroll down to "cache writes."

  5	Change the setting from ON to OFF.

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Timberline-tested laser printers

If you have purchased a new laser printer, please check the manufacturer’s web site to obtain the latest drivers. Most drivers included with the printer are outdated by the time of purchase. Also, please verify that the printer cable is triple-shielded, bi-directional, and rated IEEE 1284.

Most new laser printers ship with Hewlett Packard’s PCL 6 and PCL 5e drivers. The PCL 6 driver usually loads by default when you install your printing software. The primary difference between these drivers is maximum resolution: PCL 6 supports 1200 dpi (dots per inch) while 5e supports 600 dpi. Because of its lower resolution (and hence lower memory needs), 5e-based printing uses less toner, is faster, and is significantly more stable.

Timberline strongly recommends the PCL 5e driver. Do not use the PCL 6 driver. It has been known to cause software aborts.

Click here [image] to view a table outlining the recommended configuration for the Timberline-tested laser printers.

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Recommended configuration of Timberline-tested laser printers

The following table outlines the recommended configuration for Timberline tested laser printers.

Model/Class	Recommended configuration
Hewlett Packard 4 Plus Used as standard for Timberline’s printer testing.	• Driver--download PCL 5e from HP’s LaserJet 4 Plus web page. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Hewlett Packard 5 Replaced by the 6P. Best for small workgroups and/or small office use.	• Driver--download PCL 5e from HP’s LaserJet 5 web page. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Hewlett Packard 5Si Replaced by the HP 8000. Best for larger departments with heavy printing use.	• Driver--download PCL 5e from HP’s LaserJet 5Si web page. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Hewlett Packard 6L Replaced by the HP 1100. Best for standalone/personal use.	• Driver--download PCL 5e from HP’s LaserJet 4L web page. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Hewlett Packard 6P Best for small workgroups and/or small office use.	• Driver--download PCL 5e from HP’s LaserJet 6P web page. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Hewlett Packard 1100 Best for stand-alone/personal use.	• Driver--download PCL 5e from HP’s LaserJet 4L web page. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Hewlett Packard 2100 Best for small workgroups and/or small office use.	• Drivers--download PCL 5e from HP’s LaserJet 2100 web page. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Hewlett Packard 4000 Best for workgroup or departmental use.	• Driver--download PCL 5e from HP’s LaserJet 4000 web page. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Hewlett Packard 8100 Best for larger departments with heavy printing use.	• Driver--download PCL 5e from HP’s LaserJet 8100 web page. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Lexmark Optra S 1625 Best for workgroup or departmental use.	• Driver--download the Lexmark driver (PostScript) for the Optra S from Lexmark’s web site. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
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Timberline-tested dot matrix printers

The following table lists the Timberline-tested dot matrix printers and their recommended drivers. Most dot matrix printers will support an Epson emulation (printer language).

One way to check your current emulation is to set up the appropriate Epson driver referenced below and print a test page. If the test page prints legibly, then the emulation is set to Epson or your printer has the capability of automatically acquiring the emulation from the driver. If the test page is not legible, then you must physically change the emulation on the printer itself. Please refer to your printer manual for this information.

Click here [image] to see the recommended configurations by dot matrix printer class.

Model	Recommended configuration
Epson DFX 5000  Okidata ML 321 Okidata ML 521	• Driver--Epson FX 286e (Windows operating system CD). • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Okidata ML 590  Okidata ML 591	• Driver--Epson LQ 2550 (Windows operating system CD). • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Note

•	If printing on wide-carriage paper (14 7/8 x 11 inches) set the right margin to 1.29 inches.

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Recommended configuration by printer class

Dot Matrix Class		Recommended configuration
Narrow or wide carriage  (9 pin)		• Emulation--Epson FX. • Driver--Epson FX 286e. • Print Quality--Draft. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Narrow or wide carriage letter-quality  (24 pin)		• Emulation--Epson LQ. • Driver--Epson LQ 2550. • Print Quality--Draft. • Timberline margins--0.5 in. bottom and right margins, 0.25 in. top and left.
Notes

•	The emulation is set up on the printer.

•	The printer driver is set up on your computer.

•	Increase the right margin up to 1.29 inches if printing on 14 7/8 x 11 inch carriage paper.

Tip

•	See Related Topics for information on setting print quality/resolution.

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About printer configuration

For optimum printing performance, Timberline recommends that you use laser and dot matrix printers with your Timberline Software.

Inkjet (including bubble jet) and multifunction devices (combination printer/ scanner/fax) can be used as secondary or backup printers but are not recommended as the primary printers for Gold. For specific information about the Timberline-tested dot matrix and laser printers, click Related Topics below.

Your selection of a primary printer should be based on your company's printing needs. Consider the following when you are purchasing a new printer:

•	Any laser printer designed for your Windows operating system that can emulate Hewlett Packard’s Printer Control Language (PCL) will work with Timberline software. Timberline recommends the PCL 5e driver but strongly discourages the use of the PCL 6 driver, which may cause software aborts.

•	You must use laser printers that support Printer Control Language 4, 5, or 5e in order to generate Crystal Reports®. Timberline does not support dot matrix or inkjet printers for this task.

•	Dot matrix printers must support Epson emulation.

•	If you want to purchase a dot matrix printer, Timberline recommends a nine-pin wide-carriage model. Most Timberline reports are wide, e.g., designed to use 14 7/8 inch by 11 inch paper (US Standard Fanfold, US SF). Furthermore, nine-pin dot matrix printers are capable of printing bi-directionally and at a higher speed than letter-quality 24-pin dot matrix printers.

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Printing glossary

Listed below are some common printing terms:

•	CPS -- Abbreviation for characters per second. Standard measure of speed for dot matrix printers.

•	DEV file -- File extension for printer device file. A DEV file is a binary file specific to a selected printer. A device file holds all information necessary to copy the file to a printer, including driver information. Other types of print files rely on the printer drivers to print properly.

•	DPI -- Abbreviation for dots per inch and a measurement of resolution. The number of dots a laser printer can print in one square inch. The higher the number, the higher the resolution.

•	Dot matrix printer -- Also known as an "impact printer." This type of printer functions by stamping characters on paper using pins through an inked ribbon.

•	Emulation -- Generic term for printer language. Most printers mimic or emulate the behavior of the market leading models of printers (Hewlett Packard and Epson) by copying their printer language. The emulation can only be changed on the printer.

•	Font -- Collection of characters in a particular style and size.

•	HP PCL -- Hewlett Packard Printer Control Language. The most popular and widely emulated printer language. Common variants include: PCL 3, PCL 4, PCL 5, PCL 5e, and PCL 6. Timberline recommends PCL 5e for most laser printers. The use of PCL 6 is strongly discouraged.

•	HTML (HTM) file -- File extension for Hypertext Markup Language file. This type of file can be read and displayed by a World Wide Web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. The format is textual with "format tags" that define how text and graphics associated with the file are to be displayed when the file is opened in a browser.

•	Ink jet -- Printing technology where ink is sprayed on paper to form characters.

•	Landscape -- Orientation of a page where characters are printed parallel to the long edge of the paper.

•	Laser jet -- Printing technology where toner is "burned" or dried on paper to form characters.

•	Local printer -- Printer that is attached directly to one workstation.

•	Network printer -- Printer that allows multiple workstations to print to it.

•	PPM -- Pages per minute. Standard measure of speed for laser jet and ink jet printers.

•	Parallel cable -- Cable used to connect a printer to a computer.

•	Portrait -- Orientation of a page where characters are printed parallel to the short edge of the paper.

•	PostScript -- A printer language developed by Adobe Systems.

•	Print server -- A device (i.e., computer), which connects a printer to a network. The print server allows the printer to be shared by several users on the network.

•	Printer driver -- Software utility that interfaces between the workstation and printer. The printer driver formats information from an application that the printer can print into readable characters. The printer driver resides on the workstation.

•	Printer font -- Also referred to as a device font. Fonts that are programmed directly in the printer.

•	Printer object -- The icon that is installed when adding a printer. The printer settings and driver are controlled through the printer object.

•	PRN file -- File extension for a print file. Characters and the printer information are stored on the file.

•	Shrink to fit -- A process by which a wide report or statement's font is made smaller to fit on a page.

•	Spooling -- A process by which a computer can store data and feed it gradually to a printer, which is operating more slowly than the computer.

•	True Type -- A font definition format used by Microsoft Windows.

•	TXT file -- File extension for a text file. Timberline TXT files only contain the characters. Unlike PRN (print files) printer information is not stored on the file.

•	Unprintable area -- Also referred to as "clip region" -- it is the area on any given paper size where the printer cannot print characters.

•	Use printer fonts -- Timberline setting that allows faster printing on dot matrix printers.

•	Workstation -- Another term for a personal computer.