Presets not working; 10.5.8; Officejet Pro 8000n

[Randy_K]

Hello everyone -

   I have been using a Business Inkjet 1100d for many years without difficulty.  I created several presents which have worked flawlessly.  Currently on system 10.5.8.

   I just bought a new Officejet Pro 8000n and installed all the new software from the supplied CD.  I ran a check for updates and there are none.  The new 2nd printer shows up in the familiar print dialogue box as well as the old printer.  Each printer can be selected and will work.  However presets do not work.

   I created new presets with the new printer selected.  I tested the print configuration that I saved the preset with and it prints correctly (plain paper, draft, 2-sided, 8 1/2 x 11 letter, etc, auto source, etc.....  )  However when I use the created preset for subsequent print jobs it does not work.

   When I change to the new printer for a job, the paper size changes to 8 1/2 x 11 BORDERLESS, 2 sided printing is turned off, paper is set to HP Advanced Photo Paper, Quality is set to Normal, and Source is set to Tray 1.  Selecting any of the presets, either for the old 1100d or the newly created ones for the 8000n have no effect and do not change any of these settings.  I have to manually change each setting each time I print.

   If I leave the printer selected as the 1100d (the default) the old presets work correctly (but not the new one).  I've tried deleting and re-creating the new preset several times without success.

   Most of the messages on this subject I found in search here seem to relate to System 10.6, not 10.5., and so far I've found no obvious answer.  I can't take the time to manually go through all the settings and change each of them for each and every print job.  85%+ of my print jobs are draft, 2-sided, 2nd paper drawer.

   I have seen a number of messages about problems with presets not working in searching, so i guess that I am not alone.  Does anyone have any further suggestions?  Thanks.

[Randy_K]

As a further update I've tested this with the following applications with the same negative results:

Safari 5.0.3, 

Preview 4.2, 

Dictionary,

System Profiler 10.5.0, 

iTunes 10.1.2, 

Terminal 2.0.2, 

Activity Monitor 10.5, 

Console 10.5.6, 

Grapher 2.0, 

Font Book 2.1, 

iCal 3.0.8, 

Comic Life 1.2.4, 

OmniOutliner 3.5, and

*Business Card Composer 4.5.6 (non Apple).

TextEdit 1.5 produces slightly different, but very similar negative results.

However when I tested with my (very old) version of M/S Word (v.X) the presets created with the Business Inkjet worked with that printer (but not with the new Officejet Pro 8000) and the new preset created with the OJ 8000 worked with it (but not with the Business Inkjet 1100d).  I got these same working results with these additional applications:

*Excel v.X, 

*Powerpoint v.X, 

*Firefox 3.6.14, 

Disk Utility 11.1, 

*FileMaker Pro 10.0v3, 

*Yahoo Messenger 3.0.10 beta, 

Network Utility 1.4.5, 

*WhatRoute 1.10.3, 

QuickTime Player 7.6.9, 

*TOPO 4.2.8, 

*1-2 Tracker 1.8, 

*TechTool Deluxe 3.1.3,

*HP Message Center 1.10.7, 

*OnyX 2.0.6, 

Image Capture 4.0, 

Script Editor 2.2.1, 

Automator 2.0.4, 

Calculator 4.2, 

iMovie 7.1.4, and

Stickes 6.0.  

(*Non Apple)

When then presets do not work for the Officejet Pro 8000n, merely selecting that printer changes the settings as described in my first message and none of the presets (for the old or new printer) have any effect.

Does anyone see any pattern in all of this that might point toward the culprit?  Thanks in advance.  - Randy

[Randy_K]

I've started a case with HP technical support on this, so I'll let you know if any progress is made from that end.  

   - Randy

[Randy_K · Accepted solution]

Symptom:  When you try to use a preset either it doesn't hold when you push print or the preset will not apply at all.

Cause:  Some settings in the Print Dialogue Box are Application Specific (AS), that is, when you invoke Print, the settings are passed by the application to the Print Dialogue.  Which settings are AS can be different with different applications.  For example, HP says that in Safari the following are AS:  Layout, Color Matching, Paper Handling, Cover Page, and Scheduler.

In applications that have a "Page Setup" menu, Paper Type, Orientation, and Scale are AS and NOT stored in presets (or overridden by the application's default). They are passed to the Print Dialogue Box from the application's "Page Setup".

If any of the parameters in your preset conflict with any of the AS specifications which have been set in the Print Dialogue, your preset will NOT work.  For example, if your Paper Type is PHOTO, but your preset specifies Draft, or 2-Sided printing.

1-Step Workaround:  The good news is that AS settings can be changed.  Go into your Print Dialogue Box and change the parameter that conflicts with your preset. For example, change Paper Type from Photo to US Letter. Now when you apply your preset it will work correctly.

Solution:  Most conflicts can be addressed in the application's Page Setup menu. Go to that menu and change the incompatible parameter, for example, Paper Type.  (You may need to save the new Page Setup settings as Default.  If you don't want these new Page Setup parameters as the Default for this application then you must create a new preset with specifications that are compatible with that application's existing Page Setup Default.)

Exception to Solution:  Many (but not all) Apple applications have an anomaly (in System 10.5, not sure about 10.4) where they don't pass all AS parameters correctly.   Examples of Apple applications affected include Safari, TextEdit, and Preview.  Apple applications not affected by this problem include both Disk and Network Utility, QuickTime Player, Script Editor, and Automator.  (There may be  few 3rd party applications affected as well.)  A complete list of applications affected and not affected (found on my system) is listed in message 2 above.  

Apple Technical Support attributes this to the fact that OS 10.5 is not 100% compatible with new HP printers (software).  (10.6 is 100% compatible they say.)  Apple suggested that Safari and the other Apple applications that pass the wrong default Paper Type to the Print Dialogue Box do so because of the partial incompatibility of System 10.5 with new HP printer model software.  They had no workarounds to suggest.

Bottom line, for Safari, TextEdit and the other problem Apple Applications that I listed in my complete list of applications (above),  my 1-step workaround apparently is the only answer available.  When you upgrade to Snow Leopard you should no longer have the problem.  But, if you're on a Power PC Mac and can't upgrade beyond Leopard, you're stuck with my 1-step solution.

The 1-step workaround above works with all affected applications however.

[Randy_K]

This an evolving work based on research on both HP's site and Apple Discussions.  I would appreciate comments from any of the rest of you.  Apparently this issue is specific to Sysem 10.5, does anyone have it in any other version of OS X?

Thanks - Randy

[erikbojerik]

WORKED!!  Thanks Randy!

Specifically, for each of the non-Apple apps I had to go to Page Setup, select the paper size and orientation, select Any Printer and then Save as Default.  Then when I went to Print my Fast Draft Grayscale preset actually worked - amazing!

In Word I had to actually save the document I was working on for this to stick, but now I can just go straight to Print and my presets will work - once it sticks, it looks like I won't have to do Page Setup for every file.

Also worked for Adobe Reader.

Interestingly, when I went to Excel my preset worked right away, without having to go to Page Setup.

Thanks again Randy - I think HP owes you!

[jkenyan]

Hi Randy, I'm the guy that has the problem printing specifically out of Excel for Mac. This problem just appeared out of nowhere.

I have been printing from the same Office Jet j4680 and the same Excel for a long time.

To answer your question, I am running Mac OS 10.6.6

Excel for Mac has a page layout option but doesn't get into paper quality. I have looked over the set parameters between the app and print dialogue and don't see anything that looks wrong.

[Randy_K]

Hello all -

   I talked to Apple Technical Support today.  They say that my printer (and presumably the HP software for it) is not 100% compatible with System 10.5 (Leopard).  However it is 100% compatible with System 10.6 (Snow Leopard).  The rep suggested that Safari and the other Apple applications that pass the wrong default Paper Type to the Print Dialogue Box do so because of the partial incompatibility of System 10.5 with my printer (and HP software?).  We specifically discussed any workarounds and they (Apple) had none to suggest.

   Bottom line, for Safari, TextEdit and the other problem Apple Applications that I listed in my complete list of applications, my 1-step workaround apparently is the only answer available.  When you upgrade to Snow Leopard you should no longer have the problem.  But, if you're on a Power PC Mac and can't upgrade beyond Leopard, you're stuck with my 1-step solution.

   - Randy

[ArthurJ]

I have a new Officejet 4500 Wireless with IMAC OS X Version 10.5.8.

Same problem. I cannot get your 1 step workaround to work on a permanent basis. Everytime I print I have to reset all parameters (Plain Paper, Fast Draft, Grayscale, Print Black and White). Saving these settings as a preset does not work.

You say that "Most conflicts can be addressed in the application's Page Setup menu. Go to that menu and change the incompatible parameter."

I do not know where the applications Page Setup menu is located. Is it the same as Print Dialog box?

Incidentally, have been using a Cannon MX860 wireless, and the fast draft grayscale settings are saved just fine.

[Randy_K]

ArthurJ -

   Once the incompatible parameter has been changed - paper type for example - you should be able to: 1) change all other settings to what you desire,  2) SAVE the settings as a preset (with a unique name that is meaningful to you), and then 3) print the job.  The next time you want to print you may get the incompatible parameter again as a default.  In my case I get borderless printing that defaults to photo paper.  When I correct paper to 8 1/2 x 11, plain paper, then all the presets work, and I can just select what ever previously saved preset I want.

   Applications usually have their Page Setup menu found under "Edit", just above where you select "Print".  However not all applications have a Page Setup menu, for example, Safari does not have such a menu.  You have to use TextEdit to get the Page Setup menu.

   I hope this helps, let me know if I can assist further!  - Randy