How can I fix my printer to print correct sized pages on 11x17 paper?

[Dawna_R]

Info: Windows 10 Home 64-bit OS on an HP 15-f387wm 15.6" Laptop
AMD Quad-Core A8-7410 APU Processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive

I have a 114 page document in .pdf format I want to print using my new HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 wide format printer. The paper is 11 x 17, and the printed pages should be formatted with two 8.5 x 11 pages- one on each side of the 11 x 17 paper. Thus it should appear as two book pages on each 11 x 17 pieces of paper. See image:

Below how the pages appear when printed:

The printer is connected with an ethernet cable to my router. (I've never connected any printer I ever owned with this type of ethernet cable to router method. In the past I've always used a usb connection. I do not want to use a wireless connection with my printer.) I open the .pdf with Foxit Phantom free trial software and I set the view to 100% continuous facing pages. When I click the Foxit Pantom printer icon to open the print menu, it shows the Zoom to be 96.62%. When I try to use the menu to scale the print menu to 100% the format of the document changes to be only one page per sheet and as a portrait format, so I can't print the document correctly fomatted and sized. In the Foxit menu I've tried clicking the dropdown menu > HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 series PL-3 (Network) option and try to choose the settings that should allow me to print my document with the pages properly formatted, but when I get to the Advanced tab, there's an option to "Preserve Layout" but it's set to "No" and I can't un-gray the drop down menu. I believe this might be part of the reason I'm getting my pages appearing too small on the 11x17 paper. See image:

I set the OfficeJet Pro 7720 as the default printer. I've tried opening Control Panel > Devices and Printers > Printing Preferences and chose 11x17 (Tabloid) paper size, 2 pages per sheet, Portrait orientation, but again when I open the Advanced Tab, it's impossible to select "Yes" to Preserve Layout because it's grayed out.
Why does HP in the first place offer the option to choose whether or not the user wants to preserve the layout of their document? If someone goes to the trouble of setting all the options how to print the document, such as number of pages, paper size, ect., why would they then change their mind about it? If the choice is "No," what exactly is the printed result going to look like? Like my pages appearing too small on the 11x17 paper I guess. HOW CAN I UN-GRAY THE DROP DOWN MENU SO AS TO CHOOSE "YES"?

I also installed the HP Delivery Driver V4, and tried to print my document pages using that driver. When I tried printing with that the printer started spewing out page after page of paper with an odd string of characters at the top. See image:

I've checked to be sure I have appropriate permissions to access my .pdf document and that it's not set to read only. I've set permissions for the printer and print server so I should have adequate access. The software and drivers for the printer are installed on my laptop, and I believe they're up to date.

I've run the Windows 10 Troubleshooter, and tried using the HP Print and Scan Doctor with no positive results. I tried opening the .pdf in Firefox browser, but again the pages were too small when printed.  I opened System32 and set permission for the Drivers, Driver State, and Driver Store folders. I used regedit to make sure I had appropriatre permissions for all the HP printer associated registry keys I searched for and found. No luck. I really need to print this document, and I don't want to take my printer to be fixed because although it's still under warranty, I believe the warranty only covers hardware issues, and I think this is a software problem. Any help will be hugely appreciated, and thanks for reading this wall of text.

[Jeet_singh]

@Dawna_R,

Thank you for posting your query on HP Support Community,

Let's try these steps here: 

Let's try to uninstall the printer from the root level and then reinstall it by following the steps below: 

• Press “Windows key” + “r” to get the “Run” window.
• Type "services.msc" to get Services – Go to “Print spooler” – Right-click and “Stop” the service.
• Now again open "Run" - Type “spool” and ok - Go to PRINTERS folder - delete everything in that folder.
• Go to services again - Start the print spooler.
• Now check for issue resolution.
• If the issue persists, also try clean installing the printer drivers. Here are the steps:
• First, unplug the USB cable from the printer if present.
• Go to Control panel – Programs and feature – Select all the HP Officejet printer entries and uninstall them.
• Now go to Control panel – Devices and printer – Select all the printer entries and remove the device.
• Press the "windows key" + "r" to get the "Run" window open - Type "printui.exe /s" (There is a space between .exe & /) and press enter.
• Under print server properties, go to drivers - remove any entry there as well.
• Again, go to the Run window, type – “c:/programdata” – Go to Hewlett Packard folder, remove any printer related folders & files.
• Restart your computer.
• Please click here to download and install the full feature software for this printer.
• Connect the USB cable if prompted and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Next thing, I would suggest here is to update the printer firmware - For more details, please follow this link: HP Printers - Updating or Upgrading Printer Firmware

Let me know how it goes for further assistance!

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Have a great day!

[Dawna_R]

Thank you for responding to my post.

I tried the first 4 steps you suggested, but it didn't resolve the problem. The pages were still too small when I printed them as from the .pdf file opened in my browser. The option to keep format is also still grayed out.

Then I opened Control Panel > Devices and Printers and deleted all instances of HP OfficeJet Pro 7720.
When I opened the Print Server Properties and tried to remove the HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 series PCL-3, x64, Type 4 - User Mode driver I got the following message:
Print Server Properties
[Main Instruction]
Unable to remove HP OfficeJet Pro 7720 series PCL-3, x64, Type 4 - User Mode driver.
The specified printer driver is currently in use.

I don't know why it should be since I disconnected it and shut it off.
You can see the Print Server Properties window below, and it's included because maybe other drivers need to be removed, and I'd like to ask you that. I wasn't sure from your instructions whether I only need to remove any driver named HP OfficeJet Pro 7720.

edit: After removing the folders from Program Data > HP and restarting my computer, I was able to run printui.exe /s and delete the driver I previously could not.

When I tried to update the printer firmware using the download and install method, I got as far as you can see in the image below, but when I highlighted my printer, the update button is grayed out and won't function. I wasn't able to put a check mark in the box. I couldn't understand how or find a way to update the firmware using the printer's control panel.

I again tried but was unable to print 2 side by side pages on 11x17 paper but they were too small.

Do you or anyone else have any other ideas?

Thanks.

[Jeet_singh]

@Dawna_R,

In this scenario, I would peronsally suggest you contact our HP support team so that they can remotely take control of your PC and help you check the settings.

HP support team can be reached on www.hp.com/contacthp

Select the product type.

Enter the serial number of your device or select let HP detect your product option.

Select the country from the drop-down.

You should see the HP phone support number or Chat option listed.

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

Cheers!

[Dawna_R]

Thank you for your additional help.  I'll have to wait until tomorrow to call the HP support team because it's after 9:00PM and they're not operating now.  I'll tell you how it goes afterward.  Best wishes.

[Jeet_singh]

@Dawna_R,

Please take your time and do get in touch with them, I'm sure they should be able to go ahead and address your issue. 

I'll be awaiting your response and would be glad to help.

Take care now and do have a fabulous week ahead. 🙂
Regards,

[Dawna_R]

I did call HP support, but I was on hold so long I gave up.  But in the meantime, I realized that the menu icons on the control panel on the printer don't function properly.  If you look at the image of the printer control panel you can see the icons 1 - 7.  When I tap any and all of them, the "Info" screen appears, and nothing other than that.

The "Info" screen shows the name of the printer, serial  number, ip address, etc.  So I think maybe there's a hardware issue involved in this problem, and still perhaps another software problem.  The printer is still under warranty for hardware problems, so maybe I need to take it somewhere to be repaired, or send it to HP if I can find the address that would take it to the right place for repair or replacement.

I would value your opinion.