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General discussion

can't print new Word doc but can print old ones

Sep 15, 2010 5:53AM PDT

I can print old Word documents but not a new one. Using Word 2003.

The new document shows up in the printer queue (Windows box) as though it is printing, with the messages "spooling" then "printing" then it goes away as though it printed. Nothing on the printer. Any older Word doc prints just fine with the same messages in the print queue box.

Tried a inserting the old text (copy and pasted) into a new blank document and printed ok.

Typed the word "test" three times with carriage returns in a new doc. If I insert the copied text either before or after all the "test" words it prints fine. If I insert the copied text between the "test" words it won't print.
Has me boggled. I deleted normal.dot and let it make a new one. I deleted it and copied a normal.dot from another computer. No joy in either case.

I've had the document show the formatting marks and can't see anything there that is unusual.

Any ideas? This is in a networked environment.

Discussion is locked

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Try....
Sep 15, 2010 7:42PM PDT

Are you able to print other new documents, e.g. an Excel worksheet,or a web page ? For the documents you cannot print,try printing page 1, 2 copies.... print all pages.... Consider reinstalling the printer ?

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reinstalled printer
Sep 15, 2010 11:16PM PDT

I have uninstalled and reinstalled the printer. I did not keep the old driver.
I can print a new Word document to another printer, an HP4, but not the Minolta Bizhub.
I have not tried printing a new Excel document to the printer but old ones print. I will try a new one.
In Word I tried starting with an old document that prints and added text in the middle of it and it printed but if I then deleted everything except the new text it would not print. I wonder if it is a font issue. I will try another font.

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locked document?
Sep 16, 2010 3:35AM PDT

Are there any security settings on the document you are trying to print?

If so those might be preventing you from printing it.

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excel issue also
Sep 16, 2010 4:30AM PDT

I've tried a few more things. Remember that this is a brand new document that I'm trying to print. It is ANY new document and no old documents. It is created and attempted to print on the same computer by the same user.
Excel does something similar to Word. If I create a new spreadsheet it will not print but copying other info to the spreadsheet works. The whole thing prints then.
But, I've discovered a new twist. The amount of info in the document is a factor. If I type "test" in a document it does not print. If I type it several times with line breaks it does print. I typed it on 8 lines and it printed. I deleted one line at a time until it stopped printing when I got to less than 5 lines. I did it again but put lots of line breaks between and started deleting the middle lines. I could print a document with the word "test" only on two lines but with a bunch of line breaks in between them.
So, what would make the document appear to go to the printer but not print if it only has a line or two but it will print with more lines or more line breaks between text? And if you look at my earlier discussion there was at least once when I inserted a paragraph between two lines and it did not print. Oh, and don't forget that I have no issue whatsoever printing to a different printer.
Still boggled and looking for answers.

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Shot in the dark
Sep 16, 2010 5:04AM PDT

Have you tried stopping the local printer spooler service and restarting it?

Go to My Computer (right click) Manage > Services and Applications > Services > Printer Spooler (Right click on it) > Stop the > Start

If this doesn't work try running a detect and repair on the Office Apps

You can do this by going into Word under the Help menu you will see Detect and repair...you can do this from all the Office apps

Keep us posted.

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also..
Sep 16, 2010 5:10AM PDT

Make sure that the text is not marked as hidden

Hidden text will not show up on the printed document

Highlight your text > Format > Font and uncheck Hidden

Double check your styles too.

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Re: printer
Sep 16, 2010 6:13AM PDT

If if prints on printer A and not on printer B, it's a driver issue. Back to Minolta then.

An interesting experiment (although not conclusive): set printer A as your default printer and look at the print preview. Should be OK. Now set printer B as your default printer and again look at the print preview. Does it show?

Kees

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more tests
Sep 16, 2010 8:12AM PDT

I ran the Office detect and repair. I stopped and restarted the print spooler. The computer was rebooted after the issue started so I have not rebooted.
I found out that I can type the word "test" and if I enter 17 carriage returns it will print.
The text is not hidden and the printer is set to print hidden text.
I set another printer as default. Both print previews show the text.
I have successfully printed the word "test" entered twice and separated by about 8 carriage returns.
The user is an administrator. This used to be my computer and worked fine for several years until I set up another user in the office. We are not sure if the issue started right then because she has not needed to use Office much until now.
Interesting?
My only other thought is that she is on a wireless USB connection rather than wired. I'll check to see if the problem exists while wired to the network. Maybe it is an encryption error.
Thanks for the suggestions. Please come up with more.

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hmm
Sep 16, 2010 8:37AM PDT

First try what Kees suggested change the driver either from PCL to PS or vice versa.

If that doesnt work then...you have to try uninstalling then re-installing Office

this one is a doozy...

PS: is this a networked printer or a local printer...probably should have asked that from the start