How to not print webpage backgrounds

When I print internet pages it also prints out the background that wastes a bunch of ink. Is there a way to stop them from printing?

Well, you can set things up so that those ink sucking internet backgrounds are not printed. Heres how:

With Internet Explorer:

1. Click the Tools menu, Options, as well as select the Advanced tab.

2. Scroll down to the "printing" category. Make sure the box for printing backgrounds is NOT checked. Then click OK.

Thats it. If you were printing out backgrounds before, this should take care of the problem. Conversely, if you want the backgrounds, make sure
that little box is checked.

With Firefox and Netscape:

1. Click File, Page setup...

2. Make sure the "Print backgrounds" box is unchecked.

Thats it. If you were printing out backgrounds before, this should take care of the problem. Conversely, if you want the backgrounds, make sure
that little box is checked.

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Web Page Printing

Do you want to print out internet pages? If so, do you become annoyed at all the header and footer information that gets printed on each and every page? You know, the internet address, title, date, mothers maiden name, etc? Internet Explorer, Fire fox, as well as Netscape 7.2 all let you do this.

Well, with Internet Explorer, you can get that adjusted right out of there, or customize it. Heres how:

1. Click the File menu, Page Setup.

2. Find the "Headers and Footers" area and remove all the gibberish in the respective fields. Hit OK and there you have it.

Before:

After:

Now that will keep the computer from printing out all of your header and footer info, but what if you want some of it? Well, you can do that too, using the parameters below in the header and footer fields:

&w Window title

&u Page address (URL)

&d Date in short format as specified through Regional Settings in Control Panel

&D Date in lengthy format as specified through Regional Settings in Control Panel

&t Time in the format specified through Regional Settings in Control Panel

&T Time in 24-hour format

&p Current page number

&P Total number of pages

&& A single ampersand (&)

&b The text immediately following these characters as centered.

&b&b The text immediately following the first "&b" as centered, as well as the text following the second "&b" as right-justified.

For example, if you want the header to have the window (page) title and the URL, you would type:

&w &u

If you wanted to make it so it also specified you were the one who printed it, you could put something like:

&w &u Printed through Steve on &d

The only thing you must keep an eye on is the spacing. To get a single space between items (like &w&u) you must hit the space bar twice. Experiment and youll get it.

In Firefox and Netscape 7.2 you go to File/Page Setup then click the "Margins and Header/Footer" tab. No secret codes needed here such as in IE. Just use the drop-down menus to select what information you want left, center, or right.

Lets say I want the title and URL in the header along with page number and Date/Time in the footer. Heres how it would look...

If I want the field blank, I choose "--blank--". If I want to add my own text I choose "Custom" and a box pops up for my text.

When youre done just click OK.

So, whatever your browser you can add as much or as little info in the header and footer as you want.

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The Inkjet Refill Debate

You want to save some cash through purchasing ink refills? We ll, in general, I recommend not using refills.

They are likely OK for printers with ink nozzles that are NOT built into the cartridge (like Canon printers), but I would still be careful. The ink may not be the same quality as what you would get from the manufacturer.

If you are using an HP printer, the ink nozzle is built into the printer cartridge and is not meant to be run refill after refill. When you replace your ink cartridge, you also replace your old nozzle with a brand new one. This helps keep the print quality good (especially important if youre putting forth effort to print out photographs).

Another point to consider is that when you bought your printer, you were likely searching at print quality. Why take a chance on compromising that print quality to save a few bucks?

I know we all want to save money, but I prefer good quality prints and longer printer life.

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Save Color Ink: Print in Grayscale

Printing is expensive, especially when youre printing out internet pages and such because there's so much color ink involved.

Well, if you do not mind black and white, you should be able to set your printer to print in either a grayscale or B&W type through default. You can later turn this option off if you determineyou need a document printed in color.

How do you do it? Well, it varies from printer to printer since they tend to come with unique software, but heres a typical scenario:

1. Click the Start button, Settings, Printer .

2. Next, get your printer and right-click it , selecting Properties from the resulting menu.

3. OK, heres where it may get a bit messy. Youll must play around in the settings screen that comes up, searching for a setting to print in B&W or grayscale. This setting may be either on a tab or you may need to press a button to get at it.

For example, with my HP I hit the General tab, then a "Printing preferences" button. A new screen pops up and I hit the "Paper/Quality" tab and can set it to print B&W from there. Heres a couple of screen shots form my printer:

Again, I want to stress that this is how it works for my printer, your mileage may vary (in fact, it likely will). If you get really stuck, attempt your printers help file. You know, when all else fails read the instructions.

Once you set it to B&W or grayscale, everything you print will be in B&W unless you set it back manually.

If that is too much of a commitment to the monochrome world for you, you can always print in grayscale / B&W on a case through case basis. When you go to print from whatever program, use the File menu, Print...

From there, hit the Properties button. If you play around in the resulting settings screen lengthy enough, you should get a setting for grayscale. Its likely under a "Print quality" or similar category.

Again, if you go this route its only going to be a temporary deal. If you want it permanently printing in grayscale unless you specify otherwise, youll need to go to the printers folder as described above.

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Printing Favorites

Is there a way to print my Favorites?

Yes and No. You do not have an option where you can right click your favorites and choose "Print" or anything such as that, but there's a procedure whereby you can make a printable HTML document.

First we must make the HTML list. With Internet Explorer go to File / Import and Export to bring up the "Import/Export Wizard". Click "Next".

Select "Export Favorites" then "Next". If your favorites are organized into folders you can choose to save all (that would be the top folder "Favorites", or just a specific folder.

Choose "Export to a File or Address" where youll give it a name and location. I would select the "Browse" button and save it to my desktop for easy finding. Click "Next".

"Finish" and were done with the first part.

Now, what to do with this file.

Double click the file and it will open up in Explorer. Notice that it is just a page of names with click able links.

With IE five go to File/Print and check the "Print table of links" box then OK. With IE six go to File/Print then select the "Options" tab youll get the "Print table of links" tab there.

Push the "Print" button and youll have a list with addresses.

You can export a list of Firefox bookmarks too: Go to Bookmarks/Manage Bookmarks then File/Export. Choose a location and name (again, I suggest the desktop) then Save. The only trick here for printing is that youll must open the HTML file with Internet Explorer and print using the process above.

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Print Several Files Together

You know the routine: you have several files to print, maybe even created in unique programs. What do you do? Open each one and print individually? Yeah, I did that too—its pretty time consuming. Then I learned this neat little trick...

Go to the folder where the files you want to print are located, or if the files are in unique folders, make a temporary folder on the desktop and copy the files to it.

Hold down the CTRL key and choose the files you want to print (or CTRL+A to select all). Right-click one of the highlighted files and choose "Print".

Each file will be opened in its right program and printed automatically.

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Print Double Sided

How do I print double sided?


The short answer: flip your paper over.


Now for a lengthy answer...


Load only one sheet of paper into your printer.


Pay attention to how the paper feeds through (which side did it print on to?)


After the first page prints you may get a message telling you that the paper tray is empty. Put the page back in the tray with the blank side of the page turned to where the next page will print onto it. You may must click a "resume printing" button to continue printing or it may start up when it senses that paper is in.


And heres a longer answer: print the odd number pages first, then the even number pages on the back. This requires a bit more skill but once learned is pretty easy.


From your Print interface select "Pages" and enter the odd pages separated through commas, for example... 1,3,5,7...


You also might have a drop down box in the lower left hand corner where you can select "Odd Pages".

After printing the first side, you may must change the order depending on how the paper feeds.


For the back side enter the even numbers into the "Pages" area (2,4,6,8...) or choose "Even pages" from the print drop down box.

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New Printer Installation

I want to install a new printer. Do I must remove my old one first?

Windows supports multiple printers, so you can install the new printer without removing the old one. If you really want to ax the old one, click the Start button, Settings, Printers . Your printer screen will open up. Right-click the printer you want eliminated and select Delete from the resulting menu.

If you have multiple printers installed and Windows isnt using the one you want as the default printer, fear not. Just right-click the one you want set as your default printer and select Set as Default from the resulting menu.

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3 Steps to Better Digital Prints

3 simple steps you can take to get better prints from your digital photos...


1. Watch the resolution - Remember that in order to get a quality print, youll must have the DPI to back it up. The "Dots Per Inch" - pixels if you will - are the stuff your photos are made of. If you do not have enough of em, you are not going to get a good print.


As a general guideline, attempt to keep your resolution between 200-300 DPI. More than 200-300 DPI doesnt hurt, but usually isnt going to improve the image much either (unless you observe your prints with a magnifying glass or something).


If your photo doesnt have the resolution to make the size print you want, consider a smaller print and some nice matting. Dont "force" your photo program to make the extra pixels you need - it just never works very well.


2. Use Good Paper - When printing photos, use a "photo" paper. Generally, the stuff the printer manufactures sell is really good. Its created to be used with the ink in your printer and will almost always give really good results.


If you do not want to fork over the large bucks for the paper from your printer manufacturer, there's some good alternatives out there. For instance, Ive had a bunch of luck with various papers from Kodak, as well as I have a friend whos had really good results with Office Depot photo paper (really). It usually takes a bit of experimentation to get the printer settings (paper, color, etc) just so, but once you have it, these alternative papers do look great.


Oh, as well as if you really wanna get fancy, Ive even seen some pricey "fine art" photo papers you may want to consider.


3. Printer Settings - This is the most important of the bunch. When you print a photo, be sure to hit the "Properties" button on your printer dialog box.

The first thing to check is for a "paper type" option. If youre stuffing photo paper into your printer and have plain paper selected. In order to get the best quality, always match your paper mode properly!


Next, check the color settings. Some printers give you a ton of options here, some none at all. In my experience, most of the time I just go with the defaults and Im pretty happy. If you think your photos could look better, through all means use this area to attempt and enhance em.

Heres how my screen looks - your mileage will almost certainly vary:

In conclusion, do not be afraid to experiment. Sure, youll go through some photo paper in the process, but discovering the best print settings will be worth it. Besides, once you get the ideal match between paper, resolution, as well as printer settings youll be able to repeat it all the time.  

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Printer Spooler Error in Windows XP

Printer is a peripheral device which produces a hard copy of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media like paper or transparencies. Printers can directly interface to electronic media like memory sticks or memory cards, or to image capture devices like digital cameras, scanners. Some printers are combined with a scanners and/or fax machines in a single unit, as well as can function as photocopiers. A lot of users have experienced printer spooler error in Microsoft Windows XP. Here we will know how to resolve the printer issues in Windows XP through following these steps:–

Symptoms:–

1. Spooler subsystem app has encountered a problem and needs to close.

2. When you click Start, as well as then click Printers and Faxes to attempt to watch your printers, no printers appear. This issue may occur even if you have a printer installed.

3. Operation could not be completed.

The Reason:–

Generally this type of issue occurs if a third-party printer driver or a third-party service thats installed, prevents you from adding printers, or if the third-party printer driver or the third-party service affects the functionality of a newly installed printer.

Troubleshooting Steps:–

Step 1:– Turn off Lexmark print service

If the Lexmark print service is installed on your computer, turn off the LexBce Server service. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, as well as then click Manage.

2. Expand Services and Applications, as well as then click Services.

3. In the specifics pane, right-click LexBce Server, as well as then click Properties.

4. On the General tab in the Startup type list, click Disabled.

5. Under Service status, click Stop, as well as then click OK.

6. Right-click the Print Spooler service, as well as then click Start (if it is stopped).

7. Exit Computer Management.

Step 2:–Start the computer in safe mode

Start the computer in safe type so which you can remove spool files. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer and start pressing the F8 key on your keyboard. On a computer thats configured to start multiple operating systems, you can press the F8 key when the Boot menu appears.

2. Select Safe Mode when the Windows Advanced Options menus appear, as well as then press ENTER.

3. If the Boot menu appears again and you are prompted to select the Microsoft operating method on the computer, use the arrow keys to select the operating system, as well as then press ENTER.

Step 3:– Now delete spool printer and driver files

In safe mode, delete the spool printer and driver files. To do this, start Microsoft Windows Explorer, as well as then delete all the files and the folders in the following two folders:–

1. C:WindowsSystem32SpoolPrinters

2. C:WindowsSystem32SpoolDriversw32x86

Step 4:– Remove registry entries for printer drivers

Remove the potentially problematic printer driver subkeys, which may be interfering with the printer you want to use. These may have been installed through third-party printer setup programs. Use the following steps to keep the printer driver and registry entries that came with Windows on your computer and remove all others that may be causing issues.

Step 5:– Third, remove registry entries for default print monitors

Remove the potentially problematic print monitor sub keys, which may be interfering with the printer you want to use. These may have been installed through third-party printer setup programs. Use the following steps to keep the print monitors and registry entries that came with Windows and remove all others that may be causing issues. If you have a printer attached to the computer, disconnect the printer cable from the computer, as well as then restart the computer.

Step 6:– Now verify that the print spooler service is running

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, as well as then click Manage.

2. Expand Services and Applications, as well as then click Services.

3. In the specifics pane, right-click the Print Spooler service, as well as then click Start (if it is stopped).

4. Exit Computer Management.

Step 7:– Finally, add a printer and print a test page

If you have a printer attached, reconnect the printer cable to the computer, install the printer through adding it to the computer through the Add Printer Wizard, as well as then attempt to print a test page. To install the printer you want, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, as well as then click Printers and Faxes.

2. Click Add a printer. The Add Printer Wizard starts.

3. Print a test page to make sure which you can print.

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