[TriLUG] printing annoyances

[Mike Mueller]

Can anyone help me understand my printing problem?

The document in question is the NC-4 pdf found here: 
http://www.dor.state.nc.us/downloads/wh_foArms.html
(this is the "Web 11-01" revision of this document)

I have a Mandrake 8.1 and CUPS and an Epson 850 Color printer.

With Acrobat5 the document doesn't print. It seems to hang during the 
transmission to the printer.  Other files have no problem printing in 
Acrobat5 on this system.  When I print to file I get a 600KB+ .ps file.

I open the file with xpdf and print it, it creates a .ps file that is about 
50KB.  I use lp to print it and it does print but it's shifted down about 1" 
so that it takes 3 pages to print a 2 page document.  If I could somehow 
nudge the print area up the print would be acceptable.  I tried CUPS options
position=top and position=bottom with no effect.  I tried scaling=90 which 
helped a bit, but it's a cheesy solution I think since the print area is not 
centered nicely.

Then I tried printing the document from W98 with Acrobat3.  No problems - the 
printout looks like it should look.

Then I got an older version of the NC-4 (Rev. 1-00).  It printed with no 
problems from the Mandrake/Acrobat5 system.

So what is borked up here?  The document itself, Acrobat5, or my system?

While I was working on this problem I kept thinking about the NYTimes 
editorial about Linux that Paul Jones posted yesterday.  It's this type of 
problem that will delay Linux from gaining desktop share.  From that 
perspective I was motivated to solve this problem rather than accept printing 
from W98 as a solution.
-- 
mueller, mike

The larger purpose of the economic order, including Wall Street, is to 
support the material conditions for human existence, not to undermine and 
destabilize them.

-Editorial, The Nation, August 19, 2002