Troubleshoot

No Output | Bad Output | Bad Color | No Custom Page Options

Consult this section to solve any printing problems you are having, whether they be from your computer or any of the public cluster computers. Should the problem not find solution in these pages, contact cron.

No Output

  • Only Banner Page Prints
    • Symptom: Banner page prints and nothing else. No errors reported on computer nor printer
    • Solution: Before releasing job from cronQ, refresh page several times to ensure file size displayed remains constant. (This signifies the entire file has uploaded for printing and is ready for release)
  • Macintosh: 'Error while printing' Message as Soon as Print is Clicked
    • Symptom: As soon as one clicks Print in the print dialog box, the following error appears: 'Print: error while printing'
    • Solution: Do not print more than 5 copies. Macintoshes enforce the '5 Copy' print policy to which you have agreed
  • Macintosh: PDFs Do Not Print (Properly) From Within Web Browser
    • Symptom: When clicking on a link to PDF, the PDF opens within the web browser window. Selecting print from browser menu does not result in (proper) print
    • Solution: Move mouse cursor to lower middle of browser window. Click on Preview icon which appears. This opens the PDF in Preview. Print from Preview
  • All or Some PDF Pages Do Not Print
    • Symptom: PDFs or pages from PDFs do not print
    • Solution: Print PDF as 'image'
      1. Open PDF with Adobe Acrobat Professional
      2. Click Advanced button in Print Dialog Box
      3. Select 'Print as image 200 dpi' in resulting window
      4. Send job to print
  • PDFs Crash Printer with 'Error' Displayed on Printer Console
    • Symptom: Printer stops all printing and hangs, when attempting to print a particular PDF
    • Solution: clear queue, restart printer, print PDF as 'image'
      1. Remove the offending PDF from print queue: cronq.mit.edu
      2. Turn off printer, wait 30 seconds
      3. Turn on printer
      4. Print PDF as 'image' (see above tip for instructions)
  • Plotter blinks 'Receiving...' Then Stops and Nothing Prints 
    • Symptom: You prepare a file for plotting as per instructions, submit it, but nothing comes out
    • Solution: PC/Macintosh: save the file you wish to print as a TIFF 200dpi. Print TIFF from Preview (Macintosh) or XnView (Windows)

Bad Output

  • Fraction of Page is Plotted
    • Symptom: Only a portion of image is plotted
    • Solution: You have specified in invalid page size. WIDTH--as it appears in print dialog boxes--can be a maximum of 36". For example, if you wish to plot on a sheet 36" x 96" you need set WIDTH to 36" and HEIGHT to 96"
  • All or Some PDF Pages do not Print or Some Layers of Document Missing
    • Symptom: PDFs or pages from PDFs do not print, or certain elements on page do not print
    • Solution: Print PDF as 'image'
      1. Be sure to generate the PDF by disabling all options ('Leave editable' , Preserve Layers', should all be OFF etc.)
      2. Open PDF with Adobe Acrobat Professional
      3. Click Advanced button in Print Dialog Box
      4. Select 'Print as image 200 dpi' in resulting window
      5. Send job to print
  • Runaway Print Job (Printer is spewing out pages and pages of useless junk) 
    • Symptom: Printer is printing pages with garbage
    • Solution:
      1. Press the button atop printer so display reads 'Offline' <...insert...>
      2. Wait for printer to spew out last pages in memory (typically 10 or so pages)
      3. Delete it form the queue by visiting this web page: cronq.mit.edu
      4. Press the button atop printer so display reads 'Online' <...insert...>
  • Windows: Page Cropped, Image a Fraction Intended Size, Incorrect Rotation
    • Symptom: Plots display incorrect scaling, positioning and page orientation.
    • Solution:
      1. When plotting from any Windows program, always use the Page Setup or Print Setup to define the page size.
      2. When using Acrobat, never 'Choose paper source by PDF size'
      3. Never set the page WIDTH greater than 36"
      4. Always make sure any previews look correct
      5. Never plot multi-page documents
      6. If plotting from Windows Adobe Illustrator or Windows InDesign, see note below
  • Windows: Adobe Illustrator or InDesign: Page Cropped, Incorrect Rotation
    • Symptom: Page is cropped or oriented incorrectly.
    • Solution:
      1. In the print dialog box, find the Media box and select 'Defined by Driver' option to define page size and orientation. At the bottom of click 'Setup...'
      2. A warning will come up, asking you if you know what you are doing, click Continue
      3. Select the printer and then set its Preferences
      4. Return to the print dialog, and verify the preview is correct
      5. Uncheck Auto-Rotate and select your orientation for good measure
  • Windows: Printing a PDF Double-sided, But it Comes out Single-sided
    • Symptom: Duplex printing fails, despite setting
    • Solution: Un-check 'Choose Paper Source by PDF page size' on the Acrobat print dialog box. This particularly affects PDFs of scanned documents (such as readers)
  • Windows: Acrobat and Tabloid Size
    • If your page is a predefined type such as tabloid (11x17) but the printer is asking for a legal, A4 or some other size, then try this:
      1. In the Print dialog box, select 'Page Setup...'
      2. In Page Setup tab, select Tabloid or 11x17
      3. Back in the Print dialog, make sure the preview looks correct and Choose paper source by PDF page size is OFF
  • Windows: Plotting images directly
    • Do not use the default image viewer (such as the Windows Photo Viewer) for plotting jpegs, pngs and other image files
    • For prints/plots larger than tabloid size (11x17) use Photoshop or XnView
    • Note: page width is never more than 36" and choose your orientation accordingly
    • Do not print images over 300 dpi

Bad Color

Color calibration across computer screens, scanners and printers is extremely difficult. Only professional print shops enjoy the moderate success which comes with great expense. As we are not a professional print shop, we try our best with color and leave it at that. That said, if color is seriously off on any of the printers (suggesting a malfunction), contact cron.

  • Macintosh: Blacks Appear Gray on M09-556
    • Symptom: Black text is not crisp, appears gray
    • Solution:
      1. Select 'Print...'
      2. In the print dialog box, select Color Matching
      3. Set to 'In printer'
  • Windows: Brown/Sepia Grays when printing from Adobe
    • Symptom: Sepia/brownish casts when printing from any Adobe application
    • Solution:
      1. Select 'Print...'
      2. In the print dialog box, select Color Management or Advanced
      3. Set Color Handling to 'Let Postscript printer determine colors'
  • Image Problem (Pages streaked, faint, etc) 
    • Symptom: Printer is printing pages with little toner, etc
    • Solution:
      1. Press the button atop printer so display reads 'Offline' <...insert...>
      2. Wait for printer to spew out last pages in memory (typically 10 or so pages)
      3. email cron immediately

No Custom Page Options

  • Windows: Acrobat and Custom Page Sizes
    1. Select the plotter and its Properties
    2. In Paper/Quality tab, select 'Custom...'
    3. Type in a page size and Save. Note: width is never more than 36"
    4. Now select the custom size that was just saved
    5. The custom size now also shows up in Page Setup
    6. In Advanced, don't forget other options such as 200 dpi Print As Image and Printer Color Management
  • Windows: Custom Page Size for Plotter
    1. Select the plotter then Properties
    2. Select the Advanced tab, then Paper Size, then select Postscript Custom Page Size from list of sizes
    3. Next Edit Custom Page SizE
    4. Enter your dimensions in Width and Height. Remember Width is never more than 36"

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