Printing issues to HP Color Laserjet 45501

[Louise Nel]

I am about to pull my hair out!

Working in OSX. Extended, Adobe InDesign 2.0.1, printing mainly to my Laserjet (no litho reproduction), and my problem is the following:

I set up a InDesign print file with CMYK as the profile.
Insert my pictures either all eps' or all tiffs in CMYK.
Insert the corresponding text.
Choose the printer to be used (HP Colour Laserjet 45501) and the page I need printed.
Then the fun begins.......
It either prints when it feels like it or I get a error message - 49.4C02 Service Error.

This error reading means that there is a problem with the data transfer.

I have rebuilt the file from scratch, redone the pictures in various formats (colour profile etc), tried different settings etc. etc. etc. to no avail. I have also checked links, deleted one pic or all and tried to print, restart, re-installed the software, checked my settings on the machine and still no joy. What is really strange is that the file when rebuilt from scratch and not saved, remains a untitled unsaved file, prints until such time as I save it.

Now I have other files set up in InDesign and most of them print without a problem (there is another that does the same thing, printing one day and not). These files also contain digital pictures that I have taken myself and worked in Photoshop 7.0. This particular file was printing before I went on leave ten days ago and now it absolutely refuses to print.

Another thing, whether the file is saved to my hard drive or my external hard drive it perfoems in exactly the same way.

I am usually a Quark user and was assured by representatvives at the IPEX 2002 that this program was as good if not better. Going on this information I suggested to my boss that he purchase it. Well as you can well imagine I have egg in the face........ The Apple Support, Adobe support and HP Support cannot help me with this problem. Is there anyone out there that could assist me????????? I am sure it is a very small issue but am unable to find it. Oh and I have been using Adobe software and a Mac for the last ten years, this is the first time I have come accross a problem like this.

HELP!!!!

[Wade Zimmerman]

Well it is not the first time in ten years that you've come across a problem like this as we all know especially if you have been using Quark or anyother software for that matter.

However, one thing I would try is to make a new blank document
and cut and paste the elements from the old to the new. Then I would save that but, like it or not, with a different name.

I would also see if you are sending this as binary or asci regardless of which it is I would try the other.

I would if working in OS X remove the printer from the printer list and then add it right back. I would also trash the ID preferences.

I would also update the printer's drivers amking sure you have the latest.

There is always the possibility that you have a corrupt font in use in both of these two files.

[Louise Nel]

Thank you for the advise Wade, although I have tried the options you have suggested already and they have not solved my problem.

If you think of anything else I would really appreciate any feed back.

[Louise Nel]

[Henk Zeelenberg]

I have seen quite a few cases where this error was solved by:
-checking with HP whether there is a firmware upgrade for the device and installing this;
-checking the amount of memory on the device and upgrading its memory;
-sometimes the image formats used in the document can be a factor, so other formats might be a workaround;
-did you try different settings in the print dialogue box, in terms of graphics and fonts downloading, considering this can be memory-related?
If still on 2.0.1, certainly get 2.0.2.

[Evan Perry]

Louise, I'm having the exact same issue on my HP4550 with ID 2.0.2 and Os X 10.2.5. I've tried everything from firmware on the printer to installing printers on my Os X using both IP printing and Dave printing. Same results... same error...

I got our IT department involved (even though I'm the Mac island in a sea of Intel machines) and they are stumped too.

I tried printing this to three different HP 4550 printer that are in my building, they all have updated firmware (20010102 01.011.0)
they all had errors the exact same way.

I regularly print to a Fiery rip with a Xerox 2060 Docutech attached and never get errors. The only time I have issues with the HP 4550 is when I print from ID. I usually export a quick PDF then print from it. At least ID has the fabulous PDF export option that is much less painful than Qxd...

Good luck and if I come up with a solution I'll post it.

Evan

[Louise Nel]

Evan you have given me hope! At least I now know that I am not the only person experiencing this problem. I must add that I have tried all the advise posted on this page. Thanks Henk, sorry it didn't solve my problem :-(

I will continue to try and solve the problem and if I come up with anything I will post it immediately.

Thank you once again for trying to help, much appreciated.

Oh Henk, do you know of any Adobe people I can contact to perhaps come out to me...... I work in Guetersloh Germany?

[Henk Zeelenberg]

Hi Louise

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of anyone doing on-site visits, somthing I doubt would make a difference in this instance. Sorry to hear the error still happens, although I'm still not quite sure what exactly you've tried (you're on 64 Mb Ram and what firmware version?)

In terms of the documents affected, does it happen to all documents (even an empty test doc with no fonts/images)? If not, what kind of graphics are involved (what colour modes and formats, resolution, what program last saved the files, and does it print without sending the graphics)?

There certainly have been problems with the postscript interpreter in this range of HP printers (not only from InDesign) and the way postscript is being sent to it.

Although there doesn't seem to be a downloadable version, I have seen confirmed reports of customers receiving firmware upgrades from people within HP support that improves the postscript interpreter on these models (the version Evan quotes isn't the latest version I've seen, and it might make a difference depending on 4550/4550n etc). I don't know what your experience with HP support has been, but I suggest you check and doublecheck so you receive this upgrade too.

H

[Louise Nel]

Hi Henk

Thanks for the info..... under a bit of pressure today, tomorrow's a public holiday so I will post you the information on Friday 02.05.03.

The HP support people have been very helpful. I had them on the phone and number of times during the course of four weeks. They even went as far as purchasing OSX for their machines so they could help me ;-). To no avail. I think that covers the checking and double checking part :-)

We have tried the printer with extra RAM and to be honest with you I am not quiet sure what version firmware I have. I have tried a number of times to find recent versions, hense my call to HP and couldn't. Perhaps you have a link for me????

uuuuhm a thought on the blank page experiment... I have other docs in ID that are okay. They duplicate well and print every time.
The fonts: are all the same (keeping to the corporate identity).
The logos: Adobe Illustrator 10, CMYK, RGB eps' or tiffs from a communal logo folder.
Pics: Adobe Photoshop 7.0, CMYK,(Adobe RGB 1998)

The pics in the files not printing:
Exactly the same fonts, logos and pics created in the same method?
They have been set up exactly they same way as the files that print. (I am not a great believer in tossing away a working recipe, when I have the right colours printing out on my printer ;-) The reason being that I print only to my HP printer and do not have the opportunity to go to Litho as we are a very small company.

Have been able to print these crazy files without the graphics, just text.

One of the crazy files even works when I delete one specific pic and then print and then replace and then print again (on the second page).
This file also at times opens and prints without me having to go through this process. Other times the first page which normally prints with no problems refuses to print.
I have reconstructed the file from scratch, saved under a new name and done the pics from scratch and saved into a new pics folder. The problem does not go away.

I must admit this file has a quiet a few pics in it. The other file that does not print also has a few. It has two pages and page one (1) refuses to print unless I do what I explained in the first posting I made. The second (2) page in the same file prints no problem every time. Wierd. The pics have been done in the same way and the fonts are the same.

The pics haven't got complicated filters and effects, just plain photographs, unsharp masking and tonal adjustments. (Print perfectly from Photoshop).

I have not had any problems printing to the printer from my other programs.... so far.

Lastly I got a file my boss converted from Page Maker to InDesign that wasn't printing to print. This was in December last year. I opened it again the other day to print it and it wouldn't....????? I had saved it before closing it, so surely everything, setting etc would have been saved for it to print the next time I needed it to??

What am I doing wrong??????

I hope I have been able to explain myself well enough, if not let me know okay. Is this enough to go on?

Thanks again for your time Henk.

[Evan Perry]

Thanks Henk, my IT oerson said he installed the firmware update... he just doesn't like me cause I work on a Mac... 1 of 5 in a company of over 1200 PC's yikes. I supposrt myself and the other Mac users... of course there is usually very little tech support needed for Mac.

I will get the latest firmware and install it.

Louise, I know this isn't the most efficient method, but, you can always rip a PDF in print or press quality and print it from Acrobat. Thats what I've been doing for a year.

Evan

[Henk Zeelenberg]

The fact that HP support went out and bought OS X might be helpful, but makes you wonder about their printing support on OS X. After all, they supply drivers for the platform but their support don't actually have the supported platform to test;-)?

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. The fact that the same file on the same machine sometimes prints and sometimes doesn't in my experience sounds like a printer communication/interpretation issue. Sounds like the printer's acting up, having to deal with certain image information under certain circumstances. Evan's suggestion of pdf is always a useful workaround.

Unfortunately, I have no download links for firmware updates - some of them are direct downloads at the HP site, but some, including those for older models, have apparently only been available directly through HP support. And even so, not everyone has apparently been given these upgrades - it seems to depend who and where you speak to. I would be interested though to hear what versions you manage to get hold of, and of course particularly which version made a difference or any other information or solution you find...

[susan weber]

I've been trying to solve the same problem since I got InDesign. In my case, I can print a full page graphic without a problem. But when I scale the same graphic down enough to fit two on a page, I get error message 49.4C02 Service Error on my HP 4550 when trying to print it. There is some text on the graphic design, but the only difference is the scale.

I got a response from HP about the error message and I did all the things they suggested, which were reseating the RAM and I replaced all the cables but this didn't solve anything.

Now I'm going to try adding more memory to my printer. I'll let you know if it helps. I'm interested to find out if there is a solution to this problem.

[john mccauley]

I also get this error on our 4550. There are a few threads about this error on the HP forums at their site. The best the HP forums can figure is there is a bug in the motherboard of the printer. It's not fixed with firmware updates. If you can get through to them get them to search their own forums for that error code.

go to <http://bizforums.itrc.hp.com/cm/Home/1,,2,00.html> and enter that error code in the search. You may have to register to get a search on all the forums.

Try printing via a PDF. That's what works here and for others with this error.

[john mccauley]

Just for kicks I called HP today and the tech did indeed know about this issue with ID. They said the problem might be fixed with the latest ROM DIMM version. We have 1.009 and the latest is 1.027. The DIMM is available from HP service. Check your configuration page for your version.

[Alon]

I'd been using InDesign 2.XX for quite some time and printing to an HP 4100N with NO PROBLEMS. It wasn't until I purchased a new desktop with OSX on it that I started experiencing some of the hell you've been describing.

It's been widely discussed on these boards, that there is a severe incompatibility between InDesign, Jaguar, and various HP kaser printers.

I've had experiences where a page won't print, but if I try it 3-4 times, suddenly it will. Or a page will print, but the next time I tell it to print another copy -- it won't.

I have found that creating PDFs of difficult pages is the best solution for now (until they get a better printer driver written).

[john mccauley]

Folow up to this. The number for HP that I got from the HP forums is 208-323-2551. Apparently this is an out of date number but still rings into a HP voice menu system. What's nice is it bypasses the gatekeepers and eventually gets you directly to a technician whether or not you're under warranty. They're now shipping the 1.027 ROM to me.

BTW I duplicated theis 49 error on a PC copy of ID.

[Henk Zeelenberg]

Thanks for the updates John.

[Alon]

John,

Thanks to your post, I contacted HP. They sent me an updated ROM containing the most current firmware.

It resolved a LONGSTANDING problem I had since moving onto Jaguar. I was able to print a page that I had NEVER been able to print previously.

[Henk Zeelenberg]

And thanks for the confirmation Alon.

[Louise Nel]

I have been in contact with HP. Unfortunately they do not have a solution to my printing problem at the moment. They did how ever send me a very interesting article on another problem I have come across since moving to OSX which can be found on the HP site. It reads as follows:

HP Color LaserJet Printers - Mac OS X v 10.2: Whites Print with a Yellow Cast (from TextEdit and Filemaker Pro)

"ISSUE:
When printing from Mac OS X v 10.2, documents might print with a yellowish color where there should be white.

SOLUTION:
This issue is under HP investigation. It might be addressed in future versions of firmware for affected printers. HP is also working on a possible software solution.

CAUSE:
With the introduction of Mac OS X v 10.2, Apple has changed the way colors are called out colors when printing to PostScript printers. Because of this change, HP Color LaserJet printers will clip the white point of a printed page up until it prints a yellowish hue."

Me: This printing issue is obviously a communication problem between computer and printer in the HP45 series. Hopefully this will be addressed by all the parties concerned in the very near future (and come free of charge ;-)

Until then wierd files will be converted to pdf and printed that way! Will post any new information I come across.

Thanks to all of you who have been very helpful.

Louise

[Louise Nel]

[Bill Reinersmann]

HP postscript drivers are notorious for issues when printing complex graphics. I know this isn't a great suggestion, but get printers that use Authentic PostScript(Xerox, Lexmark, etc.)not emulated Postscript. If HP is too cheap to pay the Postscript royalties, then let's make them pay by buying the competition... and your headaches will be reduced too!

[Gretchen Bieber]

Please try this! I was having the same problem but with Magicolor 2200 and tried a zillion things like you did. Couldn't even print PDF. Was going to throw the printer out the window if I could lift it. I made a new .indd and typed in the name of EVERY font I used in my original and highlighted each and changed to it to the font itself. I tried printing this list and it failed (caused printer to reboot each time). I then printed only one of these fonts at a time until the problem reoccured. Found the culprit to be Arial Narrow Bold (can't believe I let myself use Arial anyway!!) Good luck!