Windows 10 Pro 2H22 and hp deskjet 3700 series - issues with printing

Okay so. I have a few guys in the field that use laptops and the portability of the hp Deskjet 3700 series is working well for them. The issue we have is that we found out on a few that the Deskjet is printing the Excel document smaller than desired. It adds extra space around the border and prints the entire page, (fit to one sheet) but it's small print. Here's what I've done so far:

• Printed from a couple of different Desktop computers on the same "portable" printer. I plug in the USB connector, and Win10 finds the printer and identifies it correctly (evidently installs a basic Windows/hp driver) and it prints perfectly.
• I have plugged the printer into 3 different laptops and tried it. They acted the same as the Desktops, identifying the correct printer, etc., but when I print the documents, they get stuck in the print queue. HP suggested that I use "HP Smart" to install the "proper driver". After installing the 'correct' printer driver using HP Smart, When I print, the document winds up being like 90% of the proper size... larger borders mean smaller fonts, and bordering on illegibility. The borders on the documents themselves are set to Custom at 0,0,0,0; and 'fit sheet on one page.' This layout works fine on most computers.

These documents are for printing tickets in the field for our customers, and we'd like them to look the same.

I have been chasing this issue now for 3 days, trying various things, updating Windows, resetting back to Windows 10, rebuilding users, etc.

So, I basically have laptops that when I use the Windows-supplied drivers, documents are stuck in the queue. (yes I've tried stopping the spooler, deleting the jobs, restarting the spooler, restarting the print job and it keeps getting stuck like the spooler doesn't know what to do next... says printing but remains in that state literally for as long as you wait.

When I use the hp-Smart app to install the "correct" drivers, it's almost like there are drivers "in series" that are adding default margins that add up to a large margin.

Next step for me is to download the 'HP Print and Scan Doctor' but having used it before, I don't hold much hope.

Any additional ideas would be welcome... maybe even how to bypass the print spooler and use the Windows-supplied driver by itself, without getting stuck in the queue

Very strange that your desktops print this without any problem, and all laptops have issues.

Do you have any particular settings turned on on laptops? Is this particular program used for printing? D you use pdf file?

Other ideas: check default printing paper: Letter vs A4. Sometimes hard to spot. You have to change both, preferred and available size. Guessing you are using letter size?

rkasparek said:

That's the thing not ALL laptops are doing this, just a select few.


I tried saving it to PDF and printing it and it was better. The issue is some of our field hands are not very literate and to add the extra step would be cumbersome. Typically the issue is printing multiple pages from a MS Excel Spreadsheet form, so building a fillable PDF would be difficult with all of the formulas taking place. Every setting I could find has been set to minimal margins.

The default letter size being used is "Letter" 8-1/2 X 11, and the "form" is set to ZERO margins.

(thanks for the feedback though!)

Think you found your problem. It's a setting in Excel, or the form you use.

Compare Excel (print) settings on desktops and those laptops that act strange.

Check the forms on laptops - do they have print area selected? Check under Page layout / Print area

If it's selected - clear it

rkasparek said:

I'll try that thanks... I'm resetting a laptop now.

Not the laptop.. the print area

And check again the page setup on printer settings. Doesn't matter what is selected in Excel.

rkasparek said:

Will do... my only available laptop is in the process of getting the OS reinstalled (reset)

- - - Updated - - -



I released the predefined print area and that got it nearly there... actually, according to the one who oversees our documents, "good enough" that it will work on the few that are having issues!!!

thank you, Andre!
You're my new best friend right now! LOL

You're welcome. Glad it worked

That print size area can be a pain.... Been there myself, otherwise wouldn't have thought about it.