I need help with my printer settings

[AylmerQc]

Using Panther, Imac G5. Printing with an HP 932C.
How do I make printing preferences permanent. To print, I click File, Print, then the menu appears. I then need to change my settings, like remove 2 sided printing, put it on grey scale, draft, ect, then press OK to print. No matter how many times I do this it always goes back to default 2 sided printing or any other setting that I don' want. What's the solution?

[Dan Millar]

The answer is right in the print dialog - just beneath the printer selector is a "preset" button. This allows your mac to "memorize" the print options you want to use. That should solve your problem, but let me know if that doesn't solve your problem!

Dan

[AylmerQc]

Thanks
I didn't see a Preset button but there seemed to be a "Save" option in the listeings. I say seemed because now i don't see my printer any more. Have had a lot of trouble with my Imac since trying to install new software. Finally got it going this morning but my printer isn't available on the list of printers. I downloaded new drivers from HP but OS X can't find them. Any clue on what to do? I've gone into Preferences / Fax and Printers but no luck.

[sam]

My guess is that you will need to add your printer again. Open up Printer Setup Utility (Found in Applications - Utilities Folder).  Select it from the list, and click Add. Once that is done, you should be able to print and the configuration settings should be available.

Let us know what happens...


Sam

[Dan Millar]

After you get your printer installed...

Below you should see a snapshot of the print dialog - the one you see when you click Print in the File menu.



The second button from the top is marked Presets. It is a pop-up menu. When you click on it a list of options drops down for you to select from. Since you haven't made any Presets yet, none are listed, but a Save,Save as... appear as well as a Rename and Delete though they are not available yet either (grayed out) because, again, you have not yet Saved a Preset!

To make a preset, first go through all the options listed under the third button from the top. After you have adjusted the settings to the ones you prefer for your default setting - print quality, paper, colorsync, etc., go back to the Preset menu and choose Save or Save as... and you will see another dialog asking you to name your preset - Default, or MySettings or whatever you like.

Okay? Now when you pop the Presets menu you will see your preset in the list (just one choice now, but you can add more in the same fashion) for you to select. Now your preset menu will be preset to your favourite settings. Ta-da!

Hope this helps - as to your printing problems, stay tuned - I'll be back with an answer after I look at HP's latest printing software.

Dan

[AylmerQc]

Well, I thankful and impressed witht the help. What I'm finding out though is that my Imac doesn't seem to have any drivers for devices connected to it's USB ports except the mouse and keyboard. I tried the printer, a Kodak camera and a Midi keyboard, which all worked fine until a few days ago before I started messing around with the OS (tried installing Tiger from a copy bought on Ebay..). Anyhow, I re-installed the OS with the original Imac disks (10.3) and even re-copied everything from a firewire back-up HDD with Super Duper. Everything else works ok except these usb devices. They show up in the system profile. I've downloaded the hp drivers for the printer a couple of times. Normally it's plug and play ( or what ever the Mac equivalent is.)
Any ideas?

[Dan Millar]

I'm guessing you're a recent convert from the Dark Side (Windows). You are quite correct when you say Macs are "plug'n'play", most of the "drivers" are built-in. If you see the plugged-in devices in the System Profiler, then the devices are working, as well as the USB interface. Plugging in a new device usually does not require any "drivers" to be installed. Read on...

If your OS is installed and working properly, plugging in ANY camera should bring up a dialog asking you what you would like to do- Open iPhoto or Image Capture, or something of your choice, i.e. the Kodak Picture software. If, for some reason this does not work, then you must go to Kodak's website for updates, or wait 'til iPhoto is updated to include support for your cam. You can find a list of iPhoto supported cams at: http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/cameras.html. If your cam is on the list, then the problem lies elsewhere.

Adding a printer is usually just as simple - sometimes even simpler IF your OS is installed properly. For example, attaching my Epson 1280 does not require any intervention from me - it just auto-magically appears in my printer list. My Lexmark on the other hand did not just appear because OSX.3 did not have built-in drivers for it. I had to a) download the driver (actually, a PPD) b) install it. Then, my printer was auto-magically in my printer list. Some printers require one more step, i.e. they do NOT auto-magically appear. In those case you must use the ADD button in the Printer Setup Utility and select first the interface, then the printer model.

MIDI keyboard - what kind? Same advice as above, but the keyboard will appear in the Audi MIDI Setup utility.

I hate to suggest this, but a re-install sounds necessary. You say you've downloaded the drivers but nothing happens. Have you installed the downloaded software? Is your Tiger copy legit? I suggest you go with Tiger if possible OSX.3 is a bit dated for your iMac G5 and has a lot more built-in "drivers". One tip - ALWAYS add a second admin account to your setup so if anything goes south on you, you can always log in from the un-altered second account. Most of the modifications you make to your operating system actually only get written to your user Library, so your second safety account returns you to a "virginal" OSX to see if your problem is with the OS - or something you installed.

Bon Chance LaChance!

[AylmerQc]

Here's the latest. In the last 2 weeks I've messed up my Imac while making a back up of my HD with either the OS X disk back-up utility or Super Duper, not sure which AND a "Universal Tiger Installer" disk that came with the 10.4 discs that I bought on Ebay. The os 10.4 disks are OEM for an Ibook G4 and the installer disk is suppose to allow these to install on an Imac G5. So far I've gotten 2 installer disks from the seller and neither has worked. I had backed up my HD with a firewire drive but I lost everything somehow when Super Duper froze and I had to Force Quit it. Anyhow, I erased the hd drive and re-installed Panther (shades of MS Windows when it was a common occurence to do so).  The seller says she will send me OEM Tiger install disk for a G5. Guess she doesn't want a bad rating on Ebay.
Anyone know about these Universal Install programs? Couldn't find anything on Google that made any sense to me..
JML

[Dan Millar]

The retail version of Tiger, i.e. the one you buy seperately in its own box, is "Universal". Any others are model-specific and nothing will make them work when they are not installing on the machine they are targeted for. Boy, you are having a hard time for a Mac user - this sounds more like a Windows thread!

Dan

Where are you at now?

[AylmerQc]

Where am I at? I've sort of lost track. The seller has sent me a new universal disk which also didn't work, the a set of Imac G5 disks that also didn't work becasue they were probably not for a rev a Imac. Now I'm waiting for another Imac G5 Tiger set. If those don't work, I've been promised a refund. In the mean time I've lost all the data on my back up when Super Duper somehow crashed.I've re-installed Panther 2 -3 times.  On the printer side, I kept getting a message that the black ink cartridge was out of ink even after re-filling and the re-installing a new cartridge so i bought a new printer. I don't recommend buying software on Ebay. i did it on a whim and a bit of frustration with the way My Imac was acting up but it was penny wise pound foolish you might say.
Yes, it does bring back some Windows memories but not anywhere near the headaches because I don't have to install all those drivers and AV software. I may keep you posted when this gets sorted out but Leopard might be out by then..

[AylmerQc]

Latest update. Got the latest batch of disks. It included a new universal disk and 2 more Imac 10.4 disks. It works! The install went flawlessly. Nice to be using Tiger but when I upgrade to Leopard, it will have to be disks from a local dealer.
Thanks for all the help. Bought a Brother HL 2040 Laser printer so my printer problems are over as well...