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PRINT ISSUES
Many who try to view, download, or print PDFs from anywhere online will occasionally encounter some unusual problems such as black boxes, missing text, or funny images. Issues often arise when your device’s PDF viewer does not interpret the document and data properly or your printer drivers are not updated (or there is a miscommunication between a new printer/drivers and your PDF viewer). This can happen with some PDFs and not others, and it can be dependent on how your PDF viewer and printer drivers are reading the data together. Because there are so many variables, it’s hard to pin down one solution.
Not to worry, though! There is a very quick fix: ADOBE ACROBAT READER
This is the free program you need to be using if you encountered any issues viewing or printing your product, (there’s a free Adobe Acrobat Reader online and in the app stores).
If printing, switching to this program and clicking “print as image” in the advanced settings will eliminate 99% of customer printing or viewing issues. This program has a creative little way of circumventing any other issues and forcing your printer to print what is on the screen.
THAT’S IT!
*IMPORTANT* Make sure after you download Adobe that you are actually opening the document within that program. Since it is not yet your default PDF viewer, you can to control-click/right-click (or hard press) the file name, and then click “open with Adobe.”
**Some customers also prefer to use their specific printer’s app instead of Adobe (which can also force your printer to comply in certain situations). This is a good backup solution, but only if your printer drivers are fully up to date (side note: “new printer” does not equal “updated printer drivers”).
ASKING FOR A PASSWORD?
If your device asks for a password to print or to open, this also is a malfunction of your PDF reader. Switching to Adobe will allow the document to be read correctly and will open/print for you. There is no password required to open our PDFs.
“I CAN’T DOWNLOAD”
Ever had a file not download or try to download then say, “Cannot open file”? This issue is usually caused when your internet has a momentary drop in internet connection during your initial download. Your device has a hard time “re-writing” the data when you go to re-download. Then, it doesn’t want to open for you at all. The solution is simple. Delete all traces of the original file that tried to download, and then re-download. You should be good after that!
PRINTER KEEPS PAUSING OR WON’T PRINT?
- Usually this is an internet issue. Our files are larger files in order to provide our customers with the highest quality graphics that our families love. Sometimes smaller files will print fine through a wifi printer, but the connection drops for larger files. This results in a blank page or nothing but a single line printed. This is especially a common problem in rural areas but can happen on any internet connection. In order to eliminate the “wifi” issue, simply plug your printer directly into your device and print.
- If you would prefer not to plug directly in, customers have great success by printing “X amount of pages at a time.” For instance, they will first print pages 1-30, then print pages 31-60. This sends less data to the printer over wifi and allows your wifi not to drop during the processing. Each wifi setup will require a different limit. It depends on what your particular wifi speeds are and where you live.
FINALLY: Please remember if you print through another company, we cannot provide support for them. Our recommendation is to ask them to print your finished product exactly as it appears on the PDF. We have no control over the PDF readers they use or if they update their printer drivers and cannot troubleshoot on their behalf*