Using the Printer Driver

When you access the printer driver from a Windows application, any settings you make apply only to the application you are using. For more information, see Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications.

When you access the printer driver from the Start menu, the printer driver settings you make apply to all your applications. For more information, see Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu.

To check and change the printer driver settings, see Changing the printer driver settings.

While many Windows applications override the settings made with the printer driver, some do not. Therefore, you must verify that the printer driver settings match your requirements.

Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications

Follow these steps to access the printer driver from a Windows application.

Select Print Setup or Print from the File menu of your application. In the Print or Print Setup dialog box displayed, make sure that your printer is selected in the Name drop-down list.

Click Printer, Setup, Properties, or Options. (The button you click depends on your application and you may need to click a combination of these buttons.) The Document Properties dialog box appears. The Main, Paper, Layout, and Utility menus in the dialog box contain the printer driver settings.

To view a menu, click the corresponding tab at the top of the dialog box. To change the settings, see Changing the printer driver settings.

Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu

Follow these steps to access the printer driver from the Start menu.

The screen shots used in this procedure are from Windows XP. They may vary in appearance from what actually appears on your screen; however, the instructions are the same.

For Windows Vista:
Click Start, click Control Panel, click Hardware and Sound, and then click Printers.

For Windows XP Home Edition:
Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Printers and Faxes.

Right-click your printer icon, and then click Printing Preferences. The Printing Preferences dialog box appears. The Main, Paper, Layout, and Utility menus in the dialog box contain the printer driver settings.

If you click Printer properties (Windows 7) or Properties (Windows Vista, XP, or 2000) in the menu displayed by right-clicking the printer icon, the Properties dialog box appears. The menus in the dialog box are used to make the printer driver settings.

For Windows 7, do not click Properties even though both Properties and Printer properties are displayed in the menu.

To view a menu, click the corresponding tab at the top of the dialog box. To change the settings, see Printer Driver Settings Overview.

Changing the printer driver settings

Your printer driver has three menus (Main, Paper, and Layout) from which you can change the printer driver settings. You can also change settings on the Utility menu in the printer software. For an overview of the available settings, see Printer Driver Settings Overview. To view online help, click Help on the Printer Driver dialog box. For Windows XP or 2000, you can also view online help by right-clicking items in the driver and selecting Help.

When you finish making your printer driver settings, click OK to apply the settings, or click Cancel to cancel your changes.

Once you have checked your printer driver settings and changed them if necessary, you are ready to print.

Printing barcodes

Barcodes can be easily printed using barcode fonts loaded in the printer driver.

Before printing barcodes, specify the font name for the barcode, the font size, the font script of the printed data, the common settings, and the barcode settings with the printer driver, and then specify the font name, the font size, and the font script with your application. For more information about these settings, see the online help.

Specify the font size that is set with the Specified Point for the barcode. If other font sizes are specified, the barcode cannot be printed.