Contents for Options Help

Help Topics

Gray Scale Settings

Duplex Printing

Output Bin

Job Separation

Print TrueType Fonts As Graphics

Copyright © 1992 by Hewlett-Packard Company


Gray Scale Settings

Gray scale refers to a type of pattern that is applied to printed images.  Though HP LaserJet printers print only black, these patterns produce a "gray" appearance on the printed page.

The best way to choose a setting for your graphic image is to experiment.  Print a graphic image at each setting and choose the one you like best.

To help you decide which selection to choose, the three settings are described here:

Photographic Images

Choose this setting for printed images that you want to have smooth, realistic and photographic appearance.  The Photographic Images setting provides soft contrasts between various shades of gray.  This setting also works well for images originally designed with color.  The PCL 5 Printer Driver uses an 8 bit-by-8 bit "clustered dot" method to emulate 60 different levels of gray at this setting.

Line Art Images

Choose this setting for graphic images with intricate lines and fine detail, like "clip art" graphics.  The Line Art Images setting provides solid lines and sharp contrasts between shaded areas.  The PCL 5 Printer Driver uses 32 different 8 bit-by-8 bit "dispersed dot" patterns to produce gray tones.

HP ScanJet Images

Choose this setting if your graphic images were originally scanned in through an HP ScanJet.  The HP ScanJet Images setting is specially tuned to provide exceptional quality and clarity to printed images originally scanned with an HP ScanJet.  The PCL 5 Printer Driver uses a variation of the 8 bit-by-8 bit "clustered dot" method used in the Photographic Images setting.  This method also produces 60 different levels of gray.


Duplex Printing

Duplex (two-sided) printing is available standard with HP LaserJet IIID printers and as an option with HP LaserJet IIISi printers.

The default selection is "None" for single-sided printing. If you want to print in duplex mode, you should determine how your finished document will be bound:

"Long-edge" binding setup in portrait orientation is used for conventional layouts in book binding. Long-edge in landscape orientation is often used in accounting and spreadsheet applications because pages can be flipped through as on a clipboard.

"Short-edge" binding setup in portrait orientation is often used for calendar-like books.  Short-edge in landscape orientation is another variation of conventional book layouts.

NOTE:  If you have a LaserJet IIID printer and you select duplex, you must use the upper output tray (bin).


Binding refers to the process of joining a stack of printed sheets with stitches (staples), three-hole, glue or some other means.


Output Bin Selection

With the HP LaserJet IIISi printer, you can choose to have your printed pages output to either the upper (top) output bin or the lower (rear) output bin by making a selection in the Special Options dialog box.

Upper -- Choose upper, the default, when you want pages to exit the printer and stack face down in the upper output bin.  Pages sent to the upper bin are said to stack in "correct order," which means page two will follow page one.  If you select the upper tray you can use the Job Separation feature of the LaserJet IIISi printer.

Lower -- Choose lower if you want pages to exit the printer and stack face up in the lower output bin.  Pages sent to the lower bin stack in "reverse order," which means that the last page comes out on top.   In addition to the selection made in this window, remember to  physically prepare your printer by opening the door and extending the lower (rear) output bin.

Job Separation


Job Separation

The HP LaserJet IIISi printer has the ability to offset (shift position) every other print job that is sent to the upper output bin.  An "X" in the box indicates that Job Separation is ON.

If Job Separation is ON, every other print job sent to the upper output bin will be offset.  This makes it easy to determine where one job ends and the next begins.

If Job Separation is OFF, every print job will stack directly on top of the previous job.

NOTE: If you are printing from a network server, job separation is best administered at the network level; therefore the Job Separation selection should be OFF.

Output Bin


Printing TrueType Fonts As Graphics

If your printer supports printing TrueType fonts as graphics and your document contains a lot of graphics but not a lot of repeated TrueType text, it is recommended that you use this feature. If your document does not contain a lot of different TrueType fonts, printing them as graphics requires less printer memory and may speed up printing time.

This option is also useful if you want to print graphics over text such that only the exposed portion of a character is displayed.

To print TrueType fonts as graphics

1	In the printer setup dialog box, choose the Options button.

2	In the Options dialog box, select the Print TrueType As Graphics check box

3	Specify any other options you want.

4	Choose the OK button.