HP J870 MS Windows Printing

MS Windows Printing

The HP DeskJet 870C series printer drivers are compatible with MS
Windows 3.x and MS Windows 95.

Note

Access to the printer driver to change specific settings is available from
within each software application program. Changing settings within the
software application is recommended since settings made in this way can
override settings made in the Printers control panel.

Steps to access the printer driver vary depending upon the software
application. Generally, the printer driver is accessed from the “File, Print”
or ” File, Print Setup” in the software program.

You can also access the printer driver through MS Windows’ Printers
control panel to change default settings. The Printers control panel allows
you to:

Only a printer driver containing the designation “870C”
should be used with HP DeskJet 870C series printers. Other
HP DeskJet or DeskWriter printer drivers should not be used.

Select the default printer from the list of available printer drivers.
Add printer drivers.
Remove unneeded printer drivers.
Set various printer options (which may be superseded by the

printer settings selected in the software application program).
Confirm the port which the printer is using.

Although the Printers control panel provides access to various printer
settings, like paper type and page orientation, these settings are
overridden by settings made from within an application. The Printers
control panel settings are used when an application does not specify
certain defaults.

Note

Drivers are available for DOS printing, and DOS printing can
be accommodated through MS Windows (see “DOS Printer
Drivers” which follows.)

To open the Printers Control Panel in MS Windows 3.x:

1. Double-click Main in the Program Manager.

2. Double-click Control Panel.

3. Double-click Printers.

The default printer is listed in the text box at the top of the dialog box. To
select a different default printer, double-click a printer from the list of
installed printers.

To Open the HP Printer Properties Dialog Box in MS Windows
95:

1. From the Start button on the task bar, select Settings.

2. Select Printers.

3. Double-click the HP DeskJet 870C Series Printer icon as shown:

4. Select Printer from the HP DeskJet 870C Series Printer dialog box:

5. Selecting Properties reveals the control panel shown below.

Printer Properties Dialog Box (MS Windows 95)

Because you can connect your printer to any LPT: (parallel) port, it is
important to make sure the proper port is selected. The steps below
describe how to select or change a printer port from the control panels, MS
Windows 3.x or MS Windows 95 Printers control panel.

To select a port:

1. Open the Printers control panel.

2. Click Connect and select the port from the list.

The default printer’s name is followed by the port to which it is connected.

To Select a Printer Port in MS Windows 95:

1. From the Start button on the task bar, select Settings.

2. Select Printers and double-click the HP DeskJet 870C Series
printer.

3. Select Printer

4. Select Properties

5. Select Details

6. From the list under Print to the Following Port: select the
appropriate printer port.

MS Windows Printer Software

The HP DeskJet 870C printer software for MS Windows
includes:

HP DeskJet 870C series printer driver
HP DeskJet 870C Toolbox

How do I? (on-screen procedures to help user’s use and
maintain their printers)

Troubleshooting

Printer Services (Maintenance and Status)
TrueType Fonts
Release Notes

The HP DeskJet 870C Toolbox allows you to:

View step-by-step tutorials for common printer tasks
Diagnose and solve common printer problems
Monitor a current print job
Monitor the printer’s status at any time
Align the print cartridges (through Properties/Services)
Clean the print cartridges (through Properties/Services)
Print a self-test page (through Properties/General and Services)
Test printer communication (through Properties/Services)

Installing the Printer Driver

The minimum system requirements to run the HP Printing System for MS
Windows are:

MS Windows 3.x
An 80386 processor
2 MB of RAM to print in black or 4 MB of RAM to print in color
10 MB free hard disk space

Before you install the printer software:

1. Unpack the printer and set it up with the procedures described in
the “User’s Guide” and “Setup” Documentation.

2. Make sure the computer and the printer are both turned on and
connected with the proper cable.

3. Close any screen savers or other software running in the
background on your computer.

Installing the HP Printing System for MS Windows 3.x

1. Insert Installation Disk 1 into the computer’s disk drive.

2. Click File in the menu bar of the Program Manager window.

3. Choose Run in the File menu to open the Run dialog box.

4. Type A:\SETUP or B:\SETUP (depending on the computer’s
configuration) in the text box and click OK.

5. Follow the on-screen instructions during the installation process
and provide appropriate computer system information.

6. Restart MS Windows to activate the HP DeskJet 870C printer
driver.

Installing the printer software in MS Windows 95:

1. Insert Installation Disk 1 into your computer’s disk drive.

2. From the Start button on the task bar, select Settings.

3. Select Printers.

4. When the Printers dialog box opens, double-click on the Add
Printer icon.

5. Follow the instructions when the Add Printer Wizard opens.

Aligning the Print Cartridges

After installing the software, the print cartridges need to be aligned before
beginning any print jobs. You will also need to perform this procedure
whenever you install a new print cartridge.

Note

To align the print cartridges:

Double click the Desktop icon (MS Windows 95 version shown above)
and proceed from step 6 below, or:

1. Select Start from the task bar

2. Select Programs

3. Select HP DeskJet Utilities

4. Select HP DeskJet 870C Toolbox

5. Double-click the HP DeskJet 870C Toolbox icon

You may skip the next procedure if you have already
performed the print cartridge alignment as part of the
installation routine.

6. Select Printer Services

7. Select Align the Print Cartridges and follow the instructions.

About the Printer Driver

HP DeskJet 870C series printer drivers provide access to all the
capabilities of the HP DeskJet 870C printer. The following options are
available from the printer driver:

Automatic or Manual printing
Color or Grayscale printing
Best, Normal, or EconoFast print quality
Paper Type (including HP’s special papers)
Paper Size
Two-sided printing
Number of Copies
Ordered printing
Print iron-on transfers or flip a document
Portrait or Landscape print orientation
Connect printer to a network

For detailed help, click the Help button in the HP DeskJet print settings
dialog box.

Using the Printer Driver

Accessing HP’s print settings dialog box from MS Windows 3.x
or MS Windows 95 applications (recommended):

1. Choose “File, Print” or “File, Print Setup.” This varies with the
software program you are using. (For example: MS Word uses “File,
Print, Printer, Options”, and FrameMaker uses “File, Print Setup,
Options” to access the menu )

2. Click the Setup button.

Accessing HP’s print settings dialog box from the MS Windows
control panel:

From MS Windows 3.x:

1. Double-click Main in the Program Manager window.

2. Double-click Control Panel.

3. Double-click Printers.

4. Select the HP DeskJet 870C printer in the Installed Printers list and
click the Setup button.

From MS Windows 95:

1. From Start, select Settings.

2. Select Printers.

3. Double-click the HP DeskJet 870C Series Printer icon to reveal
the dialog box shown below.

MS Windows Printer Status Dialog Box

4. Select Printer, then select Properties to reveal the HP DeskJet 870C

Printer Properties dialog box.

The dialog box has five tabs; General, Details, Setup, Paper, and Services
which are described below. The General and Details tabs are provided by
MS Windows, the Setup, Paper and Services tabs are provided by the HP
DeskJet 870C series printer driver.

General Property Page (MS Windows)

General Property Page Options (MS Windows)

Option Description

Comment Allows you to include special printing instructions, etc. Next time you

print the document, these instructions will be found in this box.

Separator page Allows you to insert a separator page file between print jobs. Browse

allows you to locate and specify the separator page to be printed.
Print Test Page Prints a test page.
OK Accepts changes.
Cancel Cancel changes.
Apply Applies the current settings.

Details Property Page (MS Windows)

Details Property Page Options (MS Windows)

Option Description

Print to the
following port:

Print using the
following driver:

Capture Printer Port
and End Capture

Time-out Settings Not Selected: sets the time Windows waits before sending an error

Spool Settings... Allows you to spool documents or print directly to the printer. Also allows

Port Settings... Allows spooling of MS-DOS print jobs. You may also elect to have the

OK Accepts changes.
Cancel Cancel changes.
Apply Applies the current settings.

Provides options to add or delete printer ports. This selection also

allows you to print to fax or file.

Allows you to change printer drivers or install updated ones. (To install

an updated driver, for example, click the New Driver button, then click

Have Disk and follow the directions presented there.)

Permits you to capture, or terminate the capture of, a network printer. A

selection allows you to reconnect to a network printer each time at logon.

message that your printer is off or off line after you send a print job.

Transmission Retry: sets the time Windows waits for your printer if your

printer is on line but engaged. (If your printer is setup on a busy network,

and/or if you send large graphics files, your printer might display an error

message before your files have had a chance to print. To prevent this,

increase this setting somewhat.)

you to disable bi-directional support.

driver check the port state before printing.

Setup Property Page

Setup Property Page Options

Option Description

ColorSmart (see
ColorSmart:
Automatic vs.
Manual Printing
below)

Print In Grayscale
(see Grayscale
Printing which
follows)

Print Quality Best (presentation quality), Normal (letter quality), or EconoFast (draft

ICM (Independent
Color Matching)

Default Saves the current settings as the default settings for the printer.
Help Opens the on-line help.
OK Accepts changes.
Cancel Cancel changes.
Apply Applies the settings only to document to be printed. Does not change the

Permits selection of Automatic or Manual screen-to-printer color

mapping. Automatic (recommended) selects the best Halftoning,

Intensity and Color Control settings for all areas of your document.

Selecting Manual permits opening the Options dialog box which provides

adjustments for Intensity and Halftoning, and allows selection of two

types of Color Control.

Prints different colors as shades of gray. Has both Automatic

(recommended) and Manual modes. Selecting Manual permits opening

the Options dialog box which provides adjustments for Intensity and

Halftoning. The Grayscale mode may be used to produce photocopying

documents or to save the color cartridge when printing draft copies.

quality).

Improves consistency between the printer and other color devices

connected to your system.

default settings.

ColorSmart: Automatic vs. Manual Printing

In most cases the best print output is obtained by choosing Automatic
ColorSmart printing. In automatic mode, the printer driver analyzes each
element in a document to provide the best color output.

If the color output obtained using the Automatic ColorSmart option is not
satisfactory, use the Manual option.

The Manual ColorSmart Options dialog box provides control over
Intensity, Color Control, and Halftoning.

The Intensity slider bar adjusts the amount of ink applied to the paper—
Darker means more ink, Lighter means less ink.

Color Control offers two options: Vivid (Color) and Match (Screen). To print
the document so it looks like it looks on the computer screen, choose
Match. To make the colors of the printed output brighter and more vivid
than they appear on the screen, choose Vivid.

Halftoning describes how the driver places individual drops of ink on the
page to reproduce different shades of the same color. Scatter halftoning,
the default setting, usually gives the best results. Pattern halftoning applies
different patterns of dots for different shades of a color.

ColorSmart Options Dialog Box