Installer stops after copying temporary files, never getting to the printer information screen

ImagePrint OSX Troubleshooting Guide

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Installer stops after copying temporary files, never getting to the printer information screen. <TOP>

This is most likely caused by Virus detection software preventing the second phase of the ImagePrint install from proceeding. It is also possible that there is insufficient disk space to complete the installation (ImagePrint requires approx. 100 megabytes of disk space, depending on the number of profiles you have selected to install).

The Installer I downloaded won’t launch at all after unstuffing it! <TOP>

The reason the executable isn't launching is because the Stuffit 8.0 no longer allows programs to remain executable after unstuffing. There's a fix on the Stuffit Home page that should fix the problem and hopefully let you install normally:

Aladding Stuffit executable fix:

http://www.aladdinsys.com/support/techsupport/qanda.php?id=534&sessionid=38359

After Installation, only a Color folder exists in the ImagePrint folder <TOP>

This is a result of not choosing the “Application files” checkbox at the top of the components list in the ImagePrint installation. Install the software again, from the CD, and make sure that the top checkbox is selected in this screen. (The printer names listed in this window refer to color profiles you wish to have installed).

When using Templates, sometimes jobs error in SpoolFace <TOP>

Be careful when using custom made templates that no frame extends past the template border. (In the Template creation window, frames are designated as green rectangles, the template border as blue.) Also, be careful not to accidentally “stack” frames by repeatedly clicking the ADD button—frames on top of one another can cause problems. EPS, PostScript, and PDF files are not supported with templates, and templates cannot be rotated.

Images appear split, reversed or in triplicate on screen <TOP>

This condition occurs if you do not have a proper source profile chosen in the Bitmap section of the Color Management window. Its most often seen with Grayscale images. Make sure to have a valid gray profile selected in the Grayscale field (either “Grey gamma 1.8” or “Grey gamma 2.2”, not one of the printer profiles listed in that field). Also, you should make sure the Embedded field is set to PROMPT or APPLY if using embedded profiles in your image. Without a profile chosen, the software will have no way of determining how to map the single channel grey data to the 3 color screen display, and distortion will result.

Nothing Prints! <TOP>

There could be many reasons for your jobs not to make it to the printer. While this troubleshooting guide lists causes of specific error conditions, here are the general things to check when you are unsure of the problem:

· First, make sure you have launched SpoolFace, the interface to the ImagePrint Spooler. (For information on launching and using SpoolFace, see the ImagePrint manual or online tutorial located on ColorByte’s home page (http://www.colorbytesoftware.com/)).

· In SpoolFace, make sure that the Host menu shows the computer that is connected to the printer selected, and the Printer menu shows the correct printer. (The SpoolFace menu will be visible at the top of your Macintosh screen when SpoolFace is active).

· Make sure that the Queue menu at the top of the SpoolFace window is set to ENABLE. The spooler will disable if it encounters an error (such as running out of ink or paper) and it is important that you re-enable the spooler after correcting the problem, or nothing will be sent to the printer.

· Remember that the topmost job on the left side of SpoolFace is the next to print. If that job has a problem that disables the spooler, until it is moved out of the way (via the right facing arrow), no other jobs will be able to print.

· The bottom left corner of the SpoolFace window will show the current status of the printer, and the scrollable area at the bottom of SpoolFace will list job error messages. Make sure to read through these for information that might show the cause of the printing problem.

· Many printing problems are the result of an incorrect setting within ImagePrint (usually relating to Color Management or ink set).
So, make sure you have correctly specified your Color Management settings within ImagePrint’s Color Management window. (Remember to move old jobs from the left side of SpoolFace, and to reenable SpoolFace from the Queue menu, before attempting another print). For information on proper color settings, please see the ImagePrint PDF manual or online tutorial.

· The other major cause of printing problems is an incorrect Printer connection type having been specified when ImagePrint was originally installed. If you are not sure what was specified, you can check by launching IP Install from your desktop icon, or directly from the ImagePrint folder. Without making any changes, simply click the MANAGE button within IP Install, and IP Manage will launch, enabling you to view the CONNECTION/DEVICE settings for any installed printers. If the setting is incorrect, you can remove the printer by clicking the REMOVE button, then click the INSTALL button to return to IP INSTALL and reinstall your printer, this time specifying the connection type that properly reflects your printer connection (see the ImagePrint PDF manual, Quickstart, or Online Tutorial for the procedure).

· If your printer is connected via Ethernet, the usual reason for print failure is an incorrect IP Address specification for the printer when you installed ImagePrint. Make sure that you can ping the printer from either a DOS command prompt (Windows) or a Mac terminal (OSX) using the IP Address of the printer. Be aware that most printers are set to DHCP (auto) mode, which means that their IP Address is subject to change each time the printer is rebooted. (For information on setting the DHCP mode and IP Address on your printer, check your printer and/or printer network card documentation).

· FIREWIRE PRINTING: If printing via firewire to an Epson Printer, make sure you have run the firewire driver installer, which will install the necessary Epson firewire drivers. The name of the file is: Sp2100_16b.pkg and it is located in the ImagePrint folder on your computer. Launch it by double-clicking. When installation of the drivers are complete, reboot and firewire connectivity will be available. Note that printing to an Epson 2200 printer via FIREWIRE on OSX is sometimes subject to printer stalling due to issues with the Epson 3^rd party drivers and OSX. USB or Ethernet are the recommended connection methods for printing to a 2200.

Images are not centered on page <TOP>

Epson printers have different top and bottom margins, so, if not printing in borderless mode, the image will appear offset vertically when printed. To compensate for this, choose “CENTER MARGINS”, located in the OPTIONS dialog box, which is accessed in the PRINT Dialog. This will cause the image to be centered when CENTER is chosen from the ImagePrint tool bar or from the menu accessed by right-clicking the image.

Another potential cause of non-centered images is an incorrect setting in the Media Feed section of the OPTIONS dialog (for printers that support it). For thicker papers, select the closest match to your paper to ensure that paper is fed correctly.

IP Manage Flashes briefly, but never appears; ImagePrint fails to launch <TOP>

Make sure that you have rebooted your computer after running the ImagePrint Installer from the CD.

Make sure that you have set up your printers using the IP Install utility after the initial installation from the CD.

Make sure that you haven’t copied a subfolder to the COLOR folder within the ImagePrint folder. This folder should contain ONLY color profiles—a sub-folder will cause ImagePrint to fail to launch.

Make sure that the ImagePrint folder has not been moved or renamed. This folder must retain the same name and location as it had after installation or the software will not run.

Make sure that you are launching the application from either a valid alias, a Dock icon, or directly from the ImagePrint folder. Do NOT move any of ImagePrint’s application files (ImagePrint, Spoolface, IPInstall or IPManage) to a different location other then the ImagePrint folder or they will NOT work. For information on ImagePrint shortcuts, see After Installation, no icons appeared on my desktop.

Make sure there are no invalid profiles in the COLOR folder within the ImagePrint folder. If you have added profiles to this folder prior to the problem, try removing the added profiles to see if it corrects the problems.

If you are receiving a “shared library failure” when trying to launch IP Manage, try launching the “MPI.pkg” package within the ImagePrint folder. It will prompt you for your MACINTOSH password. After it completes, reboot and see if the problem is solved.

If none of the above solves the problem, launch the “etc edit script” utility within the ImagePrint folder (make sure has “script” in the title, not just etc_edit). It will prompt you for your MACINTOSH password--after entering it and clicking OK, reboot your Macintosh.

After Installation, no icons appear on my desktop or dock <TOP>

Aliases, or Dock Shortcuts, are NOT created automatically during installation.

In order to create dock icons, you should navigate to the ImagePrint folder, which is located in the Applications folder. Within the ImagePrint folder you should locate the ImagePrint application, and drag it to the dock. (You can also create an alias if you wish and place that on your desktop). Do NOT drag the application itself to the desktop or it will NOT function. You should also open the SPOOL folder within the ImagePrint folder and drag the SpoolFace icon to the Dock (or create a desktop alias). Again, do not move the SpoolFace application itself or it will not function.

Printer prints garbage text <TOP>

This problem occurs most often on Epson printers. It occurs when bad data or partial data is sent to the printer, causing the printer to go into “text” mode. Since turning off the printer can still leave stray data in the buffer of the computer, and turning off the computer can still leave stray data in the printer buffer, it is advised that to correct this condition you power down both the printer and the computer. (Make sure to disable the ImagePrint queue before powering down the computer by choosing DISABLE from the Queue menu in SpoolFace).

What is the Resolution setting in the Print Setup window? <TOP>

The Resolution setting is ImagePrint's "interpolation resolution". Every print driver takes all the images on a page and builds a large raster image that is sent to the printer. This is distinct from the resolution (or quality) that the printer is driven at. (The printer uses multiple dots to present each pixel, so the 1440 or 2880 resolution that the printer is capable of doesn't translate to the resolution of the raster data that is sent to it.)

The 180 setting may result in slightly faster processing speeds. It is usually only recommended for very large (10 feet+) images, as those are so huge the extra time and reduced data being sent can save a lot of time and result in less likelihood of printer error. At larger sizes, the slightly more grainy output typically isn't noticeable, as those sized images are usually meant to be viewed at a distance. For all other images, 360 is the recommended resolution.

Since the RIP will interpolate the images to 360, there's no benefit for going higher then this. Really, anything above 240 or so doesn't show any improvement on these printers. (This is 240 dpi at the printed size--if you're scaling the image, of course, you'll want to start with a higher resolution.)

ImagePrint can handle any resolution--it uses bi-cubic interpolation to interpolate them to 360 before printing. In rare cases, this interpolation can result in some reduction in quality (typically only apparent on thin 1 or two pixel wide lines). To avoid interpolation completely, create your files at 360.

How do I print directly from an Application like Quark, InDesign or Photoshop? <TOP>

IMAGEPRINT allows you to print directly from virtually any other application, including Photoshop, InDesign and Quark. All that’s required is our PostScript enabled version to make the IMAGEPRINT printer appear in the Print Dialog box, just like any other printer. Jobs printed in this way will go into the IMAGEPRINT spooler and can be controlled via Spool Face just like any other IMAGEPRINT job. If you don’t have the PostScript version of ImagePrint, all jobs printed this way will have the DEMO watermark.

NOTE: Currently, application level printer is available only on Jaguar, not Panther OSX.

Application level printing is installed automatically when you install either the Windows or Macintosh version of IMAGEPRINT, but a few additional steps are required in order to set it up on the Mac. Just follow these simple steps and IMAGEPRINT will print via the Macintosh Print Center.

STEP 1:

Launch the Macintosh Print Center. (To do this, open your Mac’s Application Folder, then open the Utility Folder and double-click the Print Center icon.)

STEP 2:

From the Print Center window, choose the Add button from its place among the top row of icons. the Add Printers window will apear.

STEP 3:

From the Add Printers window, choose IMAGEPRINT from the list of printer types. You will then see your installed IMAGEPRINT printers listed. Choose from one of the listed printers and click ADD.

Now you can select your IMAGEPRINT printer from your Mac application’s dialog box just as you would any other printer.

ImagePrint OSX Troubleshooting Guide

INSTALLATION ISSUES

LICENSING/DEMO MODE ISSUES

IMAGEPRINT SETTNGS and FUNCTIONALITY

PRINTING ISSUES

COLOR/QUALITY ISSUES