PDF printing

PASSMORE · Dec 28, 2008

I am having issues with printing PDF's. I am able to print everything but PDF's successfully.

I am print via USB to a Brother MFC-8500.

Did I miss something in the set-up?

Thanks in advance.

CrimsonRequiem · Dec 28, 2008

What happens when you print from PDFs? If it's text and it's all gibberish then I think you need to make sure that "Print as image" is checked under advanced when you print.

cwa107 · Dec 28, 2008

Did you install the driver disc for your printer prior to plugging it in?

PASSMORE · Dec 29, 2008

CrimsonRequiem said:
What happens when you print from PDFs? If it's text and it's all gibberish then I think you need to make sure that "Print as image" is checked under advanced when you print.

The printer does not print anything nor does it physically seems to warm up or respond at all.

The printer icon will pop up but nothing will show in the list being printed.

I will try checking the "print as image" box to see if that makes any difference.

PASSMORE · Dec 29, 2008

cwa107 said:
Did you install the driver disc for your printer prior to plugging it in?

No, if I remember correctly, I grabbed the driver online (or maybe my Mac just recognized it, not sure).

cwa107 · Dec 29, 2008

PASSMORE said:
No, if I remember correctly, I grabbed the driver online (or maybe my Mac just recognized it, not sure).

It's important that you're using the right driver. If you didn't install one specifically, it's possible that your Mac is using a generic driver that may work in certain situations, but when formatting is important (like when printing PDFs), it might be problematic. To ensure that you've got the latest and greatest, I would recommend downloading it from Brother's website.

harryb2448 · Dec 30, 2008

Download and install these printer and scanner drivers from Brother. Trasj any existing drivers prior to installing and keep us posted on progress:-

Brother Solutions Center: MFC-8500: Downloads: United States

PASSMORE · Jan 2, 2009

Hi folks,

It looks as if I have solved the issue. The Brother MFC-8500 driver is a part of 10.4 so the update proved useless. However, I did act on the tip to set the printer to print PDF's as images in the advanced settings. This solved my issue.

Thanks for the assistance!