I sometimes have trouble printing .pdf files.  I get a page full of
rectangular boxes instead of text!  For example today i went to
www.thei3p.org site and downloaded the R&D Agenda, which is a .pdf
file.  I tried to print it but no luck,  I got the rectangles.  The
file properties indicate that it is available for printing.  I have
WIN XP and and HP laserjet 1200.  I have printed .pdf files many
times, not sure if on this computer or on another one.  Generally they
print OK, but some come out with the rectangles.  Any suggestions?

Hello fwscholl,

Thank you for your question. 

I checked the document you mentioned and it printed fine for me on my
HP6MP. My first thought is that you do not have the required fonts to
print documents that are giving you trouble and perhaps Acrobat is
looking for the standard 13 Postcript Fonts that are installed with
Adobe Type Manager. But, I set out to see if others had reported the
same problem, and sure enough, they have.

Donna Young.org
http://donnayoung.org/acro.htm

"The text does not print, instead it prints little boxes. <- 


This is typically an issue with your printer's drivers.

If you have a new computer but an older printer, you may need to
update the printer's drivers.
What has changed on your computer? If there have been some changes,
you may need to reinstall Acrobat Reader."

Since you mention XP and an older printer, there are good odds that a
newer driver may be the cure for you.

And, do you have the most current version of Acrobat installed? Always
free at Adobe and worth checking for an update.


Blue Squirrel Knowledgebase notes:
http://www.bluesquirrel.com/support/supportSystem.html?topicID=88

"Q:  When I print a PDF file from ClickBook, ClickBook does not print
the text, instead it prints little squares, how do I fix this?

A:  Adobe uses it's own font table. If you close out of the PDF file
before printing the PDF file with ClickBook, ClickBook will loose
access to adobe's font table and substitute the text with symbols
(little squares).

To solve this this problem, all you have to do is leave the original
PDF file open in Acrobat Reader, then print from ClickBook.

ClickBook will now print the text properly "

So, we have some confirmation that Acrobat does use its own fonts. I
know I have a folder that was installed with these when Acrobat was
installed and is required. Perhaps a reinstall of Acrobat will replace
these if they are missing on your system.

I figured I'd go to the horse's mouth and checked the Forums at Adobe:

http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@251.z9HXaa16GFR.3@.1de6806f/0

"Q: The graphics on my PDF file print fine, but all of the text prints
out as empty square boxes. I am running WinXP with a HP 820Cse printer
using the winXP given drivers. Is this because I don't have the fonts
or something? Do I have to print it out as an image (slow)? The PDF
prints correctly at work on their laser printers, but I want to print
stuff here. Also the problem only occurs on some PDF files, not all.
Thanks.


A: In the Printer setup, select Print As Image. 

After you have frustratingly waited two to three hours for your print
job, and you are so annoyed that you are ready to spit nails, then
send a letter of compalint concerning the outdated printer drivers
directly to Carly Fiorina at
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/execteam/email/fiorina/index.htm. "

So, it seems confirmed as a printer driver that is most likely not
compatible with the latest version of Acrobat OR XP or a combination
thereof.

Another Adobe thread:

http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@251.z9HXaa16GFR.3@.1de59eb0/0

"Have been having trouble printing PDF files from Acrobat Reader 5.0.5
with WINDOWS-XP and HP Deskjet printer. I was just printing rectangles
and squares, although the text was ok on the monitor. Finally found a
smart guru who told me how print intelligible text. Here goes: In the
print properties box, under "quality setting" choose "draft." Under
"color" choose "black & white." What this does is reduce the DPI to a
manageable level for the printer. Alas, this problem is easy when
solved!! "

"I had exactly the same problem. I threw the Hewlett-Packard printer
off the roof and bought a Xerox printer. Problem solved. I didn't need
a guru either. I just needed the cypher code to the lock on the door
to the roof. "


"In print box, click: 
print as image 
draft and black & white "

So, we have several workarounds 8^)


I would update Acrobat Reader and check HP for newer drivers for your
printer and operating system. This should cure your problems, or you
can at least print as image to bypass the problem until newer drivers
are made available.

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?prodNum=C7044A&prodName=hp+LaserJet+1200+printer&locale=en_US&taskId=135&prodTypeId=18972&prodSeriesId=29789#Microsoft%20Windows%20XP

Search Strategy:

acrobat +prints OR printing +squares OR boxes

I trust my research has provided you with solutions. If a link above
should fail to work or anything require further explanation or
research, please do post a Request for Clarification prior to rating
the answer and closing the question and I will be pleased to assist
further.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

I tried print as image and it worked.  Not too slow at all.  I will
try the other things as well.  Thank you.