HP DeskJet Printer Driver Support in Windows 3.1 (84428)

SUMMARY

Two printer drivers are available that support the Hewlett-Packard (HP) DeskJet family of printers under Microsoft Windows version 3.1. The HP DeskJet family of printers includes the HP DeskJet, HP DeskJet Plus, HP DeskJet 500, and HP DeskJet 500C. You can use either the HP DeskJet Series printer driver version 2.1 (DJ500C.DRV) or the Microsoft HP DeskJet printer driver (HPDSKJET.DRV). The Microsoft HP DeskJet printer driver is supported by the Microsoft Universal Printer Driver (UNIDRV.DLL), which is included with Windows 3.1.

The best driver to select depends on the type of printing and fonts you require. Using versions of the HP driver (DJ500C.DRV) earlier than version 2.1 is not recommended because these versions were created for use with an earlier version of Windows and do not offer TrueType font support. To identify which driver is installed, look at their descriptions in the Control Panel. The DJ500C.DRV driver written by Hewlett-Packard (HP) lists the printer name as "HP DeskJet Series v 2.x," where "2.x" is either 2.0 or 2.1. The HPDSKJET.DRV printer driver provided with Windows 3.1 lists the printer name as "HP DeskJet," "HP DeskJet Plus," or "HP DeskJet 500."

MORE INFORMATION

Use the HP DeskJet Series driver version 2.1 if you require support for Intellifont format fonts or if you are doing color printing with the DeskJet 500C. Black and gray scale printing with any member of the HP DeskJet printer family is supported by this driver. This driver also includes support for the 14 TrueType fonts that come with Windows 3.1 and allows TrueType fonts to be scaled. The HP series driver version 2.1 comes with three Intellifont format fonts(CG Times, Universe, and Courier), which can be scaled. The driver does not support font cart- ridges or soft fonts, and offers limited compatibility with Windows 3.1 (see #2 below).

The Microsoft HP DeskJet printer driver that ships with Windows 3.1 is the recommended driver for TrueType and device font support. This driver supports both portrait and landscape printing at 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) resolution for the 14 TrueType fonts that come with Windows 3.1, as well as internal, soft, and cartridge fonts (with the exception of the K and L cartridges). The Microsoft HP DeskJet printer driver does not provide direct support for the DeskJet 500C, but you can select the DeskJet 500 driver and print in black to a 500C.

Both the HP DeskJet Series version 2.1 and the Microsoft HP DeskJet printer driver can be loaded at the same time in Windows 3.1, but only one driver can be active. You can switch between the drivers as required.

The HP DeskJet Series driver version 2.0 for Windows 3.0 that comes with the DeskJet 500C will not work with Windows 3.1. You need to upgrade to the HP DeskJet Series driver version 2.1 for Windows 3.1. The version 2.1 driver offers limited compatibility with Windows 3.1 and is available in the DeskJet library (5) of HPPER on CompuServe. Download D5WIN3.ANN for more information.

Known Problems with the HP DeskJet Series Driver Version 2.1

HP has extensively tested the HP DeskJet Series printer driver version 2.1 with Windows 3.1. Although the overall test results have been very positive, the following problems have been identified when this driver is used with Windows 3.1:

The printout is smeared when printing from Windows Write. Printing from Windows Write to the DeskJet, DeskJet Plus, or DeskJet 500 with version 2.1 of the HP driver will result in a smear at the left margin of the page. To work around this problem, use the Microsoft HP DeskJet printer driver when printing from Windows Write.
Some fonts in some point sizes are formatted incorrectly. Some decorative fonts (Brush, Dom Casual, Uncial and Park Avenue) and the Windows MS Dialog and MS Serif fonts may not work correctly in certain point sizes. The formatting of these fonts may appear incorrect both on the screen and on the printout. Documents formatted with these fonts may appear to have carriage returns at random positions throughout the text.
General protection (GP) faults may occur on 80286 systems. Computers with 80286 microprocessors may experience occasional GP faults while printing. These GP faults may require the system to be rebooted. This problem occurs with 80286 machines only. If you are using an 80286 machine, use the Microsoft HP DeskJet printer driver.
Portrait/Landscape icon function. The icon indicating portrait/landscape orientation in the Printer Setup dialog box fails to change when landscape mode is selected. The orientation selection change works properly, but the icon always remains in the portrait position.