Bigbro's foray into the scary world of blogging
I use a HP2300d at work and recently (foolishly) upgraded the driver on the suggestion of Windows Update. This has resulted in me suffering for the last few weeks with a completely errant printer driver which insisted on trying to print everything as Letter, despite me changing all the settings, everywhere, to A4. There is clearly a major bug in the driver code. I repaired it successfully this evening by installing an old version of the printer driver that I had archived away for my laptop Windows build. Windows is already annoying enough for printing, hiding paper size settings in at least 3 separate places - but this bug drove me (almost literally) up the wall by hardwiring everything to Letter.
The Duplex options were also crazily broken, usually only working on the second and subsequent copy of things I printed more than one copy of. Even then it would run copies together, printing the first page of the next copy on the back of the final page of the previous copy, if the print job had an odd number of pages. All in all, a really appalling piece of software by HP and Microsoft (Whichever of them is to blame.)
I would tell you what version is installed now, but Windows doesn't seem to have any method of competently version controlling files, or if it does, HP don't use it. From the .inf file: "DriverVer=02/27/2003,60.05.30.01".
HP seemed to have removed the drivers from their website, so if anyone needs a copy of the old drivers, please mail me at blog+hpPrinting@signal2noise.co.uk.NOSPAM (removing the NOSPAM bit.)
Addendum: Windows Update has offered the HP LaserJet 2300 Series update
again. Unless you use Letter sized paper for everything, I recommend that you
do not install this driver:
Hewlett-Packard Company - Printers - HP LaserJet 2300 Series PS
Date last published: 7/22/2005
Download size: 10.2 MB
HP printer software update released on June 20 2005.
