Help! My PDF files are printing gibberish!
Before continuing, verify that you are running Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.05 or higher; older versions sometimes cause problems. Follow the directions near the bottom to upgrade to a current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
This is usually caused by inconsistencies with Adobe Acrobat Reader's font handling and some older printer drivers. This is a known problem with the Adobe Acrobat product line. For a more detailed troubleshooting guide, refer to Adobe's Support Knowledgebase Document #316508: Troubleshooting Printing Problems in Acrobat for Windows. To fix this problem, either update your printer drivers, force Acrobat Reader to print text as an image, or follow the instructions in Adobe's troubleshooter.
Refer to your printer manufacturer's website for information on updating printer drivers. If you are using an HP laserjet printer, we have found from experience that the PCL 5e driver works best to resolve the gibberish printing problem.
| Forcing Acrobat Reader to print text as an image |
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Open any PDF file in 1 Source Data or the Acrobat Reader application. Open the Print dialog by pressing the Print button on the Acrobat Reader toolbar (outlined below in green).
You will then see the Acrobat Reader Print dialog. Check the Print as image option (outlined below in green). Click the OK button to print this document, or the Cancel button to cancel printing. Regardless of whether you print or cancel, Acrobat Reader will now default to the Print as image option.
As noted in Adobe's troubleshooter, this solution is only a rough patch to a more serious problem. Your files will print much slower than they should, but at least they will print. |
| What version of Acrobat Reader do I have? |
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To determine what version of Acrobat Reader you have, first launch the Acrobat Reader application. If there is an Acrobat Reader icon on your desktop, double-click it. Otherwise, look in the Programs section of the Windows Start Menu. In the Acrobat Reader application, choose About Acrobat Reader from the Help menu.
This will bring up a screen with information about Acrobat Reader. The full version number and build date [e.g., "Acrobat 5.0.5 9/24/2001"] are included on the screen. Click on the screen to return to Acrobat Reader.
If you have a version of Acrobat Reader earlier than version 4.05, please download version 4.05 from the 1 Source Data Downloads area or the most recent version at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html. |
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