HP laser printers and Big Sur

[GonzoBernelli]

I have an HP LaserJet 400 color M451dm 2 attached to my late 2013 Mac Pro via USB cable that seems to have quit printing the word documents Since I installed big SUR 11.0, 11.1& 11.2. Twice now I've visited HP and downloaded the latest driver and software that printer for Big Sur. No problems there. Installed the download. No problems there. Made a test print from the installer. No problems there. Send a document from Word to the printer. It never appears in the print queue for that printer, so there is no print...

Any ideas or suggestions?

TIA, Nick

 

[MortyCapp]

Direct USB connection or Hub?

 

[MortyCapp]

Another suggestion:
You might want to remove the printer/reinstall it.
I have similar problems with my laser jet pro P1102w connected directly to my MBP by USB on Catalina.
Some documents never make it or simply stop half way.
For pdfs I find that FoxIt reader is more reliable than Preview or pdfs in browsers.
At my end I have learnt to live with it and if desperate use my Windows PCs.
To be honest, the software development team for laser jet products which was based in Boise was let go in its entirety last year (or 2019) and the role taken over by the ex Samsung team in Korean that HP acquired years ago for its A3 technology).
The quality of drivers has been impacted, allegedly.

 

[GonzoBernelli]

Marty connection is direct

 

[MortyCapp]

Marty connection is direct

I have googled it a bit and what I am getting is “convert to PDF and print PDF”.
Not the ideal solution I am afraid.

 

[GonzoBernelli]

Thank you for looking Morty

 

[GonzoBernelli]

I worked with Apple for a couple of hours today and got the printer snafu solved. Goes back to the first download of newest printer driver and related software I did just after the first download and install of Big Sur. then there was a later download of same driver and related software. In that interval I had no need to make a print of anything. I print a list of current meds and doses I hand out at every meeting with a doctor. two weeks ago I started a new med and wanted to update my handout. It was then when I discovered the non-responsive printer. Thinking it was a bad driver download, I deleted one somehow then loaded another. the HP installer was smart enough to see a first printer of the same type, so it so appended a 2 to its name and finished the install. That may have gibbeled something in the internals of the "list of printers available on my computer". SEE ADDENDUM IN FOLLOWING POST. One of the Apple Support people suggested completely wiping out that list (right click in the list of printers and choosing "reset". Every printer in the list disappeared. added just my one printer. And lo-and-behold. The WORD document I initially wanted to print DID (in docx format) and so did several others! PROBLEM SOLVED.

It was not WORD.
It was not HP.
It was not Big Sur.
It was not PDF.

It was because an inept sys-admin (me) was working outside his comfort zone. Point made and understood.

 

[GonzoBernelli]

Addendum

Apple support also suggested this. Create a brand new user and see if it could print from WORD. After a bit of a struggle got that done and determined that could print the file I wanted, so that pointed the finger explicitly at what I had done over in my everyday user space.

 

[Palouse]

I worked with Apple for a couple of hours today and got the printer snafu solved. Goes back to the first download of newest printer driver and related software I did just after the first download and install of Big Sur. then there was a later download of same driver and related software. In that interval I had no need to make a print of anything. I print a list of current meds and doses I hand out at every meeting with a doctor. two weeks ago I started a new med and wanted to update my handout. It was then when I discovered the non-responsive printer. Thinking it was a bad driver download, I deleted one somehow then loaded another. the HP installer was smart enough to see a first printer of the same type, so it so appended a 2 to its name and finished the install. That may have gibbeled something in the internals of the "list of printers available on my computer". SEE ADDENDUM IN FOLLOWING POST. One of the Apple Support people suggested completely wiping out that list (right click in the list of printers and choosing "reset". Every printer in the list disappeared. added just my one printer. And lo-and-behold. The WORD document I initially wanted to print DID (in docx format) and so did several others! PROBLEM SOLVED.

It was not WORD.
It was not HP.
It was not Big Sur.
It was not PDF.

It was because an inept sys-admin (me) was working outside his comfort zone. Point made and understood.

Nick, Nick, Nick— well, yeah us Nick's only screw up biggly!

 

[GonzoBernelli]

Why half-do a job? When you screw up, besides biggly, it needs to hard to solve, even with expert help, otherwise the creative effort is just not worth it, don't you agree Nick? It is even more satisfying when you cannot remember how you dug the hole you got yourself into.