Problems rendering PDF documents with iPrint Appliance

This document lists options to implement when PDF print jobs submitted by a mobile device (iOS, Android, email) are not rendered correctly.  "Not rendered correctly" could mean a blank page, garbage characters, PCL or PostScript language, missing images, or the job being canceled at the printer.

NOTE: Any print job submitted through the iOS AirPrint path is sent as a PDF document, regardless of the original file format or application.

The iPrint Appliance provides three PDF rendering options to choose from:

• LibreOffice
• Adobe Acrobat
• in-built PDF renderer (available with iPrint Appliance 1.0.1 Patch rev a)
  

See the "Additional Information" section of this TID to understand how to implement each option.  If one option isn't working well, try another. Printing results vary with printer drivers. Try different printer drivers to see which one yields the best results.

Advantages and disadvantages to each rendering option:

LibreOffice

Advantages:

• no need to configure a Windows external renderer
• note: by not configuring an external Windows renderer, the LibreOffice iPrint Appliance internal renderer is being used.
• option to assign a different Linux printer driver to each printer agent (see KB 7013074)
• no additional licensing cost
  

Disadvantages:

• rendering is not always accurate

Adobe Acrobat

Advantages:

• good performance
• high rendering accuracy
  

Disadvantages:

• requires a Windows 7 64 bit, Windows 8, or Windows 2012 R2 workstation to render the print jobs
• additional cost: Adobe Acrobat Pro or Adobe Acrobat Standard license

in-Built PDF renderer
Note: Requires the iPrint Appliance 1.0.1 Patch rev a

Advantages:

• No additional licensing cost
• good rendering accuracy
  

Disadvantages:

• requires a Windows 7 64 bit, Windows 8, or Windows 2012 R2 workstation to render the print jobs

How to configure the Windows renderer to use the in-Built renderer or Adobe Acrobat:
Prior to configuring the iPrint Appliance Microsoft Renderer ("iPrntRendCmd -c" command, see the documentation), review the rendering formats and options within the c:\NDPS\Renderer\conf\iPrintRenderer.conf.

To use the in-built PDF renderer as the rendering engine, place a # in front of "Adobe=pdf".

To use Adobe Acrobat as the rendering engine, place a # in front of "inBuiltPDFRenderer=pdf".

The placement of the # symbol will determine which PDF renderer is used. If Adobe Acrobat is chosen as the rendering engine, Adobe Acrobat Pro or Adobe Acrobat Standard must be installed prior to configuring the renderer.

How to change the printer driver with the in-Built PDF renderer or Adobe Acrobat configuration:
After running the iPrntCmdRend -c command, you are presented with a dialog to choose a printer driver.  The iPrint Appliance documentation recommends the HP Universal Print Driver PostScript. However, any printer driver may be chosen.  When troubleshooting rendering quality, testing a different printer driver can be a good strategy.  After the renderer is configured, you can change the printer driver by:

• Go to the Devices and Printers window
• Right-click the iPrintRenderer printer and choose Printer Properties
• Choose the Advanced tab
• Select the desired driver from the drop down box for the "Driver:" selection
• This requires the driver to be installed to the system
• Click OK