Microsoft KB Archive/84542

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Can't Print White on Black with TrueType on HPPCL Level 4

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Q84542

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows 3.1
 * Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0

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SUMMARY
In Microsoft Word versions 2.0x, you cannot print white text on a black background to an HPPCL Level 4 printer (or a compatible printer using the HPPCL.DRV driver) with TrueType fonts. The Print TrueType As Graphics option in the printer driver dialog box does not affect this behavior.

MORE INFORMATION
In Word, you can use the Format Border command to apply shading to paragraphs and table cells. If you apply black shading to a paragraph and change the character formatting color to white, white text on black background can be achieved on printers that support printing white text, such as PostScript and HPPCL Level 5 printers (that is, the Hewlett-Packard [HP] LaserJet Series III, IIID, IIIP, and so on).

HPPCL Level 4 printers (that is, the HP LaserJet Series II, IID, IIP, and so on) do not support the printing of white text.

In Microsoft Excel, if the Print TrueType As Graphics option is selected in the printer driver dialog box, you can print white text on a black background to a HPPCL Level 4 printer using TrueType fonts.

In Word 6.0 for Windows when printing to a HP IID, if you have a textbox with black background and white text using TrueType fonts, and the textbox is inside a frame, then only a solid black box will print.

WORKAROUND
To print white text on black background in Word for Windows, do one of the following:

 Choose DK Blue for the background and foreground colors instead of Black when using the Format Border command in Word for Windows to apply shading to selected paragraphs and table cells. When this color is used for the background shading with white text and the Print TrueType As Graphics printer driver option is selected, the printer will print white text on a black background.  Add a line to the [Microsoft Word 2.0] section of the WIN.INI file that reads: "SlowShading=Yes" Adding this line forces Word to use the Windows graphics device interface (GDI) to do the shading instead of calling a printer escape code. When Print TrueType As Graphics is selected in the printer driver dialog box, TrueType fonts will print white on black shading the same as in Microsoft Excel. However, this method affects the way that shading appears and may slow down printing of documents that contain a lot of shaded paragraphs. 