Envelope Barcodes Print Vertically on TI Microlaser Plus

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a

SYMPTOMS

When you print an envelope with a barcode from Word 6.0 for Windows to a TI Microlaser Plus or a Sharp JX9500 using a Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet IID driver, the barcode prints in the wrong orientation on the envelope.

CAUSE

The TI Microlaser Plus and the Sharp JX9500 use HP LaserJet II emulation, but also have an optional envelope tray. Since the LaserJet II does not support an optional envelope tray and the LaserJet IID does, some people try to use the IID driver to access the optional envelope tray. This does not work.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem:

• Use the HP LaserJet II driver. The barcode will print out correctly, but you will not have support for the envelope tray (since it is not supported on the LJ II).

  -or-

• Use the Brother HL-8D driver available on the Microsoft Download Service (MSDL). This driver corrects a similar problem with the Brother printer.

MORE INFORMATION

Neither the TI Microlaser Plus, the Sharp JX95000 or the HP LaserJet II supports autorotation of graphics. Word, therefore, rotates the graphics when the LaserJet II driver is selected. A barcode is a graphic, so Word will rotate the graphic for the printer, and it will print out correctly.

The HP IID printer does support rotation of graphics, so when Word is connected to a IID driver, Word sends the barcode graphic and a command for the printer to rotate it. The IID printer understands this command, so it will print correctly. The TI Microlaser and the HP LaserJet II do not understand this command, so the barcode (or any other graphic) will not print out rotated.

The TI, HP, and Brother products included here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.