Poor Print quality

RootsMagic
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1

All other documents print correctly except a print using rootsmagic v11 update. I am unable to find the rootsmagic setting to print a report. The print quality is very light.

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2

Need more info: (in mean time – try saving as PDF and print from there)

  • What RM version ?
  • What OS?
  • What report(s)
  • Also what do you mean by “light”? (also assuming you ink or toner is not low)
    I may be your default printer setting is set to “light” and might be unrelated to RM
3

The latest version. Microsoft latest update. Usin a HP mobile printer. All other programs print perfectly. Only rm11 is very lite. Almost unreadable. No problem with ink cartridge. It is in rm11 that has the problem.

4

did you confirm this by saving as PDF (or WORD DOC) and print from there?
also, do you have 2nd printer to try printing from there?

also

Here is a breakdown of why a single program might be acting up:

1. Incompatible or Outdated Printer Drivers

Windows 11 features a modern printing infrastructure, including an updated print dialog interface and a heavy reliance on modern network protocols (like IPP). If the app is older, or if your printer driver hasn’t been updated for Windows 11 compatibility, the app might freeze, crash, or fail to hand the print job over to the system spooler.

2. The Infamous “WSD Port” Connection Issue

If your printer is connected over Wi-Fi or a network cable, Windows 11 loves to default to setup using a WSD (Web Services for Devices) port. While convenient on paper, WSD ports are notorious in Windows 11 for randomly dropping connections, causing a program to report that the printer is “offline” or simply hang when trying to fetch the print preview.

3. Application-Level Setting Conflicts

Sometimes the block is entirely inside the program’s own configuration menu:

  • Paper Size/Source Mismatch: If the app is requesting a specific paper tray or layout size (like A4 instead of Letter) that the physical printer isn’t currently set up for, the print job will get stuck in limbo.

  • Corrupted App Cache or Temp Files: Temporary files generated by the app’s specific print engine can occasionally become corrupted, preventing new jobs from processing.

4. Permission or Administrative Blocks

Some specialized or enterprise applications require elevated permissions to interact with hardware communication layers. If the application isn’t running with the necessary Windows permissions, its request to access the local print spooler can be silently blocked by Windows security.

How to Narrow It Down

If you are trying to fix this right now, a quick triage sequence can save a lot of time:

  1. Test a basic app: Try printing a single line of text from Notepad. If Notepad prints perfectly, your hardware and main Windows driver are working; the issue is entirely isolated to that specific program’s settings or its compatibility with the driver.

  2. Clear the Print Spooler: Press Win + R, type services.msc, scroll down to Print Spooler, right-click it, and hit Restart. This clears out any jammed communication channels.

  3. Switch from WSD to Standard TCP/IP: If it’s a network printer, changing the printer’s port configuration in the Windows Control Panel from a WSD port to a static IP address port fixes a massive percentage of isolated application drops.

Is this happening with a specific piece of software, or are you getting a particular error code when you try to print?

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