How do you create a PDF by copying a page in an HP printer/copier?

[Brent]

Hi Norminn,

Thanks for your help. I think I've found the answer (finally).

It turns out from Airman Basic on 2/14/2010 at

2:38:36 PM (and others), that the HP driver site isn't down (as you noted).

If the solution were that simple, I'd just go to the local library and download the required TWAIN drivers for the HP LJ3200m LaserJet scanner and be done with it.

However, the ominous message from Warren Block on

2/14/2010 at 8:48:06 PM showed a more sinister problem.

HP apparently doesn't supply the TWAIN drivers needed for the HP LJ 3200m scanner on their freeware web page.

The only known solutions for the HP LJ 3200m are the following: a) Find the original CDROM that came with the HP LJ 3200m in 2001 b) Order from HP the WinXP replacement CDROM TWAIN drivers (at some cost) c) Find where someone has kindly made the CDROM available for download

I'm currently working on option (c) above and I think I will be able to report success in an hour or so (the HP TWAIN driver CDROM is reputedly 500 MBytes).

[Brent]

I should mention that the reason the results sucked were mostly that some strange effect cropped in the picture so that NONE of the four sides were parallel with each other!

I'm not sure why, but, somehow the camera introduced a bending of the edges!

Somehow, the 8.5x11 sheet of paper, when photographed, had the sides bent at a slight angle such that cropping could only be done by cutting into the margins.

Even then, the edges of the text didn't coincide evenly with the edges of the cropped edge of the paper.

[Airman Basic]

Reading the HP download info, noticed this:

"Note: Some download management or acceleration software may cause issues with file downloads. Please disable any download management software if you experience problems downloading a file."

If you're running any of that ilk, could be your problem. Years ago in dial-up days, I remember GetRight giving me fits, 'til I disabled it for the particular download.

[J. Clarke]

Google "barrel distortion" and "pincushion distortion".

Three options.

First, if your lens can fill the frame with the document through its entire zoom range, try different focal lengths and see if it has a low-distortion sweet spot--if it does then remember to use that for document copying.

If it doesn't have a sweet spot that's good enough, then you need to do distortion correction.

To do distortion correction, first check whatever image editor you are using and see if it has a built in capability--if so try that. If it's not good enough then you need a third-party product. PTLens works and is cheap, DxO has more features and is not so cheap. Both have free trials.

Or you can if you are using a DSLR or Micro 4/3 camera get a purpose made macro lens.

[Keith Nuttle]

If your camera has a moderate number of pixel, instead of making the document as large a percent of the image as possible, back down and make the document a much smaller percent of the total image. This should help with the edge distortion as there is no distortion in the middle area of most lens.

To get the final image, crop the image to document size. Most text documents do not require a significant number of pixels in the image to get a readable image. I have seen 640X480 document images that are quite readable. Most modern cameras, even with significant cropping will give you more pixel in the image than 640X480

[NameHere]

Or use any of the super-zoom P&S cameras which have extremely low geometric distortions. A good example being the Canon Powershot S2, S3, and S5 IS P&S cameras. All using the same lens design. Perfect for document copying projects.

"Barrel distortion - 1.0% at Wide angle, Equiv. focal length: 36 mm

Pincushion distortion - 0.1% at Telephoto, Equiv. focal length: 432 mm

The S5 IS exhibits remarkably low distortion given the huge focal length range - 1.1% barrel distortion at the wide end, and no measurable distortion at all at the full 432mm telephoto end. There is also only barely measurable - and hardly noticeable - vignetting."

This is something that few if any DSLR lenses can accomplish. There are other super-zoom P&S cameras from other companies with similar exceptional performance. Hunt them out. In the above example, the barrel distortion is mostly at the wide-end and nearly all of the full focal-length zoom range is devoid of geometric distortion.

No need for overpriced DxO bloatware to try to correct all the problems with overpriced and special-use DSLR novelty glass.

(When are you DSLR Trolls going to realize that your hopeful imaginings are never going to win against reality.)

If you absolutely must frustrate yourself with badly corrected and overpriced DSLR optics, you can get a little break from the money you've wasted so far by using a free "Lens Correction" plugin from this link

Usable with virtually any editor that supports plugins, including all the freeware ones.

Granted, there are better plugins out there, and most editors these days include lens-geometry correction filters already built-in. But if you are without, the above will probably suffice. Use the zoom buttons and then move the image so a border of your image is up against the viewing frame, then make that edge aligned straight with the viewing pane's straight-edge.

[Ron]

A later poster mentioned potential problems with download managers. In FF 3.6, have you tried right-clicking on the link to do a "Save link as..." I've gotten things onto the desktop the way I used to with FF.

hth

Ron Moore

[Peter Flynn]

Why not use the install disk that came with the printer?

///Peter

[Peter Flynn]

Works for me

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software1/lj623/lj-2479-2/lj623en.exe

///Peter

[aemeijers]

Peter Flynn wrote: (snip)

He can't find it. BTDT, usually on a second-hand printer, or because the idiot contractors that support us at work throw out any CDs that haven't been used in a couple of years, and only keep one set of disks for each flavor of printer. (Install 50 printers just alike, keep one set of disks, throw the rest away. I always look in the dumpsters when I pass them, and my CYA collection has saved the day more than once.)

-- aem sends...

[I am Tosk]

OOOOOOooooooo! that really turns some of us on when you talk that way big boy. you sound sssooooooooooooo manly! OOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooo! can you make a pdf document, too?

[Brent]

Hi Airman, I'm sure I have something on my setup now that I know others can get the HP software from

The good news is that my lack of ability to download from that HP driver site won't matter because the TWAIN drivers I need aren't there. :(

The good news is I did find the TWAIN drivers based on the information from Warren (Warren Block 2/14/2010 8:48:06 PM).

It took 3 tries but I've now downloaded the HP software for the TWAIN drivers (271 MB zip file) from someone who posted it on the Internet and installed it. It was dated in the year 2000 so it's old (even older than my

2001 HP LaserJet 3200 printer) but it seems to now allow the scanner to be recognized.

It's still not scanning to PDF but I'm working on that problem now (which is a totally different issue now than not having the TWAIN

:)

[Brent]

Thanks Peter.

I found out the LaserJet 3200 TWAIN drivers are NOT on the HP web site

:(

Turns out someone posted the entire HP 271Mb CDROM as a zip file here: :)

A few of those HP CDROM links and torrernts didn't work but this one worked on the 3rd try:

So now I have the HPLJ3200 "TWAIN" drivers installed (these files were from

2000 which predates my printer mfg date of 2001 though).

The hp laser jet 3200m printer is still not scanning to PDF (yet) but at least the printer is recognized as a scanner (which it wasn't before).

[Brent]

To report back to the team, the TWAIN drivers are definitely not on the HP support pages:

Warren Block confirmed that in this URL: Most of the links in that URL were dead but this one worked on the 3rd try: The software is huge and OLD (it predates the printer mfg date) but once I installed the 271 Mbytes, it added something called "HP LaserJet Device Configuration", and "Scandrivers and Copier Software", and "Screen Fonts", and "Readiris Pro 6.0 OCR Application", etc.

Now Scan2PDF recognizes the printer as a scanner.

I still haven't gotten the setup to scan to PDF but now the problem is muuuuuch simpler. It's just to find which freeware to use to scan a document to PDF (which was the original question).

[Brent]

I would if I could find them. I bought the HP LaserJet 3200m printer/scanner in 2001 for over $650 (which was a lot in those days for a B&W printer).

I've moved twice since then; and changed computers multiple times; and, well, if I knew then that it was nearly impossible to find the TWAIN drivers for the computer, I'd have put the original CDROM in a safety deposit box or something.

Whew! I can't believe how hard it was to find basic HP scanner drivers!

[Brent]

I don't know what BTDT means but thanks for clarifying.

Yes, I lost the original HP TWAIN driver CDROM after changing PCs and moving a couple of times.

While "printer" drivers are easy to find, I thought (like others did) that HP "scanner" drivers could just as easily be downloaded from the HP web site

Sad to say, there are NO TWAIN drivers for the scanner on HP's web site!

From the Warren Block pointer, I finally found a posted huge 271 MB zip file of the ancient HP CDROM on the Internet (dated 2000 whereas I bought my laserjet for $650 new back in 2001).

It's still not scanning to PDF but at least the scan2pdf freeware application is recognizing the scanner! (success almost at last)

Note to self: If I had known that it was nearly impossible to find HP scanner drivers, I would have archived the CDROM in a safety deposit box at the bank!

[Brent]

Hi Ron,

My download problem on the HP driver site

to only be on my side so I agree, my many download managers may be getting in the way (mostly for downloading Utube and Flash FLV videos and then stripping out the audio into MP3 files).

But it turns out to be a red herring because Warren Block's URL shows me that NOBODY can get the TWAIN drivers for their HP scanner/printer from the HP support site!

Trying every single torrent and rapidshare in that thread, this one finally worked on the 3rd try to download the original HP TWAIN drivers in a 271 Mbyte zip file. One problem is these TWAIN drivers are from 2000 and my printer was bought new in 2001 for $650 (which was a lot of money for a B&W printer in those days) but at least the scan2pdf freeware now recognizes the scanner!

I don't yet have the scanning to PDF working but I'm hoping I can report it working soon.

In hind sight, if I had known how impossible it is to obtain HP drivers, I would have put the original HP CDROM in a safety deposit box so that it could be used after multiple PCs and moves occurred since 2001.

Lesson learned!

[David H. Lipman]

| Hi Ron,

| My download problem on the HP driver site

| seems to only be on my side so I agree, my many download managers may be | getting in the way (mostly for downloading Utube and Flash FLV videos and | then stripping out the audio into MP3 files).

| But it turns out to be a red herring because Warren Block's URL shows me | that NOBODY can get the TWAIN drivers for their HP scanner/printer from the | HP support site! |

| 1266179829676+28353475&threadId=950340

| Trying every single torrent and rapidshare in that thread, this one finally | worked on the 3rd try to download the original HP TWAIN drivers in a 271 | Mbyte zip file. |

| One problem is these TWAIN drivers are from 2000 and my printer was bought | new in 2001 for $650 (which was a lot of money for a B&W printer in those | days) but at least the scan2pdf freeware now recognizes the scanner!

| I don't yet have the scanning to PDF working but I'm hoping I can report it | working soon.

| In hind sight, if I had known how impossible it is to obtain HP drivers, I | would have put the original HP CDROM in a safety deposit box so that it | could be used after multiple PCs and moves occurred since 2001.

| Lesson learned!

There 'ya go.

That 270MB installer is the complete package to allow the OS to scan and print. There is NO reason to go into the BIOS, you problem is purely a software problem realted to your HP hardware.

[ray]

imagemagick will quickly and easily convert most image files to pdf.

[AZ Nomad]

Of course 250MB of that is for dancing bunny animated graphics. Even 20MB is overkill for the functionality provided.