Slow PDF printing can be attributed to a number of things.
How Slow is Your PDF Printing?
Is your computer slow printing all file types not just PDF files? if so this is more of a general error rather than simply a PDF issue which normally involves problems with the printer driver itself.
Removing and reinstalling the printer driver will fix most issues such as this.
But if you are finding its just slow for PDF files read on.
If we break down the actual issue you will find that its not so much the actual printing part of the process that is slow, its actually the spooling/converting the document to the printer that takes the time.
Does your printer support PostScript printing ? (PostScript is a printing & imaging standard used by many printers) To find out if your printer does indeed support this either refer to your manufacturers documentation or perform a test page and look to see if you have a PostScript enabled option.
If your printer does support PostScript, make sure you are using its PostScript printer driver, most of the time we generally use PCL drivers, so simply change this.
Slow PDF Printing
If you find your printer does not support PostScript there are a few other tweaks we can implement to increase printing speed.
Firstly we can force PDF files to be printed as graphics as opposed to text, to do this launch your chosen PDF viewer, select Print > Advanced > Print as image
Slow PDF Printing Fix
This can also help to increase just about any slow PDF printing issues as it means that a soft font does not have to be created as the file is directly converted to a graphic and then printed as such.
Lower the print resolution (this can be changed from both the Windows print settings and from the printer itself if it has a LCD type panel) If we lower the print resolution most of the time the difference is very small, but it can reduce the actual file print size of the document by up to 300%, which can greatly decrease printing times, especially if your pc or printer does not have lots of memory (RAM)
Make sure you are using the very latest version of any print drivers or your chosen PDF printing program, normally Adobe Acrobat, as this will provide the most stable and efficient platform.
If the printer only has a small amount of memory if possible add more, if possible install a PostScript SIMM.
Check the amount of ram your computer currently has, check memory usage from task manager when printing to ascertain usage
Please check back regularly as we make frequent changes.
Computer adviser slow PDF printing article