HP Laser Printers - Print Driver Settings Guide (Windows)

This document is for the HP Laser 100, 150, 1000, MFP 130, and 170 printer series.

When you set up your HP Laser printer on your computer with the recommended HP software, a print driver installs that provides you access to the features your printer supports. The print driver lets you change color, paper, quality settings and more when printing documents, photos, and webpages.

Open the HP Laser print driver, and then read the guides in this document on how to find and change the settings.

Opening the print settings window

Launch the HP Laser print driver window from common Windows applications and learn how to navigate the different tabs and menus.

Open the document or photo on your computer, click File or the menu icon , and then click Print.

A Print or Print Pictures window or pane opens with general print job settings, including the menu to select the printer you want to print to.
Open Document Properties or Printing Preferences from the main print window or pane to access the HP Laser print driver settings. The button or link name varies depending on the app you are printing from.
- Microsoft Word: Click Printer Properties
- Paint and WordPad: Click Preferences
- Windows Photo Viewer: Click Options... in the lower right corner of the screen, and then click Printer Properties... in the Print Settings window
- Adobe PDF Reader: Click Properties
To view the different settings, click the tabs along the top of the window.
Click the Favorites tab to use shortcuts that have essential settings already selected for common print job types.

Color and black print settings

The HP Laser driver can be used to control how the printer interprets colors. For best results, edit the photo or document in the application you created it in before printing to improve colors, brightness, contrast and any other appearance settings.

Settings and options	Location
Selecting color or black: Color: Uses toner from all cartridges for full color prints Grayscale: Uses toner from both the color and black cartridges to produce a wider range of black and gray tones for high quality black and white prints All Text Black: All contents of the document, regardless of color, print in black	Document Type, Color Mode and Font / Text menus on the Graphics tab
Color management options: Define the range of colors printed based on industry color standards and the application you are printing from. The print driver translates colors from current color settings to the selected option. ICM Setting: Select Perceptual, Saturation, or Colorimetric Color Management: Select Standard, Vivid, Device, or Corporate Imaging	Balance menu on the Matching tab, from the Color Mode menu Advanced button, on the Graphics tab
Advanced color settings: Adjust saturation, brightness, and tone, or change individual color levels. Adjustment Levels: Use the slider bars to adjust the Brightness, Contrast, or Saturation, and colors, Cyan-Red, Magenta-Green, or Yellow-Blue Preference Color Control: Select to access the slider bars to adjust color for Skin, Grass, or Sky Black Optimization: Use the drop-down menu to select Auto, K (Black), or K+CMY	Advanced Color Settings on the Levels tab, from the Color Mode menu Advanced button, on the Graphics tab

Paper type, size, and input tray settings

Paper size, type, and tray settings help ensure the printer properly handles and scales the print job to the paper.

Setting	Location
Paper size: Select the Original Size for your print job, and then select the Output Size for the paper size you loaded in the printer, such as Letter or Legal. Check your printer specifications for supported paper sizes.	Paper Options menu on the Paper tab
Type: Set the paper type you are using, such as plain, glossy, or recycled so the printer properly handles and prints on the paper.	Paper Options menu on the Paper tab

Print quality and improvement settings

Change print quality settings to suit your print job. Text-only documents typically require normal or lower quality settings, while photos for framing benefit from higher quality settings. Layout and formatting menus display for some Favorites, if available.

Setting	Location
Quality: Measured in print resolution dots per inch (DPI). Higher DPI produces clearer and more detailed prints, but slows print speed and may use more ink. Normal: Default quality setting suitable for most print jobs Best: Better DPI than Normal	Advanced on the Document Type menu on the Graphics tab
Economode: Lowest DPI typically used when ink cartridge levels are low or when high quality prints are not needed	Economode menu on the Graphics tab
Printing in color or grayscale: The following settings might be available, depending on the printer model: Color: Uses all cartridges to print documents with color text or images Grayscale: Printer uses ink from all cartridges to produce a wider range of black and grey tones; suitable for high quality black and white prints	Select Color or Grayscale on the Graphics tab

Layout and formatting settings

Change how documents or photos are formatted and laid out on the paper, including orientation, adding borders, scaling to a specific size paper, and printing multiple pages on single sheet.

Setting	Location
Portrait or landscape orientation: Select Portrait for vertical prints or Landscape for horizontal prints.	Orientation menu on the Basic tab
Add or remove a border: Add a solid line, dashed line, or other border to your print.	Layout Options menu on the Basic tab
Print on both sides of the page (duplexing): Depending on your printer model, you can set up the print job to print on both sides of the pages, and manually flip the pages. Go to Printing on Both Sides of the Paper (Windows)for detailed steps on how to load and flip the paper for your printer type.	Double-Sided Printing (Manual) menu on the Basic tab
Layout Options: Select the layout option for your print. Pages per sheet: Print multiple pages of a document on one sheet of paper, and select the order they are printed on the page. Booklet printing: Select page flip binding settings for booklet reading. Poster printing: Enlarges an image and divides it across multiple pages so that can be taped together as a poster.	Layout Options menu on the Basic tab
Print order: Print pages from front to back or back to front.	Output Options menu on the Advanced tab
Scale or resize the printout: Print to fit on different paper sizes, scale to fit a selected paper size, or change the percentage of the original size that prints.	Paper Options menu on the Paper tab
Watermarks: Prints a watermark on every page of the document or on the first page only, if selected. Select Edit... in the drop-down menu for formatting options.	Output Options menu on the Advanced tab

Create a print settings shortcut (favorite)

Create a new favorite (print settings shortcut) in Properties.

In the app you created the document in, click File or the menu icon (WordPad), and then click Print to open general print settings.
Click Printer Properties, Properties, or Preferences.
Change any of the settings.

The settings you select display in the Favorites window on the lower-right of the Basic, Paper, Graphics, or Advanced tab.
In the Favorites section, click the Add icon .
Type a name and description, select an icon, and then click OK to save the new favorite.

The favorite is added to the Favorites tab.

Set default settings for all print jobs

Set the default settings for all print jobs in Windows.

Search Windows for control panel, click Control Panel in the search results, and then click Devices and Printers.
Right-click the icon for your printer, and then click Printer Properties.
Click the Advanced tab, and then click Printing Defaults.
Change any settings you want as defaults, and then click OK.