Printing is one of the activities we've come to take for granted in Windows--until it doesn't work. Don't wait until then to dig into the secrets of Windows' printing powers. These tips make getting hard copies faster and easier.

Every time you tell one of your applications to print, the information goes to a spool file on your hard disk before being sent to the printer. Windows starts channeling data to the printer as soon as the spool file has enough information to print the first page, even if the data is still moving from the application to the spool file. This is a compromise between freeing your application sooner and getting your printed document quicker. If you're not in a compromising mood, don't settle for Windows' default arrangement. (Note that these tips may not work for some printers, including network printers and devices set to print to a file.)

To find the settings that govern the spooling feature, choose Start or Start, Settings and click or double-click Printers or Printers and Faxes. Right-click the icon for the printer you want to tweak and choose Properties. In Windows 9x and Me, click the Details tab and then select the Spool Settings button. In Windows 2000 and XP, click the Advanced tab.

If your top priority is to minimize the time your application forces you to wait, make sure Spool print jobs so program finishes printing faster is selected (it should already be selected by default) and then choose Start printing after last page is spooled underneath (see FIGURE 1). This option requires more free disk space to store the spool file, however.

If you want to see those pages coming out of the printer faster, and you don't mind keeping your application busy longer, select Print directly to the printer. In some versions of Windows, this option is disabled if you share the printer; if you want to enable this capability, click the Sharing tab and choose Not shared. This setting requires that your printer be on, and you won't be able to pause printing.

You can return to this dialog box and restore the defaults if you find that neither of the two options works for you. Select the spool command to let the program finish printing faster, and then choose either Start printing after the first page is spooled or Start printing immediately. When you're done, click OK.

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