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Firefox does not switch printers correctly

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I have 2 printers. 1. Zebra ZP505 2. HP Officejet Pro 8610.

When I print a small label on my Zebra printer 6x4 shipping label I cannot switch back to regular size paper.

Tried all the help ideas and none worked. Tried to erase the "Printer" settings in "Config" and all other help I could find. Also tried to get a fresh copy of Firefox. Once I switch the printer it DOES NOT switch back.

It ONLY happens on Firefox. IE and Chrome have NO issue.

I work on windows 10 64Bit. All other browsers work fine.

I have 2 printers. 1. Zebra ZP505 2. HP Officejet Pro 8610. When I print a small label on my Zebra printer 6x4 shipping label I cannot switch back to regular size paper. Tried all the help ideas and none worked. Tried to erase the "Printer" settings in "Config" and all other help I could find. Also tried to get a fresh copy of Firefox. Once I switch the printer it DOES NOT switch back. It ONLY happens on Firefox. IE and Chrome have NO issue. I work on windows 10 64Bit. All other browsers work fine.

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You're welcome.

Please mark the posting with the answer that solved this for you, using the Solves the problem button to the right of the posting that provided that solution.

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All Replies (16)

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I'm not sure if it will fix your issue, but could you try this? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/pages-appear-tiny-when-i-print-or-print-preview-firefox (it's easy to revert prefs)

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There's no "switch" for changing printers in Firefox.

When you want use a different printer (different from the last print job done in Firefox) just select that other printer from the Printer - Name drop-down at the top of the "native Print dialog" window. (what you see when yo do { Ctrl + P } )

Firefox "defaults" to the last used printer.

And that can be changed thru about:config -- print.save_print_settings is the toggle to not have "last used" saved


Let us know if that solve your dilemma or I just confused you.

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When you open the dialog box with ANY other browser you can choose the printer you want to use. When you choose the Zebra (Which prints small shipping labels 4x6) the printer adjusts to that label. When you switch back to the HP deskjet to print 8.5 x 11 it switches and prints the right size.

HOWEVER, with Firefox once I print the small lable 4x6 on Zebra I CANNOT go back to the regular printer. I mean, I can go back but it keeps printing on a small 4x6 and this is NOT what I need.

I am just trying to print small shipping labels AND regular letter size paper and CANNOT do it with Firefox but have NO ISSUE with IE or Chrome.

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The issue started recently. I had no issues in the past. I tried all suggestions about deleting information in the config:about AND also tried to start a "fresh copy" .Nothing seems to work. The only solution is, for now, to print to PDF and when I open the PDF and print it works fine but that's not really a solution.

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Did you try to follow the FAQ? (you'll need probably to delete previous prefs about printers)

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When I delete pref it works once and then does the same thing again.

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Here is a screen shot. No matter what printer I choose my printer tries to go to the Zebra settings which are 4x6 shipping labels.

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PS When on any other program, Word, PDF etc the printer switches just fine.

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This worked for me. Looks like they're working to fix this issue in the next version, but it's great to have this work-around in the meantime. Thanks so much!

Oxylatium said

I'm not sure if it will fix your issue, but could you try this? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/pages-appear-tiny-when-i-print-or-print-preview-firefox (it's easy to revert prefs)
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Thank you but it works ONE TIME only. Once I switch back to Zebra the next time I try to print on HP 8.5x11 the paper is small again and the screen preview does not switch back.

I looked at the values in the "Config" screen and the values change back. So I would have to do it EVEY time I switch a printer...

Chrome looks more appealing at this point since I can't spend the time after every print all day long.

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That's good to know. Unfortunately, I need to use Firefox browser for other work-related things, and don't want to switch back and forth. But the config solution is better than my previous solution, which was to refresh Firefox (so I'd have to restart everything and re-do my options) every time I wanted to switch back to my main printer.

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That sounds like a small nightmare... Hope they have a solution soon, because I really like it but if it makes the work slower. and it is, then I need to look for other alternatives. Thank you

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the-edmeister said

And that can be changed thru about:config -- print.save_print_settings is the toggle to not have "last used" saved Let us know if that solve your dilemma or I just confused you.

Did you try that? Changing the value of that pref to false might help or maybe fix this issue.

IMO, toggling that pref to false just might help you, because I think that then there wouldn't be anything to "switch back to". IOW, Firefox wouldn't "remember" which printer that you last used.

Another thing, how are you initiating printing? Are you using the "Print" toolbar button that takes to to the Print Preview window or are you using the keyboard command - { Ctrl + P } ??

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Did you try that? Changing the value of that pref to false might help or maybe fix this issue.

IMO, toggling that pref to false just might help you, because I think that then there wouldn't be anything to "switch back to". IOW, Firefox wouldn't "remember" which printer that you last used.

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This is the solution!!!

THANK YOU!!!

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Chosen Solution

You're welcome.

Please mark the posting with the answer that solved this for you, using the Solves the problem button to the right of the posting that provided that solution.