Printer Assignments

The Printer Assignments option allows the system administrator to assign any local or network printer as the default printer for all system reports and the various tax forms. Whenever a print task is initiated, AccuBuild will automatically print to the default printer unless otherwise instructed by the user's individual printer assignment. The user can also select the desired printer font to be used for tax forms and then print a test page to make sure the font prints to the desired specification for tax forms. Please also refer to the User Maintenance section for additional information on printer assignments at the user level.

In addition to the default printer and font selection, the system can be set up to print multiple copies of miscellaneous invoices in the Receivables module and contract billings in the Job Cost module. When the invoices are printed, the print dialog screen will also display an option to collate the copies. This option is used when there are multiple pages to an invoice. If collated, the invoice will print all pages of the invoice (page 1, page 2, page 3, etc) as set number one, and then print all of the pages again as set number two, etc. If not collated, the invoice will print all copies of page number 1 together, and then print all copies of page number 2 together, etc.

When printing the 1099 or W-2 forms, each copy of either form must be printed separately. The W-2s are six part forms and they require the program to be run six separate times for all six parts. The 1099s are five part forms and they require the program to be run five separate times for all five parts. In addition to the variances in the pre-printed tax forms, each printer can have variances in margin settings and available font selections that can lead to alignment problems.

AccuBuild handles the tax form alignment by allowing the user to select the printer font, adjust the pixel settings for the selected font, and adjust the margin settings for the tax forms. These settings, along with the ability to print a test page, make the alignment process much easier.

Note: The tax form margins and font settings must be adjusted in pixels. A pixel represents one dot (picture element) on the printer and each printer has a maximum number of pixels that are printed in an inch (referred to as dots per inch - dpi). Most printers can print from 300 to 1200 dpi. Therefore, when printing tax forms, the characters on the page need to be defined to take up a fixed amount of pixels both vertically and horizontally on the page, which means that only fixed pitch fonts should be used. The tax forms are printed based on the characters being printed at ten characters per inch, and lines being printed at six lines per inch vertically down the page. On a 300 dpi printer, each character would take up 30 pixels horizontally (300 dpi / 10 characters per inch) and 50 pixels vertically down the page (300 dpi / 6 lines per inch). AccuBuild refers to these settings as Pixels per Character and Pixels per Line respectfully.

1.	Set the top margin and left margin settings to zero. Once you print an actual test of a tax form in the W-2 or 1099 screen, these margin settings can be adjusted to dial in the correct starting positions on the form.

Select the desired printer font by clicking the Change the Tax Form Font button. If available, select the Courier New font with a size of 12 points. After the font has been selected, the program will automatically update the pixels settings including the number of pixels per inch that the printer supports.

Print a test page by clicking the Tax Forms Test Page button, and measure the printed grid to make sure the spacing between grid marks (+) measure one inch both vertically and horizontally. If the grid marks are too close, increase the number of pixels, and if the grid marks are too far apart, decrease the number of pixels. For a 300 dpi printer, the pixels per character should be around 30 and the pixels per line should be around 50. For a 600 dpi printer, the pixels per character should be around 60 and the pixels per line should be around 100. For a 1200 dpi printer, the pixels per character should be 120 and the pixels per line should be 200. Continue printing the test page and making the pixel adjustments until the grids measure as one inch squares, then save your settings.

5.	When printing the actual tax forms, the system will use these settings but will allow for the top and left margins to be adjusted prior to printing the forms.