PDF printing problems

The library has received several reports of problems printing PDFs from e-journals published via ScienceDirect using Acrobat 6 & 7 (reader and pro software affected). I have also had a report of links to papers saved in EndNote and links to full text within the SCOPUS database giving same problem.

The pdf displays, but when you try to print it an error pops up "Could not start print job". The official explanation from Adobe is that the URL associated with the paper is too long (over 261 characters) - we have also found examples of shorter URL s also giving same error.

There are two ways to get round this:-
1. Save a copy of the pdf on your computer, then open and print it
2. Try a different browser - this problem is most prevalent when using Internet Explorer. Papers that have failed to open using IE/Acrobat, may open and print perfectly well if you use Opera, Netscape or FireFox with Acrobat. This is a bit trial and error as there is no apparent rhyme or reason as to which papers will open with each browser. I am still investigating this.

The problem has been brought to the attention of ScienceDirect and we are awaiting their response.

The library is trying to gather examples of this problem, so if you encounter it please send us a brief email with details of the paper. I would also like to know if anyone encounters this with journals published by other publishers.