# Acrobat .pdf printing weirdness!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acrobat-pdf-printing-weirdness/365997>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 25, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acrobat-pdf-printing-weirdness/365997 "2006-07-25T19:28:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acrobat-pdf-printing-weirdness/365997/1 "2006-07-25T19:28:10Z")

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Can anybody think of a reason why, when at home, I try to print out _some_ Adobe Acrobat .pdf files, they come out as perfectly formatted gibberish? I have the latest version of Reader, and I have the latest printer drivers. Everything else prints just fine from every other program, but on the rare occasions when I’ve needed to print out a .pdf form, I get a page of random characters. The exception is IRS forms, which print without problem. I had a CD jewel case insert as a .pdf and it printed out as normal. So what would it be about certain online forms that I can’t print them? They look fine on the screen, but not on paper.

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**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acrobat-pdf-printing-weirdness/365997/2 "2006-07-25T19:33:05Z")

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That happens to me quite frequently when I print out mailing wrappers for my paperback book swap club. The first time I try to print it, I get gibberish. It works fine on the second try, though. I’m interested in any ideas anyone may have, as I hate wasting paper. (Although, since I ball it up and turn it into a cat toy, I guess it’s not a total waste.)