View original (French)

Print a PDF of more than 9999 pages on Windows

Solved
David -  
 David -
Hello!

As part of our accounting, we sometimes need to generate PDF files of reports that exceed 9999 pages.

To do this, our accounting software goes through printing (with PDF creator for example) and "prints" the PDF. However, the issue we have is that the resulting file is limited to 9999 pages (We have tested on several computers with the same result).

After checking the problem with the software publisher, they explained that, according to them, it was a limitation of the Windows print drivers and that there was no other way but to split the print job.

This is not acceptable for us since such files are very sensitive and, in theory, should not be in multiple parts (not to mention that it messes up the page numbering).

Has anyone encountered this issue and has at least found a solution, or could someone at least confirm that it is indeed a problem related to the print drivers please? :)

4 answers

  1.
    eriiic Posted messages 24581 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   7 281
     
    Hello,

    by any chance, could you try disabling the print spooler?
    Just in case it’s the cause of this limitation.
    https://www.commentcamarche.net/informatique/imprimantes/1237-spouleur-d-impression-windows/
    eric

    --
    By trying continuously, we eventually succeed.
    So the more it fails, the more chances we have that it works. (the Shadoks)
    In addition to the thank you (yes, yes, it happens!!!), remember to mark it as resolved. Thank you.
    1
  2. contrariness Posted messages 17905 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   6 244
     
    According to Adobe, the page limit would be 1 million... but the other limit would be the file size of 2GB, which with Seven has recently been increased to 10GB.

    With PDF Creator, it might be a limitation of the accounting software...
    1
    1. David
       
      Yes, it doesn't seem to be a limitation of the PDF itself. I tested merging this 9999-page PDF with another one of a few pages, and I ended up with a PDF of over 10,000 pages.

      The file size doesn't seem to be a problem either. The 9999-page file is barely 60MB, there's plenty of room. :)

      We contacted the developers of the accounting software, who initially told us they had never encountered this issue, then said it was a limitation of the Windows print drivers. :(

      The thing is, when I search for information on such a limitation online, I can't find the slightest result.
      0
      1. contrariness Posted messages 17905 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   6 244 > David
         
        The principle of converting to PDF is to send a sequence of data represented by the pages (in a PDF, each page is described individually).
        What seems strange to me is that it stops at 9999...

        Is this a limitation of PDFCreator or the accounting software? To find out, one would need to print the 10,005 pages on a copier! ..

        I don’t remember ever doing such a thing....
        0
    2. David
       
      I tried with PDF Creator, using the custom print driver that the accounting software uses by default, and also with the "Microsoft to PDF".

      All three get stuck at 9999 during printing. :( Either it's really Windows that's causing the issue, but I really doubt that, or it's the accounting software that's feeding me nonsense, indeed.

      I will try to print a PDF with more than 9999 pages using another application.
      0
      1. contrariness Posted messages 17905 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   6 244 > David
         
        To avoid wasting paper, you can print a PDF file of 12,000 pages...

        Merge 2 files to exceed 9999 and print them via PDFCreator... if it works, it's your accounting software that has a problem...
        0
    3. David
       
      Yes, no worries, when I said "print," I meant "use printing to create a PDF" :D
      0
  3. David
     
    Hello Éric, and thank you for your reply,

    I just tried it and unfortunately, as soon as I disable the spooler, the accounting application crashes, can't find the printer, and refuses to print anything. x_x
    0
    1. eriiic Posted messages 24581 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   7 281
       
      In the 'Print Options' of pdfCreator, you can lower the resolution, which is 600 DPI by default. But given the size of your file, I doubt that will be enough.
      Otherwise, without disabling the Windows spooler, in the 'Printer Properties' (not just 'Properties'), you have 'Print directly to the printer' in the 'Advanced' tab.
      eric
      0
    2. David
       
      I selected "Print directly to the printer" on all the printers I'm testing for PDF creation, and they still get stuck at 9999 pages. T_T

      Lowering the resolution hasn't had any effect, unfortunately.
      0
  4. David
     
    Well, I managed to create a PDF of 12345 pages using another app, on Windows, with PDF creator and Microsoft print to PDF.

    So I have my answer: Windows is not at fault and the developers of our accounting app think I'm a fool. x)

    Thank you Éric and contrariness for your help!
    0