Software Support
W-2
Printing Tips
First, make sure that you have enough W-2 forms for all
your employees. You can use the option Count Employees With YTD Wages on the YTD
Reports menu to help determine how many forms you’ll need. This option will
provide you with the minimum number of W-2's to order. You should have some additional
forms in case of printer problems, or employees that need another copy.
The W-2 printing option is now able to print W-2's on any
printer port. Before, W-2's would only print to the LPT1 port. If you had a laser printer
attached to the LPT2 port, you had to plug it in to the LPT1 port to be able to print
W-2's on the laser printer. Now, just set up a printer definition for the LPT2 port, and
select that printer when you print W-2's.
Follow the instructions below that apply to the printer
your are using for printing W-2's.
Printing Continuous W-2's on Dot Matrix Printers
If this is your first year printing W-2's, first make sure
the printer you are using is rated for multi-part forms. Some less expensive printers
designed for the consumer market may not be able to handle 3 or 4 part forms. You should
also check your printer manual to see if you need to feed the forms into the printer in a
different way. Some printers may require that you feed the W-2's from the bottom, because
the thickness of the W-2's makes it difficult for them to wrap around the
platten. Some
printers may require either a top or bottom tractor feed mechanism for reliable printing
from the bottom. This is usually an optional add-on for your printer.
Make sure your printer’s head gap adjustment is set.
Some printers, like the Okidata 590/591, automatically adjust for thicker forms. Other
printers have a lever which selects the thickness of the forms. (On the Okidata
320/321/520/521, this lever is just to the left of the ribbon.) If you are unsure about
how to set the thickness or head gap, check the printer manual or contact the
manufacturer. When you are finished printing W-2's, make sure you set the head gap back
to one part. Failure to do so may result in light printouts or even damage to your
printer’s print head.
When you load the forms into the printer, line up the print
head so that it is positioned at the control number box (Box #1). This is the first item
the program will print. If you have a printer with a form tear off feature, you may want
to disable it temporarily to make it easier to line up. Once you have the forms lined up
properly, turn the printer off and back on. This resets the printer’s internal top of
form position so that the next page of W-2's will print in the correct position. If the
first two W-2's print out ok, but the rest are not lined up right vertically, this is
almost always due to the top of form not being reset before beginning printing.
Printing Single Sheet W-2's on Laser or Ink Jet Printers
When printing on laser or ink jet printers, you won’t
have most of the problems associated with printing on dot matrix printers. Instead,
you’ll have different problems!
First, you’ll need to make sure which way you need to
feed the forms into the printer. This will depend on the printer you have. Some printers
may require the form to be face down, others face up. If you aren’t sure, experiment
on blank paper first!
Some customers have reported problems with their laser and
ink jet printers not feeding the W-2 forms correctly. The printer pulls the form in at an
angle, resulting in the page being skewed, and possibly some amounts not printing within
the correct boxes. If you suspect that this is happening to you, try printing a W-2 on a
blank piece of paper and compare how it prints to what is printed on the W-2 form.
Sometimes, the printer will feed blank paper in ok, but not the W-2 forms. Since it is a
problem with the sheet feeder mechanism on the printer, our software cannot do anything to
prevent this. Have the printer serviced by your dealer to correct the problem.
Our software uses standard Hewlett Packard PCL printer
codes to set the top and bottom margins of the page when printing W-2's. There should be
no problems lining up the information in the correct boxes. However, if your printer is
not completely HP LaserJet II compatible or does not respond correctly to the printer
codes, the information may not print in the correct positions. If this happens, please fax
or mail a copy of how your W-2's are printing as soon as possible. Also include the
manufacturer name and model of your printer, as well as the program revision date of the
W-2 printing program (found in the lower right corner or your screen in the W-2 printing
program).
If You Have Problems...
If you are having trouble lining up the forms, first of all
don’t panic! Second, it is always a good idea to test the W-2's on blank paper if you
are having a problem. This will keep you from wasting forms that you may need, and it will
also tell you whether or not your printer may be having a problem with the thickness of
the forms. Some printers may jam or not be able to pull the forms through, and using
regular paper can help determine if this is the problem. | 
