Resolving PDF Printing Errors

Contents

Scope and audience…………………………………………………….………………………………….…..………………...3

General PDF Error Information………………………………………………………….………...……………..….….… 3
System Recommendations………………………………………………………………………………………….……......4
Background on PDF Errors…………………………………………………………………….……………………..….....…5
What are the Exact PDF Errors?..……………………………………….…………………..…….…………………..….5
Why the PDF Converter Breaks?…………………………………………………………………….………….………….5
Configuration of the PDF Converter …………………………………………………………………..…………..……..6
Which PDF Converter is Which?…………………………….………………………………………….………..………..6
Which Port is Which?.....................……………………………………………………………………….…….………..6
Troubleshooting PDF Errors (Easy Way)………………..………..…………………………………...…………………7
1st Step, Reboot…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….7
2nd Step, Delete PDF Converter…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
Verifying the PDF Configuration.................................................................................................. 9
QB 2008-2010 on 64bit Windows Vista or 7………………………………………………………………………….9
QB 2007-2010 on 32bit Windows XP……………………………………………………………………………..……11
When All Else Fails .................................................................................................................. 12
For Windows 7 64bit: Make Sure the NUL: Port is Getting Created…………………………………..12
For 2008-2009 QB if Above Steps do not Resolve………………………………………………….……………13
Removing QBPrint.qbp File………………………………………………………………………………………………..13
Problems with Bank Reconciliations…………………………………………………………………………………..14
The QB PDF Converter is set as the Default Printer…………………………………………………………….15
Error Code 1801…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………16
Could Not Print to Printer (Bluetooth Error)………………………………………………………………………18

Closing……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………19

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Scope and Audience

This document is designed to assist users with troubleshooting PDF errors and the ability to Email out of
QuickBooks and perform Bank Reconciliations. This document will cover the basics up to more advanced
troubleshooting steps in order to successfully fix any PDF problem related to QuickBooks.

General PDF Error Information

These are some of the main issues and concerns regarding PDF errors…

What causes the PDF converter to fail?

The main reason the PDF converter doesn’t work is that it isn’t setup properly in Windows. The PDF
Converter has to have a specific setup in order for QuickBooks to see it and print to it. Most cases are
caused by using an older and incompatible Amyuni driver under a 64bit Windows environment.

What’s the deal with the QBPDF_303 driver?

The QBPDF_303 driver is only for 2008 and 2009 QuickBooks which use the Amyuni 300 driver. The 303
driver will not fix 2010 QB PDF issues.

Why should I not use the Install.exe or Repair/Uninstall QB to fix the PDF Converter?

The install.exe located in the program files directory will delete and reinstall the QB PDF Converter,
however, it name it Amyuni Document Converter, which breaks QB PDF functionality as it requires the PDF
converter to be called QuickBooks PDF Converter. If you repair/reinstall QB it does the same thing, except
it takes a lot longer and it is quicker to simply delete the QB PDF converter manually, then QB will
automatically recreate it when you try to save a report or invoice as a PDF file to the desktop.

Are there special steps to take if I have 64bit Windows?

Before yes, you would have to manually take additional steps to make the PDF converter work on a 64bit
OS. Now, QuickBooks automatically sets this up behind the scenes when you initially install QB or delete
the PDF converter and let QB recreate it by trying to save a report or invoice as a PDF file.

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System Recommendations

Processor:
2.4 GHz dual core processor (AMD or Intel)

Varies by operating system…

2 GB RAM for 32-bit operating systems
(ex., XP, Vista & Windows 7)
Memory (RAM):

4 GB RAM for 64-bit operating systems

(ex., Vista 64-bit & Windows 7 64-bit)

Hard Disk Space: 2 GB of hard disk space free.

Monitor: 19" with screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher.

Printer: HP LaserJet 4000 Series 32 MB RAM.

CD drive: 32X CD-ROM or faster.

Internet High-speed, such as T-1, DSL, or Cable/Broadband is required to license the software and
Connection: download Web releases and Internet Updates.

Network At least a 10/100Mb LAN connection. Wireless networking is not recommended.

Browser: Internet Explorer 7.0 or 8.0 with 128-bit encryption.

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Background on PDF Errors

…What are the actual PDF Errors?

Below are the error messages you are likely to receive if you have an error related to the PDF converter.

You cannot print directly to the QuickBooks PDF Converter. Try using QuickBooks Save as PDF menu
option.

The device is not ready.

QuickBooks PDF Converter Activation Error -20: "You cannot print directly to the QuickBooks PDF
Converter. Try using QuickBooks Save as PDF menu option".

"Activation error. Printer not activated. Error code -20".

Any Unrecoverable Error when doing a Bank Reconciliation, such as error code: 13748 49696

…Why the PDF Converter Breaks?

The PDF Converter is used to create PDF files from QuickBooks transactions. It is responsible for creating the
PDF file prior to emailing items out of QuickBooks (invoices for example). Also, it is used in the Bank
Reconciliation process, which creates a PDF file of the reconciliation statement after the reconcile process is
complete.

A third party developer, named Amyuni, is who QuickBooks licenses the QuickBooks PDF Converter through.
The PDF converter uses special drivers and setup protocols developed by Amyuni to function properly with
QuickBooks. If any of the drivers or setup parameters gets changed or modified outside the scope of how the
PDF converter is setup originally, it will cause QuickBooks to error out on the PDF creation process.

More often than not, the main culprit is a 64bit windows environment conflicting with the driver and setup
that the PDF converter uses.

Additionally, if you have Vista or Windows 7 and run QuickBooks as an Administrator (UAC needs to be ON) it
will also cause the PDF Converter to break. QuickBooks cannot be “Run as an Administrator” and UAC is
required to be set to ON.

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Configuration of the PDF Converter

…Which PDF Converter is which?

Not trying to complicate things, throughout the various releases of QuickBooks, the PDF converter’s name has
been changed quite a few times. Depending on which release of QuickBooks you are on, the following names
of the PDF converter need to be taken into consideration. The items highlighted in red are the current
versions of the PDF converter, provided you are up to date in QuickBooks.

QuickBooks Year QB Release PDF Converter Name Amyuni Driver Version

QuickBooks 2010 R6 and Above QuickBooks PDF Converter 2.0 Amyuni Document Converter 400
QuickBooks 2010 R3, R4, and R5 QuickBooks PDF Converter 3.0 Amyuni Document Converter 400
QuickBooks 2010 R1 and R2 QuickBooks PDF Converter 2.0 Amyuni Document Converter 400
QuickBooks 2009 R11 and up QuickBooks PDF Converter Amyuni Document Converter 300
QuickBooks 2009 R9 and R10 QuickBooks PDF Converter 3.0 Amyuni Document Converter 400
QuickBooks 2009 R1-R8 QuickBooks PDF Converter Amyuni Document Converter 300
QuickBooks 2008 All Releases QuickBooks PDF Converter Amyuni Document Converter 300
QuickBooks 2007 All Releases QuickBooks PDF Converter Amyuni Document Converter 2.51

…Which Port is which?

The ports are important as to how the PDF converter is setup, especially which version of Windows you have.

QuickBooks Year Windows Operating System Version Port to Use

QuickBooks 2007-2010 Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32bit) LPT1
QuickBooks 2007-2010 Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (64bit) :NUL

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Troubleshooting PDF Errors (Easy Way)
Before attempting any of the following steps, make sure to first update QuickBooks to the latest release. This
ensures you are on the latest release of the program which fixes numerous bugs and PDF enhancements.
Certain releases of QuickBooks had a glitch with the PDF converter and the update fixes them.
Inside of QuickBooks, go to Help-> Update QuickBooks.

…1st Step after Updating, Reboot the Computer

The 1st step in troubleshooting any PDF converter issue (after updating QuickBooks) is to restart the computer.

Why is that important? It’s because once you get a PDF error in QuickBooks the files that are used in the PDF
process are held in memory. You can manually try to remove the files in memory and the print job itself, but
sometimes it doesn’t work and it’s easier to just reboot the computer so that any PDF files in memory are
cleared to begin to troubleshoot.

After the computer restarts, follow the steps below to fix the PDF converter.

…2nd Step after Rebooting, Delete the PDF Converter

The second step after you reboot the computer is to delete the PDF converter.

What this does is clear out any mis-configured PDF settings with the PDF converter and lets QuickBooks
recreate it with the correct settings when you try to save a report as a PDF file within the program.

Depending on which operating system you have, there are different ways to go about this. Look to the table
above on page 6 for which PDF converter you need to remove based on which year of QuickBooks is not
working.

1. Click the Start menu and choose Control Panel.

2. Open up Printers & Faxes (Devices & Printers if Vista or 7).

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3. Right-click on the QuickBooks PDF Converter (check the table
above on page 6 for which PDF converter you need to right-click on).

If you have Windows 7: You may not see the specific PDF converter that you need to right-click on because
Windows 7 groups PDFs together based on driver. So if the QuickBooks PDF Converter and QuickBooks PDF
Converter 3.0 share the same driver, it may only show as QuickBooks PDF Converter 2.0 in the Printers
window. In this case, you will need to right-click on any listing for QuickBooks PDF Converter

4. Choose Delete (Remove Device if Windows 7).

5. After you delete the QuickBooks PDF Converter, the next step is to go back into QuickBooks and open up
any report. Then go to File-> Saves as PDF and try to save it as 123 to the desktop. This will recreate the PDF
converter and should resolve this issue.

If this step works, reboot the computer one more time to make sure it works after a reboot and if it does it
should be good going forward.

If this does not resolve the issue, proceed below…

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Verifying the PDF Converter Configuration
The following steps are broken down by year of QuickBooks and by Operating System. You will need to go and
check the configuration of the QuickBooks PDF Converter which varies by year and OS. For the steps below
you will need to do the following:

1. Go to the Start menu and choose Control Panel.

2. Open up Printers & Faxes (Devices & Printers).

…Windows Vista & Windows 7 64bit (QB 2008, 2009, and 2010)
For QuickBooks 2008, 2009, and 2010 on Windows 7 64bit, there are a few things to keep in mind regarding
the setup of the PDF Converter.

1. Once in the Devices & Printers you will need to right-click on the QuickBooks PDF Converter and choose
Printer Properties (if you have Windows Vista 64bit, you need to right-click-> choose Run as Administrator->
Properties). Keep in mind that QB 2008 and 2009 uses the QuickBooks PDF Converter and QB 2010 uses
QuickBooks PDF Converter 2.0 or PDF functionality.

If you don’t see the QB PDF Converter, you will need to right-click on each printer (not regular printers such as
an HP, Cannon, Xerox, etc) and choose Printer Properties due to Windows 7 grouping printers together by port
and driver. Notice below you would have to right-click on the Amyuni Document Converter to see the
different printers that are grouped to it.

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2. Once in the PDF properties, click on the Ports tab. Make sure the Port is set to NUL: (Local Port). If it is set
to LPT1, change it to NUL: and click Apply. If you do not see NUL: listed, proceed to page 12 to verify whether
or not you have a Windows bug preventing the installation of the NUL: port on a 64bit OS.

3. Next, click on the Advanced Tab. On the advanced tab, the only thing you need to change if it is not set
correctly is the Driver. QuickBooks 2010 needs to have the Amyuni Document Converter 400 selected and
QuickBooks 2008 and 2009 needs to have the Amyuni Document Converter 300 selected. You do not have do
uncheck the Enable Advanced Printing box as you had to have in the past.

After you have verified the setup, click OK and reboot the computer, then try savings as a PDF in QB again.

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 …Windows XP 32bit (QB 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010)

For QuickBooks 2008, 2009, and 2010 on Windows XP 32bit, there are a few things to keep in mind regarding
the setup of the PDF Converter.

1. Once inside Printers & Faxes, right-click on the QuickBooks PDF Converter and choose Properties. Keep in
mind that QB 2007, 2008, and 2009 uses the QuickBooks PDF Converter and QB 2010 uses QuickBooks PDF
Converter 2.0 or PDF functionality.

2. Click on the Ports tab and verify that the port is set to LPT1: (Printer Port).

3. Next, click on the Advanced tab and verify that the driver is set correctly. QuickBooks 2010 needs to have
the Amyuni Document Converter 400 selected and QuickBooks 2007, 2008, and 2009 needs to have the
Amyuni Document Converter 300 selected.

After you have verified the setup, click OK and reboot the computer, then try savings as a PDF in QB again.

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When All Else Fails

…For Windows 7 64bit: Make Sure the NUL: Port is Getting Created

1. It is suggested to print these steps out first. After printing these steps out or saving this page as a bookmark,
restart your computer, this step is important.

2. After the restart, don’t open any programs just yet. Click on your Start menu and choose Control Panel.

3. Double-click on Devices & Printers and look for any one of the following: Amyuni Document Converter,
Lacerte PDF, QuickBooks PDF Converter, or QuickBooks PDF Converter 3.0 and right-click on it.

4. When you right-click on the printer (QuickBooks PDF Converter), choose Printer Properties. If you have
more than one printer listed under the printer properties menu, choose any one of the above mentioned
printers.

5. In printer properties, click the Ports tab and see if any of the ports are selected. If no port is selected, it will
look like this...

*Notice how none of the ports are selected. If you scroll down the list, there are still none selected.

At this point, if you have no ports selected on one of the printers from step 3 above, then there is an issue
with your Windows installation. This issue occurs if you use a 3rd party program (PC Mover by LapLink) to
transfer your files and programs from a 32 bit version of Windows XP to a 64bit version of Windows Vista or
Windows 7. Currently, Microsoft has been contacted and they suggest reinstalling Windows. The problem
occurs because 32bit dll files are copied into a 64bit system, which causes Windows own local port creation
and retention to fail.

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 …For 2008 and 2009 if the Above Steps Do Not Resolve
or If You Have 2007 QB and 2008-2010 QB on a Vista/7 Computer

1. First, click this link and download this file to your desktop.

2. Next, restart your computer.

3. Look on your desktop for the file you downloaded (QBDPDF_303.exe), and double-click on it.

4. That will bring up a window- click Unzip.

5. Now you will have a folder on your desktop called QBPDF_303, double-click on it to open it.

6. Double-click on a file called Install.exe (it may only show as Install).

7. When it is finished, the OK button will light up, and then click OK. (Note- You may get a warning about the
install did not finish properly, just ignore it and click cancel).

NOTE- If you have 2007 QB and 2008-2010 QB on Vista or 7 machine, and if the above steps do not resolve
this issue, then there is a known incompatibility between QB 2007 and QB 2009-2010 QuickBooks on Vista and
7 machine.

…Removing the QBPrint.QBP File

The Qbprint.qbp file contains a data line for each form in QuickBooks. It has a line for invoices and it has a line
for journal entries. When you print a form, QuickBooks pulls the form information and uses it to print the
form. If you change the selections on the Printer Setup window or the Print One Form window, QuickBooks
writes the new information into the Qbprint.qbp file.
While renaming the Qbprint.qbp file is the preferred method of troubleshooting issues, there are situations in
which the computer contains more than one instance of the file. In these situations, it may become necessary
to remove these files and allow QuickBooks to create a new file.

Solution: Follow the steps in this article to remove the QBPrint.QBP file for the year of QuickBooks affected.

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 …Problems with Bank Reconciliations

When attempting to view a previous reconciliation report or perform bank reconciliation, one of the following
error messages is received:
Code: 13739 97471 for QuickBooks 2009
Code: 13739 97441 for QuickBooks 2009
Code: 13748 49976 for QuickBooks 2008
Code: 13748 15538 for QuickBooks 2008
Code: 13748 49696 for QuickBooks 2008
Code: 13448 34407 for QuickBooks 2007
Code: 13448 34114 for QuickBooks 2007
Code: 13448 34095 for QuickBooks 2007
Code: 16391 59297 for QuickBooks 2006

This occurs if Adobe Reader 8.0 or 9.0 is installed and the Preference Display PDF in browser is selected. This
issue was fixed in the latest release of Adobe Reader/Acrobat, make sure you first update if you have this
problem by doing the following…

If this does not resolve the issue, then proceed with the following steps...
1.) Click on the Start menu.
2.) Select Programs or All Programs to see a list of installed programs.
3.) Click Adobe Reader 8 or 9.
4.) Click Edit->Preferences.
5.) On the left is the Categories list, click on Internet in this list and uncheck Display PD in browser. Click OK
and try to save as a Bank Reconciliation again in QB.

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 …The QuickBooks PDF Converter is set as the Default Printer

If the QuickBooks PDF Converter is set as the default printer, then that will also cause problems saving as PDF,
bank reconciliations, or emailing out of QuickBooks.

To fix this issue, simply right-click on your actual printer (HP for example) and choose Set as Default, then try
saving as PDF in QB again.

Note- If there are no printers installed in the Printers & Faxes window, you will need to either install one form
a driver Disc (example- HP driver) or create one manually (use a generic text printer).

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 …Error Code 1801: "The Printer Name Is Invalid" When Installing the QuickBooks PDF
Converter

This issue can sometimes be caused by a conflict with the GoToMyPC program. If you no longer use
GoToMyPC, then proceed. If you do use it, then you should contact GoToMyPC support and see if they have
any insight into why their print driver would be interfering with the QB one.

If the customer is encountering this issue, has GoToMyPC installed, and was not able to resolve the issue with
the steps above, then the issue may be fixed by removing the registry key located at…

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors\GoToMyPC Port

Get approval from tier 2 (or your IT person) and be sure to make a backup of the registry key before deleting
it.

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 …"Intuit Printer Library: Could not print to printer.” If using Bluetooth

If you use Bluetooth or have it installed and see a blue Bluetooth icon in the lower right by the clock, follow
these steps:

1. Right-click on the blue Bluetooth icon, and choose Advanced Configuration.

2. Choose Local Services, select Printer, and then click Properties.

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3. In the Properties window, make sure to uncheck Startup Automatically and Secure Connection.

4. Then click OK, and try saving as PDF in QuickBooks again.

5. If steps 1-4 do not work, simply right-click the Bluetooth icon, and choose Disable Radio, then try saving as
PDF again.

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Closing

This document should cover almost any issue with the PDF converter and providing a way to fix it. Feel free to
search the Intuit Communities or our ProAdvisor Knowledgebase for anything outside the scope of this
document.

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