...I used to have more or less the same problem on a Win2K/768/P4/1.7 until someone gave me a print server they didn't need (came with an all-in-one HP device) - now my print jobs fly out irrespective of size/type etc...and are held in the servers' memory while my old HP840C chisels out the final product. A tad OTT on a home network but very effective.