Issue

When you try to print or open Page Setup in Photoshop CS4, you see the following error message:

"Before you can perform printer-related tasks such as page setup or printing a document, you need to install a printer."

Solution

Note: This issue is fixed in Photoshop CS5.

Do one or more of the following:

Solution 1: Reset printer from Photoshop's page setup (Windows).

1. Choose File > Print.
2. Change the option in the Color Handling pop-up menu to which ever option is not selected: Printer Manages Colors or Photoshop Manages Colors. 
3. Click Done. 
4. Choose File > Print.
5. Change the Color Handling option back to the option you want to use.
6. Make any other selections in the Print dialog box.

Try to print from Photoshop. If you still get an error, perform the next set of steps:

1. Choose File > Print.
2. Change the printer to another standard printer, such as Adobe PDF, or XPS Printer, which is installed with Microsoft Office.
3. Choose Page Setup, and reselect the paper size. Click Done.
4. Perform steps 1-3 again, but select the printer you want to print to and the paper size you want to use.

Try to print from Photoshop. If you still get an error, perform the next set of steps:

1. Choose File > Page Setup.
2. Select Printer, and choose a different printer from the Name pop-up menu.
3. Select Properties and choose a different paper size from the appropriate tab and pop-up menu.
4. Click OK until you've closed all dialog boxes.
5. Perform steps 1-3 again, but select the printer you want to print to and the paper size you want to use.

Solution 2: Restart Photoshop and then try to print.

Solution 3: Re-create the preference files for Photoshop.

Note: When you use this solution, Photoshop creates a preferences file and you lose custom settings associated with your current preferences file. However, the file you rename in step 2 is your original preferences file. If you determine that the preferences file is not causing the problem, then you can restore your custom settings by following the instructions below.

To re-create the Photoshop preferences file:

1. Quit Photoshop.
2. Rename the Adobe Photoshop CS4 Prefs.psp file (for example, to Adobe Photoshop CS4 Prefs.psp.old) in the Documents and Settings/[username]/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop CS4/Adobe Photoshop CS4 Settings folder.
3. Start Photoshop. Photoshop creates a preferences file.

If the problem continues, the preferences file isn't the cause. To restore custom settings, delete the new preferences file and restore the original name of the previous preferences file.

Solution 4: Make sure that you have the most recent printer driver installed.

Contact your printer manufacturer for the most recent printer driver.

Solution 5: Remove and reinstall the printer driver. 

Contact your printer manufacturer for instructions on how to remove and reinstall your printer driver.

Corrupted printer driver preferences can create this error.

Solution 6: Create a different image and copy the layers from the old image to the new image.

1. If your image contains a Background layer, double click the Background layer in the Layers panel, and click OK in the New Layer dialog box.
2. Choose Select > All Layers.
3. Choose Layer > Duplicate Layers.
4. Select New in the Document field.
5. (Optional) Type in a name for the new document.
6. Click OK.

Solution 7: Create a different user account and run Photoshop as that user.

To create a user account in Mac OS X v10.5:

1. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
2. Click Accounts.
3. Click the plus sign at the lower-left corner. (If the plus sign is inactive, click the Lock icon.)
4. Type a user name (such as Test)and a password that you can remember.
5. Select Allow User To Administer This Computer. This setting makes the test user an administrator.
6. Close the Accounts window.
7. Choose Log Out from the Apple menu.
8. When the login screen appears, choose the test user.

To create a user account in Windows XP, see "To add a new user to the computer" in Windows Help.

To create a new local administrator account, see Create local administrator account | Windows 7, Vista (kb404912) for details.

Solution 8: Set up a printer.

To set up a printer in Mac OS X v10.5:

1. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
2. Click Printer & Fax.
3. Click the plus sign at the lower-left corner. (If the plus sign is inactive, click the Lock icon.)
4. Click the Default icon.
5. With the appropriate drivers installed, any available printers are listed.
6. Select a printer and click Add.
7. Close the System Preferences window.

Additional information

This error occurs even though a printer installed and functional on the computer.

Products affected

Adobe Community Help