Printer prints only blank pages except with IE and the test page

[Missing Ghost]

Hello to all,
I really need your help! I have searched all over the Internet for answers and I can't find anything.
The problem is that a printer that I have been using for a long time has suddenly started to only print blank pages. And by that, I mean that it looks like it's spending time to print something, the page isn't just coming out quickly.
Weirder thing is that the test page works fine. It also works if I print from IE. Printing from both Word, Firefox and Notepad doesn't work.
Printer is an HP Deskjet 812C connected to a Windows XP SP2 computer using a parallel port.
The printer has the same behavior when used over the network. For example, I have another computer with Windows Vista, here I can print only the test page and any webpage from IE too, but what I really need to get working is Word.
Thanks for any help!

 

[mpilchfamily]

Well it sounds like a driver issue to me. Have you updated the drivers? Since its an older printer it won't have drivers for Vista so there is no surprise when a Vista systsem can't print to it. If a driver update/reinstall doesn't help then its teh printer itself.

As long as the printer isn't completly broken it can generally print a test page. The computer sends a simple comand and it prints teh test page that is preprogrammed into the printer. As for why it prints in IE and not word i don't know. When you print from any office dock or IE windows converts it into an image and it prints as if it where an image. So a print job coming from IE would be no differnt then one from Word.