This article contains information on why Darkroom Pro, Assembly, Core sends all prints to just one printer, even though the software has multiple printers setup.
Cause
Printers have a built in maximum number of copies that they can accept. With some printers this number is very high. In these cases, the printer will accept and essentially “steal” an order.
***IMPORTANT NOTICE*** This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. How to back up the Windows registry
Workaround
1. Go to START and select RUN.
2. Type in regedit and click OK.
3. Click the Plus sign (Maximize) the HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
4. Click the Plus sign (Maximize) the Software.
5. Click the Plus sign (Maximize) the Express Digital.
6. Click the Plus sign (Maximize) the EventLib.
7. Click the Plus sign (Maximize) the 8.0.
8. Click the folder the PrintQueue.
9. In the right-hand pane, right-click and select NEW -> DWORD VALUE.
10. Name it MaxCopies and click ENTER.
11. Click ENTER again and change the Base to Decimal.
12. For Value Data, you can then set the maximum number of copies sent to any one printer at a time to any value you want.
13. Click OK.
14. Close the registry editor and restart your Darkroom software.
With older versions of Darkroom software this value is set very low since most people used the Sony dye-sub printers. That way if you printed multiple copies of 5×7’s for example, the copies would get split between two printers resulting in the prints coming out sooner. Darkroom now sets this value to the lowest # of copies that can be handled by all attached printers. This change was made because more people use mini-lab equipment which does not need to be limited by the # of copies. If you attach only dye-sub printers, it works similar to the way it used to. For Windows printers and the Mitsubishi printers, they can handle a high maximum # of copies, so you may need to set the registry key to force a better limit.