Would it be too much to ask what processor and motherboard or computer make
and model you have?
How about the printer make and model?
What are the parallel port BIOS settings?
What language grouping of windows is in use?  Are the applications such as
microsoft office in the same language grouping?

Your problem may occur when--
The parallel port mode setting is not compatable with your printer. (Often
occurs with older dot matrix and some laser printers.) Usually a mode of SPP
or ECP will work properly.
The printer driver is not correct for your printer, or is corrupt.
The printer driver is not set to "RAW" mode
The printer hardware connection (cable, connectors,etc.) has a problem.
If the problem is really on the motherboard's built-in parallel port, it's
usually possible to use a plug-in interface card, or a USB port to get
around the bad parallel port.

There is also a possibility that a language related issue is occurring.
This can be in the printer, printer driver, windows version, and possibly
application version. In general, the language specific versions should
match.

For instance, using a USA or English only version of a printer and driver on
a multilanguage version of windows can cause problems.