Stephen,
If I understand your problem this is the solution:
set printer to nul:
eject
set printer to
Put this code in a procedure and call it after each call to printing. This will solve the XP problem of starting to print and then stopping for 10 to 15 seconds before restarting or even never starting to print until the program is exited.
A problem is a problem only as long as it has a possible solution. Lacking that, it becomes a FACT!