Printer Help Needed

I am running Win XP with an HP DeskJet 820 CXI printer.
All has been going find until today. I can print from the
Internet, but not from Office apps. All I get are blank
pages comming out. I went into printer settings and
changed to print direct. I can then print. However, I can
no longer multitask. Printer must complete before doing
anthing else. Does anyone know how I can correct this
spooling problem. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the
driver several times...does'nt help. Thanks