Printing with NT 4 SP6a

I am working in a network with 1 Windows 2000 Server. 25
Windows XP Pro and 3 Windows NT 4 SP6a. IE
6.0.2800.1106CO. My printers are managed by Windows 2000
Server (SP4). The problem is that if I am working with any
MSOFFICE application and I select Print or Print Preview
it takes 2 minutes to respond. In the meantime my system
halts and not matter what I cannot continue working until
the printer spooler returns back command to my system. If
I pressed CTRL+ALT+DEL key it will display after the 2
minutes hiatus. This problem is persistent with all my
Windows NT Machines (only 3 thanks heavens). I tried
creating a printer server in these machines (NT
Workstations) by creating a new TCPIP Port and installing
the drivers locally. My printers are 1. Canon IR5000. 2.
HP LaserJet 5. and 3. HP LaserJet 3330.
Please help me to correct this latency OS issue.
Eddy Silvano