Turn Off Background Printing
The Problem:
When I print a long document, Word 2003 seems to bog down completely. The hourglass cursor disappears, and I can click in the Word window, but Word takes an eon to register each character I type.
The Solution:
It sounds as though you've got background printing turned on. Background printing (in theory) lets you get working again in Word more quickly, but it takes more memory, so if your computer is struggling to run Word and print, it's best to turn off background printing. To do so, choose Tools 
Options, click the Print tab, uncheck the "Background printing" box, and then click the OK button. When you print a long document, get up and stretch, shadowbox with the watercooler, or bug your colleagues for a few minutes, rather than watching the document print.