In article <MPG.21f28d42df49cb7b989707@netnews.mchsi.com>, John LaBella <blank@dev.com> wrote:
> I recently tried printing a small piece (5.5*8.5) on an inkjet printer. > It would print out way off centered. > I encountered a similar problem to that when I had been using a laser > printer and small paper sizes. > > I order to get the piece to actually print in the right spot (bottom & > Centered) I had to tell PM that I was using paper that was 7.5 * 8.5 > > I haven't encountered that problem outside of PM but I was hoping for a > more elegant solution. > > OS Win XP SP2 - latest printer drivers. > > THe only thing I can offer as a commonality for both of the printers > (LASER & InkJet - different manufacturers) is that the paper feed path > is on the extreme right hand side rather than like old > AppleLaserwriter/Laserjet that had a centre feed mechanism. > > ANy other tips?/solutions?
One thing to check is that PageMaker's Print window does NOT have the "Reader's spreads" option turned on (if your document is defined as "facing pages"). With a single page document this can cause it to be printed with a shift to the right
Most printers are not very good at printing to non-standard sized paper. The printer's driver software will usually have set sizes such as A4, US Letter, A5, 'postcard', 'photo', etc. Anything outside of those can be difficult.
You can usually tell where a printer expects the paper to be by the way the adjusters move to make sure the paper feeds straightly into the print mechanism. Some printers adjust on the right-hand side of the page, while others may adust both edges.
PageMaker also likes to centre the document horizontally and vertically on the paper size selected in the Print options. So if the two do not match you may get strange results. For example, printing an A4 document to A5 size paper will print the very centre of the document, not the top-left corner.
You may have to do a few 'test prints' using cheap paper and adjustments to the document until you get it lined up correctly.
BUT, after all that, usually the best option is just to use a standard size paper and matching PageMaker document size, design the required smaller document size within those boundaries (possibly getting two to the page), and then trim the paper after printing. This may also give you the added bonus of being able to print right to the very edges of your final document.
