Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

Just switched to a HP Photosmart D7560 a few weeks ago and having problems with a square or rectangular void on some of the pictures.  Also some times get black, thin lines on the prints in the same shape.  See pic.

(http://bobmillie.smugmug.com/photos/i-HzQVZDb/0/O/i-HzQVZDb.jpg)

The problem isn't consistant, sometimes prints are fine.  I have no trouble printing from any other program, just Qimage and trial version of Ultimate.

Saw something similar was discussed in Oct. under "Wierd print problem".  My wife also has a Nikon S8100, but trouble didn't start 'til we got the new printer.  Another problem I've noticed when printing her pics from the Nikon is that when I try to print 4, 3.5 X 5 pics on a full sheet the orientation gets changed.  I'll have the page set for 4 portrait pics and Qimage changes it to two landscape and two portrait pics, causing them to overlap and I have to rotate them all back to portrait.

Have gone to help menu on both versions of Qimage and used "reset printer setting" and still have the problem.  I'd like to blame the printer, but this is only happening with Qimage, not Photoshop or another graphic program I use.

Any suggestions that weren't covered in the Oct. discussion.

First read this article,

   http://ddisoftware.com/tech/articles/august-2006-enable-advanced-printing-features/

and this one...
http://ddisoftware.com/tech/articles/april-2006-houston-we-have-a-%28printing%29-problem/

See if that takes care of the print problem.

Then we can tackle the orientation issue.

Fred

On this issue, please tell us what size paper you are using for the 4 3.5 x 5 prints on a sheet.
Also if possible, can you tell us what Qimage is reporting as the printable area of the page.
You will find this information above the upper right preview panel.
See top of my screen snap.

Fred

Ok, I clicked on the "Enable advanced printing" box in my printer's properties.  I printed two 8 X 11 sheets with 4, 3.5 X 5 inch pics and another 8 pics on 4 X 6 inch paper.  Two of the pics on the first letter size sheet I printed had some faint black lines, forming squares, but everything after that printed fine, with no voids or black lines.

Will just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope that was it.  I don't see a need to switch Qimage to RAW from EMF, as I don't do anything with large media.

Now, what about keeping the pics oriented when doing photos from my wife's Nikon S8100.  The problem only happens with her pics.  I don't have any trouble with the RAW photos from my Pentax K-x. 

I'm using HP's 8.5 X 11 photo paper.  Qimage says printable area is 8.250 X 10.750. 

How do her thumbnails look; over on their side?   (Referring to portrait shots)
See screen snaps.
Both shots are taken with the camera held in portrait aspect.
One was taken with a Canon D60 and the other with a Canon 20D
Qimage has treated them differently based on the way the camera menu was set.
See the three snaps.
One is the flipped over vertical image from the D60, then the vertically set image from the 20D because the camera was told to rotate.
Third is the D 60 again after the Menu was set to rotate,
The images will react differently depending on the way the rotate flag was set.
Have a look at her camera menu. Look for Rotate. Some cameras show two rotates, one for the viewer and one for the image itself.
Check it out.
Fred

Let me try this again.  Wife's pics with her Nikon S8100 (small fixed lens camera) are all shot landscape.  She rarely rotates the camera, just aims and shoots.

In all the years I've been using Qimage, I set up to print 4, 3.5 X 5 pics on one 8.5 X 11 page, optimal/spaced print placement selected.  I've frequently mixed ver. and horz. pics on one page, without the template changing.

Now pics from the Nikon will change the grid orientation to two ver. and two horz. even tho' all 4 pics are landscape.  Qimage still functions the same with pics from my Pentax.  It's just the Nikon that gives is problems.  The thumbs appear in normal landscape position.  Since this is no doubt a problem coming from the camera, and I see nothing about rotation in the camera's menu, it's doubtful this can be fixed, but thought it wouldn't hurt the throw the topic out there.

BTW...I got a few more thin black lines on a couple a pages I printed this morning.  Grrrrr.  No more white square so far.

Could you possibly email an image the is being a problem from the wife's camera?

Fred    wathree.ssz@verizon.net


Any chance you have a checkmark in EDGES  and have Guidelines selected? That will print with black lines extending beyond the prints.

Fred

Any chance you have a checkmark in EDGES  and have Guidelines selected? That will print with black lines extending beyond the prints.

Edges is not checked.  Line do not print outside the picture.  Sometimes it's a line, somtimes a square.

OK Now that I have the image, I think I reproduced the issue.
I just need you to confirm that my screen snaps are accurate.

Thanks for emailing it; one image is worth a lot of keystrokes!!   :D

First snap is what you get.
Second snap is what you want?
Please confirm.

Fred

Yes, that's it.  Have used Qimage with 3 other cameras without having this come up.

The answer is easy, now that we see the issue.
Qimage is responding to your request for 4- 3.5 x 5.00 prints, but since your image was a 4:3 ratio and the crop scissor was off, you get 4.67 x 3.50.
At this point, Qimage resets the rotation trying as always, to maximize the possible number of prints you can get on a page.

So you really never got 3.5 x 5.00.
Simply, select all, from the Right Mouse menu that you get from a Right mouse click on the right side of the screen.
Then HOLD the right mouse button for 1 second, and click the crop scissors to ON.

Then you get 3.5 x 5.00, 4 to the page, and all set with the same rotation.

Other cameras probably have a ratio of 3:2 and 3.5 x 5.00 is very close.

OK that should take care of it.
Fred

OK.  Auto crop tamed the pics from the Nikon. 

Now....if those black lines will just go away.  It's not consistant which makes things even harder.  Most prints are coming out fine now.

Since this problem didn't start until I go the current printer, I'm sure the problem is with HP, but doubt if I'd get much help there.

Thanks much Fred...see why your considered a "Superhero"

This is always worth a try....
Click HELP in Qimage, and then RESET Printer settings.
You will have to follow up by setting your paper type, quality, and color management.
All other settings should be default settings, and hopefully, whatever is turned on in the driver will disappear.

Fred

Done that.  Found that suggestion from an Oct. thread.  Reset for both versions of Qimage, even tho' same printer.  Never know!?!

If it happens, I've reprinted the same picture and it comes out fine the second time.  Hate the waste of paper and ink.  Would rather find a fix.

Have checked printer pref. in Qimage to and "mark edges of prints" is off. 

I'm out of ideas.
Anything in your HP printer book?
Any help line to call.?
Qimage will not make lines unless you authorize.
It has to be some anomaly in the driver.

Fred

I think it's a problem with the driver and Qimage, as that's the only program where the lines appear.  There is a HP user forum, but it's so bloated with topics it's nearly impossible to sift thru.  Now that I'm down to just the one problem maybe I can find something there.

Thanks again for making me you special project the last couple of days.

I have been dealing with Qimage and the cop out line, "It doesn't happen when I print with other programs", for over 10 years.
I have heard people tell us that the 8 x 10 prints chop off heads in Qimage but 8 x 10s from "other" programs do not; prints too large, too small, pieces missing as in your case, and no pieces missing when printed from the other guy.
It is either a missed item in Qimage like the crop scissors, or you have a white border turned on and that shrinks the image on the paper,   OR, all else, it's the driver.

There's a factor to bear in mind, Qimage remembers the driver settings, and Lightroom, PS et al do not. So any scaling or markers turned on in the driver while in Qimage, will stick.
If you print from another program, you start with Plain Paper, and all the default settings.
So if you have something in the driver turned on as a marker or something, it will stay on.

The next factor. The HP drivers have earned the reputation for being very buggy, The worst part is they never fix them.
Why does the bug show up when printing with Qimage and sometimes not with another software?
The answer is in the chunks of data that Qimage sends to the driver being larger and more detailed. Some drivers cannot handle the data size and speed and choke on it.

My point is.... Concentrate on trying to find out what is causing the problem by calling and writing HP.
Make your point to them that the lines only happen with my new HP printer. Never had the lines before.
Otherwise, you have given them wiggle room to ignore you.

Please read,

http://ddisoftware.com/tech/articles/february-2010-the-hp-b8850/

Good luck!
Fred

Finally did find an HP link where I could chat on line with a tech.

He had me clean the ink cart. contacts and printer contacts...shake the carts. and reinstall.

No problems after printing a bunch more pics.  Hope that was it.

Thanks for the follow up.
Good for all of us to keep stuff like that in the back of our minds so we can help the enxt person that reports similar problems.
Fred