Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

I'm using QU to try to print 4.25 x 5.5 note cards. I have in Photoshop two-up on a canvas size of 8.153 x 10.253.

QU won't let me print that on one page unless it reduces the image to fit on one page.

In QU I have chosen Media size as 8.5 x 11 and I have in Prints > Custom (Special Sizes) Use ORIGINAL/embedded size. Original size is set to 300 PPI, same as the document in Photoshop.

In an attempt to remedy the issue, I reduced the canvas size slightly. While that got me closer (judging by a reduction from 306 to 305 PPI as reported when hovering over the preview image), I would have had to reduce the canvas size more than would seem practical to satisfy the Confirm dialog.

I am not trying to print full bleed. I successfully printed exactly one-half this size (one-up on a 5.5 x 8.5 sheet) as a test so I don't understand why twice the size did not work.

Would it work to set Sizing Method to BORDERLESS even though I'm not actually wanting a borderless print?

Sounds like the 300 ppi is doing the arithmetic into the pixel size and is producing a larger print than you wanted.
(1200/300 ppi = 4 inches    1246/300=bigger.)


Just tell Qimage in Custom SPecific Size that you want 4.25 x 5.25
Fred

Thank you for your reply, Fred A.

I don't understand how it works if I tell Qimage that I want 4.25 x 5.25. I need to use one sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper to make two 4.25 x 5.5 note cards - one card folded requires paper 8.5 x 5.5.

And why did the 8.5 x 5.5 test work fine (for one card) but when I expanded the canvas to fit two-up, it did not work?

8.5x5.5 is too big for 8.5 x 11 paper - you need to take account of the printer margins that make the printable area smaller and QU is telling you that by asking you to make the print size smaller.
See attached screen shot (Epson R2000 printer) and note the difference in size from the page 8.5x11 to printable area of 8.266 x 10.766.
The print size is set to Fit to Page.
Hope that helps.
Terry

Because Qimage knows it can rotate one 8.5 x 5.5 print 90 degrees to align the 8.5 inch side with the 11 inch side of the paper.  If you try to print two 8.5 x 5.5 prints, that requires 8.5 x 11 inches which, if you are using 8.5 x 11 paper, requires that you set borderless in the driver in order to get both to fit on one page.

One thing confuses me.  You said "I have in Photoshop two-up on a canvas size of 8.153 x 10.253".  What are you accomplishing there, and why such an oddball canvas size?  You can't fit two 8.5 x 5.5 prints on an 8.153 x 10.253 canvas.  So I'm not sure what you are doing in Photoshop (and why).

Regards,
Mike

I appreciate the reply, Mike.

I apologize for the trouble - I discovered the "problem" was me. I did not consider that the 8.5 x 5.5 worked and the 8.5 x 11 did not because the 8.5 x 11 (two-up) was such that the leading edge of the image was the top of the image. With the 8.5 x 5.5 (one-up), the leading edge of the image was the right side. I was not comparing apples to apples. See screenshots.


My desired result is a folded notecard 4.25 x 5.5, which requires paper size of 8.5 x 5.5. My "image" (the photo on the front of the card and the text on the back) has a minimum 0.25" border on all sides, hence my thinking that what I wanted to do should work.

Once I cropped the canvas size to 8.0 x 10.6, it worked. I have learned (for the nth time) that the printer/software doesn't know the difference between canvas size and image size.