Greetings! I just upgraded from QU v2015 to QU v2016.115 and was very dismayed to see the Print Setup dialog box now changed completely, and apparently using the printer driver, i.e. Edit > Preferences > Print and Page Formatting > Page Size/Quality (set in printer driver). I use QU to print almost exclusively to my HP Z3100 and the HP Z3100 printer driver is completely stupid about listing forms (it lists them in the order the forms were created in the system!). QU v2015 listed the forms correctly, in order of SIZE--very, very handy and much faster way to pick the form size. Now QU v2016 is listing the forms the same stupid way as my HP Z3100 printer driver AND with a very tiny dropdown as well. It is now PAINFUL to find the right form size (and I have built up probably 200 different ones over the years).

In QU v2015, I whispered a quiet "thank you" to QU every time I picked a form through QU's original print setup dialog box and did NOT have to do it through the dumbass HP Z3100 printer driver.

PLEASE, can we go back to the old way?

Thanks.

Brad (8-year veteran user and fan of QI/QU)

The new dialog was built for consistency and standardization.  The reasons for the update were the following:

(1) The new dialog retains the chosen skin and also scales properly to be consistent with the UI size chosen in Edit, Preferences.  Since the controls on the new dialog are high DPI aware, if you feel they are too small, you need to go to Edit, Preferences, UI Size, and increase the UI size.  The old dialog did not conform to high DPI aware UI sizing and as a result, appeared microscopic on high DPI screens.

(2) The new dialog shows all paper sizes.  The old dialog was missing some paper sizes.

(3) The new dialog displays paper sizes in the same order as all other programs including the driver itself.  Now, whether you drop down the paper sizes in "printer preferences" in control panel, select a size in Chrome, Firefox, MS Word, etc. all the sizes appear in the same order: in "driver order".  This is more consistent than having QU display paper sizes in a different order than every other program.  So if you print from several programs and you are used to a frequently used size being third up from the bottom of the list (for example), you won't have to look in a different place in QU.

Now, after pointing out the positives, I do agree that regardless of printer model, I've always found that the paper sizes seem arranged almost randomly when listed in the standard driver/capability order.  The old QU dialog didn't sort by size: it sorted by name.  So you ended up with 11x17, then 12x12, then 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, then A2, A3, A4, B2, then further down, "Legal", "Letter", and so on.  Maybe a bit easier but still not by size as it was doing a character sort.  Personally, I'd like to see them sorted by actual size where the largest is at the top and the smallest print size (by area) is at the bottom.  Wouldn't be too hard to do but it's a double edged sword as I don't know how many people will appreciate the sort being different from every other program.  You'd get a nice sort on the dialog but if you click "Properties" for the printer and change paper size in there, you're in another program (the driver) and the sort will be back to the "random" sort.  So the down size to sorting that list on the main dialog is that you're going away from the standard list and just clicking "Properties" next to the printer and going into the driver will give you a different sort for paper sizes.

Mike

Hi Mike. I can certainly appreciate the arguments in favour of change, except the consistency argument, because being consistent with something that is flawed is, in itself, flawed because it is not added value. We are using QU in the first place because it is DIFFERENT and BETTER than the other tools and software and therefore it adds value and makes our work easier and better.

I use QU in a professional environment where I earn my living doing art reproduction and enlargements for the local arts community. I have come to rely on (hell, swear by) certain QU features in my workflow, e.g. the job log (AWESOME!!), ability to set different rendering intents for each image in a job, the fact that QU remembers my print settings by the paper profile (VERY COOL!!). That latter feature tends to keep me OUT of the dumbass HP Z3100 printer driver for most jobs, which is a blessing because HP always had serious bugs when it came to remembering form sizes and paper types. So, you can appreciate how I would not want QU to defer to my printer driver.

Sorting by area is interesting. My work is based almost entirely on roll stock, so sorting by LENGTH is what I would really want since I'm constrained to work with fixed widths (24", 36", 44", etc.) anyway for most jobs.

Perhaps this could be optionable through a setting that chose how the paper list is sorted (by area, by length, alphabetical by name, by driver order) and if the paper list could show more entries per scroll, you would have given users some useful choices on this issue and added a lot of value for folks like me.

Thanks.

Mike,

Z3100 and Z3200 here. In my first comment I was looking at the .115 version and that worked more or less. .116 makes it harder though. Groups and custom sizes all mixed in the QU display of the print page sizes. It is easier now to return to the driver print size choices and select "more¨ there, go down to Custom sizes and select the size there. Like with most people that use 24-36-44" rolls on the printer I make custom print page sizes and hardly use the HP default sizes. That is why I like to have my custom sizes at the top of the list so I added 0" to the title of the sizes. With .116 I can do what I want with the size titles but it is an ugly mix of ISO, Imperial, HP default CM sizes and my 0" mm sizes and the ranking is not always correct on the max. size either. If I renew or have to renew their titles (0" 207x610 to 20,7cmx61,0cm) to create less chaos I can expect issues with the recall functions too I am afraid. With the HP driver the recalls function better on the size titles than on the actual sizes in my experience.  I do not think I will get used to this and the escape route is to the driver menu itself which is not an improvement.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
December 2014 update, 700+ inkjet media white spectral plots

BRILLIANT! Absolutely brilliant! I've never seen all the forms sorted by "true" Length or by "true" Width which brings all the ISO and ANSI sizes into the correct relationship, regardless of what string was used to name the form. That's an unexpected icing on the cake, Mike.

Thanks you so much!

Cheers!

Brad

Thank you Mike, totally happy now.

BTW,
I have a  0" name size for a very large size in the HP Z's driver menu, 1240x9999 mm, that stays at the top of the list. If there are already images loaded on the print page and I see that the print page could be smaller for less paper waste (rolls printing mainly) or have a better nesting I sometimes have to make a custom print page size in the HP driver. The new HP custom size is not accepted right away, I have to OK everywhere and close the driver then before that size is available and stays available in the QU print page sizes choices. In that process the name that is in the top of the list, 10"x12", will be the substitute size for the print page size I already nested the images on, most of the time too small for that lay out and I have to shrink the images or spread them by a QU request. By having the largest possible size on top in the list this does not happen, ample space for all images, I only have to check whether the nesting is changed with that intermediate print page switch. On the Epson drivers a custom print page size is accepted right away and is also returning correctly in recalls from the log file, the HP driver is not so convenient.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
December 2014 update, 700+ inkjet media white spectral plots