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Author Topic: Problem centering on A4 (mostly); newbie question  (Read 7672 times)
JayEldee
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« on: November 20, 2020, 02:05:42 AM »

First post here, and it's a newbie question. It is a question that led me to download a trial version of Q Image One for my MAC running Mojave.
I edit in both LR and PS and have sent the processed images, usually from PS, to my relatively new Canon Pro-10. My problem is that especially on A4 paper my prints are not centered. On 4x6 and 5x7 the off-centering is about 1.5 mm...noticeable, but not a real big deal. On 11x14 it is present, but has not been to the degree on A4.
However, when printing to A4 the "off-centering" becomes severe with the left margin 2 cm and the right 2 mm, a 10 fold difference.
This issue is present when printing from LR, PS and printing from Preview.

I have seen the Jose Rodriguez video, Tried borderless and bordered, I have manually dragged the image to the center, I have used Intellicenter, and manually set borders, all to no avail.
I am trialing Q Image One hoping it can simply address the problem, but so far no joy, so I come here for help.
Attached is a screenshot showing settings and what the live view is showing me. Printing this image on A4 results in a 2 cm left margin and a 2mm right margin. TIA, open to any questions or suggestions
John
PS I had to downsize the screenshot to fit the 256 limit, hope it shows enough detail, but if not I can re take portions of it for better detail
« Last Edit: November 20, 2020, 02:10:31 AM by JayEldee » Logged
JayEldee
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« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2020, 02:20:33 AM »

adding 1/2 more detail screenshots
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JayEldee
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« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2020, 02:26:09 AM »

adding 2/2 more detail screenshots
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Fred A
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« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2020, 09:37:28 AM »

Quote
Attached is a screenshot showing settings and what the live view is showing me. Printing this image on A4 results in a 2 cm left margin and a 2mm right margin. TIA, open to any questions or suggestions
John
Ok Jay,
I dont have a MAC, but I do have Q-1 that runs in Windows. I do have the driver for Canon Pro 10.
Using A4 paper size, I am unable to "measure" the border offset in my Q-1. I can see it on screen though.
If I open the driver in the Qimage Ultimate in Windows, Pro 10, A4, the print and page are perfectly centered.
See screen snap below. On screen followed by placement readout. You can see that the  sides are even in Qimage Ultimate.
Advice!
Hold still until a come to work time around 9:00 am EST.
I will text the boys to get here and read your parameters.

Fred
« Last Edit: November 20, 2020, 10:43:14 AM by Fred A » Logged
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« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2020, 01:49:58 PM »

I think it's worth explaining some of the aspects involved with centering so here goes...

Is centering possible?
The first aspect of centering is considering the printable area.  In your first screen shot, we can see that the printable area for your Pro-10 is not quite centered: the white space on the page is the printable area and we see there is a little more gray space (non printable margin) on the right of the paper.  But the print in that screen shot is centered on the paper: 25 pixels on the left and 25 on the right, indicating Qimage was able to center the print.  If your printable area (defined by the driver) is not centered and you fill that entire area with a print, as you would when using the "Fit to Page" size, there is no way to center the print because you have no "slack" to move it: you can't print outside the printable area as the driver doesn't allow it.  In cases like that, Qimage will center as close as possible.  So be aware that if you fill the entire printable area (left-to-right or top-to-bottom) and your printable area on the paper is not centered, there may be no way to center a print of that size.  Since you mention you tried borderless, this may not be an issue so we move on to the next section.

Is your printer loading the paper perfectly?
I see a lot of variation in a printer's ability to actually load a sheet perfectly.  Sometimes I get questions about why a borderless print has a little sliver of white (nothing printed) on one side of the page or why when the user specifies a 1mm margin all around, they end up with no margin on one side and 2mm on the other.  Sometimes people also wonder why it looks a little "crooked": the gap is 1mm at the top left but shrinks to 0.5mm on the bottom left.  The answer is that paper loading is mechanical and virtually no printer can be that accurate.  The same happens with the roller: sometimes the roller or paper sensor can be off a bit and you end up with more/less gap than you expect on the top or bottom, so it's not just a left/right problem.  I kind of doubt the mechanism would be off by almost 2cm, so: we move to the next section.

Measure your paper!
A4 is 210x297mm.  If you think your paper is exactly that size, measure it!  I have lost count of how many times someone thinks they are using a particular size but they are not: when they measure the paper precisely, they discover the paper itself isn't quite the size listed on the box.  I've had customers say they are "astonished" (from another post here) to find that the paper isn't really the size listed on the box but this has become so common that it really should be listed first here but I wanted to leave no stone unturned.  When you tell your printer you are printing on A4 paper but the paper is actually a slightly off from that A4 size, the printer will print as if A4 is installed but it will not be centered because of the discrepancy in size.

Given that you have found that all software is behaving the same (LR, PS, and Qimage), I think we are down to one/more of the above things.

Regards,
Mike
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JayEldee
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« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2020, 04:31:26 PM »

Thanks for the replies. Appreciated.
first, a user error. I was assuming my 8.5 x 11 paper was A4 and set QI that way in the software. It does measure 8.5 x sl<11, but when measured in mm it is 215+ x 279 mm. So, that is one adjustment to make.
Could that difference make such a large difference? However, 297-279=18mm. My left margin is 20mm and the right is 2mm, the difference being 18mm. Hmmm.

Mike's mention of the printer loading the paper perfectly (or imperfectly) could explain the small difference of 1+ mm I see on the 5x7, but not the difference seen on the "A4."

So, do y'all have any suggestions of things to try to accomplish centering? The first would be to set the paper size correctly. Is "US Letter" a more appropriate setting for my 8.5 x 11 paper or should I enter a custom size? Are there any other things to try?

Many thanks
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Fred A
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« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2020, 05:43:10 PM »

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Could that difference make such a large difference?
Reset the driver settings to best quality and the correct size, paper, and I will assume you will use a printer profile, also set the Color matching to NONE.
I did that, and now my Q! screen looks perfect
Add the appropriate printer profile (comes with the driver package), and you will be happy.
Fred
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« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2020, 06:38:07 PM »

Thanks for the replies. Appreciated.
first, a user error. I was assuming my 8.5 x 11 paper was A4 and set QI that way in the software. It does measure 8.5 x sl<11, but when measured in mm it is 215+ x 279 mm. So, that is one adjustment to make.
Could that difference make such a large difference? However, 297-279=18mm. My left margin is 20mm and the right is 2mm, the difference being 18mm. Hmmm.

Mike's mention of the printer loading the paper perfectly (or imperfectly) could explain the small difference of 1+ mm I see on the 5x7, but not the difference seen on the "A4."

So, do y'all have any suggestions of things to try to accomplish centering? The first would be to set the paper size correctly. Is "US Letter" a more appropriate setting for my 8.5 x 11 paper or should I enter a custom size? Are there any other things to try?

Many thanks

I think you found the problem.  If you specify the wrong size paper in the driver, you will never be able to get a centered print because the printer is going to print on that 8.5x11 sheet of paper as if it was A4 size.  As long as the driver knows the correct size for the paper, there should be no problems centering (at least within the mechanical capabilities of the paper handling mechanisms).

Mike
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JayEldee
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« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2020, 08:44:20 PM »

Thanks for the help. I'll give your suggestions a shot and report back
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JayEldee
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« Reply #9 on: November 24, 2020, 01:45:15 AM »

wanted to get back before too long. I found that if I print with a border, ie not "borderless," on US Letter, it is centered. I haven't played any further with borderless .
So, the question at hand seems to be answered successfully!
Thanks for the help. If other issues arise I will be sure to ask.

John
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