Margins issue with HP z2100

[Lili Rose]

Hi there,

Long time reader, first time poster, hope you can help me out.

I am having an issue when printing large prints on my HP z2100 44". If I print a picture with dimensions 44"x64" it will come out at 43.5"x63.5". If I print a picture 36"x52" it is coming out 35.5"x51.5" approx.

I am using a 44" canvas roll, and it is the same with different rolls from different manufacturers.

This has only started happening recently, before it would print just as i wanted.

I don't have this problem when using a 24" roll, the prints come out as intended (either that or the difference is too small to notice).

I wonder if i have inadvertently changed some print settings?

What should i be selecting 'margins/layout'? I have the option under Layout Mode > Print with Margins > Layout options : Of either Standard or Oversize. I always tend to use Oversize and this has worked well for me in the past.

Are there any other options i should be selecting (centre image is always selected, but scale to fit media is not).

I would really appreciate any help or suggestions, as i am wasting a lot of time, canvas, and ink.

Thanks in advance, Lili

[Ernst Dinkla]

The default in the PS3 driver is a page size created gives that page size in print. The default in the PCL3 driver is a page size created gives a page size minus 5mm print margins all around (on rolls) which corresponds more or less to the half inch you report.
The print margins exist anyway in both cases but in the PS3 driver they are already taken out in the size feedback when you create the page. I did not explore different page settings in both drivers to create equal outcome but they could exist. Can not be much work to find which setting works and make that the default in the printer driver preferences. You may have switched drivers if you have a Z2100-PS model. From my memory, I could be wrong: if you have used the driver's borderless printing for gloss papers to use as much as possible of a roll width, that choice does not exist for canvas, I avoid borderless for several reasons.

As I use Qimage Ultimate to print from and the PCL3 driver, I always count an extra 10 mm to the print page sizes I need and Qimage shows the slightly smaller print page size that I need above the preview window so I can check it there again. If the print page + border has to use all of the roll width I know there is a 5mm print margin also available so I keep the border of an image 5mm smaller in Qimage and do not use Qimage's cutting marks.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst
Shareware now:
Dinkla Gallery Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/six-canvas-wrap-actions.htm

[Lili Rose]

Hi Ernst,

Many thanks for your answer, it was very informative. I was using the PCL3 driver. Is the PS3 driver the same as the raster driver ,that is all I can find on the HP website?

Also, under layout mode i have 3 options, which one should i be choosing to get the full 44"x64" print? Standard, oversize, or clip contents by margins?

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

[Lili Rose]

Hi Ernst,

Also, how about 'scale to fit media', should i be using that option?

Thanks!

[Ernst Dinkla]

If your Z2100 is a plain model not the Postscript Z2100-PS you can not use the PS3 driver, only the PCL3 (aka raster driver). I always print from Qimage on a Windows machine and it is not easy to answer your questions without some knowledge of the system you use.

As written try the choices out on a smaller piece, then set that setting in your printer preferences so it becomes the default again. Some things have to be learned by practice in my opinion. This is about the print page creation, that is the usable print area + the unprintable print margins (rolls 5mm all around, sheets 5 mm at three sides and I think 18 mm at the trailing edge). The next step like -Scale to fit media- only adapts the image to the printable area and does nothing on the print margins. The print page setting will always keep the same size whether you fill it totally with an image or put a small thumbnail in a corner.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst
Shareware now:
Dinkla Gallery Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/six-canvas-wrap-actions.htm