Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: Mike Guilbault on January 24, 2015, 01:09:54 pm
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In LR I'm printing an image 10.25" x 15.25" on Cold Press Natural 13x19" sheets on my Epson 9900. I've got everything set up the way I usually print, but for some reason, the print is coming out 10 x 14.75" and I have no idea why. Just tried it on my 4900 with the same results. LR is showing the print at 10.25 x 15.25 yet printing 10 x 14.75".
Any ideas?
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Hi Mike
If the aspect ratio of your image isn't 10.25 x 15.25 and you don't have "Zoom to Fill" checked under Image Settings in the Print module that might cause what you are seeing....
Dan
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Tried it both ways with the same result. :(
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Maybe some screen shots of your paper setup, custom paper size setup and print dialog boxes and someone could pick up on something.
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I'm not at the studio now, but if I don't figure it out by the time I get back there, I'll do that Wayne. I've gone through all the settings multiple times and nothing sticks out. It has to be something simple.
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It's an Epson feature. I gave up printing from applications long ago as every update seems to affect something and wreck the presets. I now just export a 16 bit TIFF and print from Mirage.
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I printed just yesterday and all went well. I'm using a different paper (rather than canvas) so have changed the settings - and it's happening on both the 4900 and 9900. I don't believe it's a printer problem - probably just something set incorrectly in LR Print Module, or in the driver.
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Ok.. back at the studio. Tried just a simple square box sized to 4x8" on 8.5x11 sheet of paper. It came out perfect. So tried a 6.5" print of the one I've been trying to print on 8.5x11 and it came out exactly 6.5" wide. (I didn't bother printing the entire length - if the width was off I assume so would the length be). As soon as I switched to a 13x19 sheet and went back to the 10.25" width I wanted, the print came out 10" wide AGAIN!
Here's some screen shots of my LR panel and print panel. I don't see anything that would cause this to happen.
AND... I just tried printing it from PS with the same results. I sized the image to exactly 10.25" wide and it came out 10". If I size the image to 11", it comes out 10.75". Then I took my 4x8" box image. Printed on 13x19 paper, came out 3/16" too short (same with the length). Printed the exact same image, no changes, except to print on 8.5x11" paper and it came out exactly 4x8". Just doesn't make sense!
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I don't see in any of your screen shots where you are specifying 13x19" paper.
Also, with an Epson, I am suspicious of trying to set margins to 0, since Epson generally has minimum margins for each paper size (and these are not the same on all four sides, at least on my 3800).
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The screen shots should be there... I see them, but yes, I created a custom paper size of 13x19" with 0 margins.
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IIRC you cannot specify '0' margins without doing some hocus pocus. The Epson driver is probably forcing a margin on you which is causing the size change. Redo your custom paper setting and put in the minimum paper margins and you should get the print size you want. This is not a LR problem but an Epson driver issue.
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That's what I did Alan. The image size is much smaller than the paper size so the margins shouldn't affect it anyway - at least i've never had that problem before. But I even deleted the old 13x19 paper size I created and created a new one with 0 margins. Is there something else that needs to be done to ensure the margins are not set
I just noticed though.. that when select media, the driver used to say Sheet or Sheet (Maximum), and now that option says Sheet (Centering). What's up with that?
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Just tried printing the image on roll paper, and the dimensions are perfect. It's got something to do with printing on sheets and the margins but i don't know what.
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No idea if this relates but in the 3880 driver in the Main tab there is a click bar labeled Printable Area to the right of the Paper Settings - Source that if you click it opens a pop up with options to check Standard, Centered or Maximum for the Printable Area. If I check Maximum, then I can set margins less than the Epson minimums in LR, otherwise not. However, the Printable Area bar does not show up every time I go into the driver from Page Setup in LR - for example it's there for the 8.5x11 Hot Press Bright preset, but not for the Exhibition Fiber 8.5x11 preset. Similarly, it's there for the 17x22 Hot Press Bright but not for the 17x22 Canson Rag Photographique preset. I have no idea why that is.
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There are many other variables that I have no clue about, but simplify your print driver settings as much as possible for now. Stop using your custom paper profile (not to mean color profile, of course), and set the printer to borderless, with expansion set to none (perhaps it says "retain" --- I don't know about that particular driver), and make sure through whichever software you are printing from that it is set to print actual size (i.e., not "zoom to fill", but you have to make sure your photo has been sized correctly in the fist place). Again, this might not all come across exactly in the same terms you are seeing in your dialogues as I don't have your particular setup, but generally I think you can get things set as I've said to do a test.
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Yes, I have had this happen a couple of times. It always happens with an image that has been printed before ( IE: canvas ) and then an attempt to print on paper media. It appears that the first parameters will get logged into the file and cause a problem when you try to change the parameters, usually after a round trip from Photoshop to Lightroom. After I lost a lot of hair, I used Epson's printer uninsaller and reloaded the 9900 driver from their website. Worked perfectly
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IIRC you cannot specify '0' margins without doing some hocus pocus. The Epson driver is probably forcing a margin on you which is causing the size change.
while you cannot print a page without margins (unless it is one of the full bleed supported widths) if you are printing pages which always include 1 to 3” margins it’s actually simpler to just put 0 in the custom paper sizes. I have done this for years, and have at least 40 presets in lightroom using custom paper sizes with no margin. As long as the document has larger margins than the minimum required margins (¼” top and sides, .56 inch bottom) it will work.
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In your print dialog, I see you are using a “preset” called CPN, and your Lightroom settings are showing 0 margin. I have found Lightroom can get very flakey if using the printer driver presets. (some info I wrote some time ago is here (http://www.cwaynefox.com/wordpress/epson-printer-settings-when-printing-from-lightroom/) if you are interested)
It is much more reliable to leave the printer driver preset to default. A lightroom preset will be able to remember and recall perfectly every single setting of both the page setup and printer dialog boxes, as long as they don’t include a preset created within the epson dialog box/driver. Once you try to include that, all bets are off as to how reliable things will work.
I am not near a printer so I can’t test everything you describe, but there is certainly an oddity and the only thing that comes to mind is this preset is getting in the way. Try printing leaving this to default and then selecting all the other parameters. I believe this preset can remember things like margin size etc which may cause conflicts with Lightroom margins.
Were I trying to print what you described in the first post I would create a custom paper size just like you did. I would then Choose that paper size int he page setup, and choose the correct media choices in the Priunter dialog but leave that to “default”. I would then set my left and right margins in LR to be 1.375” and my top and bottom margins to be 1.875”. I would then save all that as a preset in LR ... as I mentioned all of the settings in the page setup, printer dialog and the actual LR settings will be recalled perfectly as long as you don’t use a printer preset inside the printer dialog box.
It’s a long shot, but you might want to try it.
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I think Wayne is probably right on the money.
I remember reading something years ago about the unreliability of print driver presets (probably from Wayne), and I have always used the "default" coupled with LR presets since then, and I have never had a problem since that time.
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Thanks Wayne... that sounds likely. And I did print this particular image as a canvas previously and this time on Cold Press Natural. I'll delete the preset and start fresh. I'll give it a try tomorrow when I get back into the studio. If that fails, I'll have to reinstall the both the 9900 and 4900 drivers then, as it happened on both printers - or are they one and the same - which would explain a lot.
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In your print dialog, I see you are using a “preset” called CPN, and your Lightroom settings are showing 0 margin. I have found Lightroom can get very flakey if using the printer driver presets.
Yes, never use them, always select "Default Settings" instead as this information is stored within LR in the Print Template. As you say, having a preset set can cause issues although I don't know that this is the exact cause of the OP's issue.
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I'll delete the preset and start fresh.
Don't delete them as they are useful in other app's like Photoshop. Just be sure that you always use "Default Settings" specificity in LR after you setup the correct parameters in the template itself (Print Settings) seen and configurable in LR.
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Thanks Andrew.. I'll do that.
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Ok... trashed the EPSON folder, reinstalled the Drivers, left the settings at Default and just changed the parameters I needed. The first print came out STILL at the smaller size, but the next one came out fine. I had completely shut down and restarted the computer and printers, so I don't know why the first print failed, but it appears to be working fine now.
Thanks for all your help guys!
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I had completely shut down and restarted the computer and printers, so I don't know why the first print failed, but it appears to be working fine now.
It's possible an older print queue was still hanging around. But doesn't matter as long as it's now working OK.
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ARGH! I spoke too soon. As soon as I put the good paper in and tried a final print, it reverted back to the smaller size... 1/4 too small. I'm going to call Epson, but this is just beyond my comprehension!
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Have you turned off Paper Size Check in the print menu? As well as my previous comment, I never try to print borderless. it just wastes ink and relies heavily on the paper being exactly right size and not skewed. If I want a print a certain size then I use a bigger sheet and trim it. It is cheaper in the long run.
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Do you have another printer, even a laser printer you can try just to check that it's the printer/driver and not Lightroom?
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I don't see a Paper Size Check option in the print menu. The problem is happening on both my 9900 and 4900, from LR, PS or even Preview (on the Mac). I spent a couple hours with Epson on the phone this afternoon and I thought we kinda got it. I managed to update the Firmware on the 9900, but that didn't fix anything. We eventually tried a canned paper size rather than a custom size, the 13x19 with no description as to whether it was roll or sheet (the first option in the A3/b 13x19 print size option) The print was coming out the correct size, but it didn't print the whole image - missed about 1/2 inch at the bottom, and then printed that last 1/2 inch on the next sheet of paper! I then tried using the 13x19 (Sheet) option - supposedly puts a .12 margin all around - and the same thing happened again. Right size, but spread over two sheets.
So I'm still at a loss and closing in on my deadline for a print order. :(
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On my 3880 it's Menu > Printer Setup > Paper Size Check > Off.
Download a free 14 trial of Mirage Print and do your job. Good luck
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Thanks Wayne... that sounds likely. And I did print this particular image as a canvas previously and this time on Cold Press Natural. I'll delete the preset and start fresh. I'll give it a try tomorrow when I get back into the studio. If that fails, I'll have to reinstall the both the 9900 and 4900 drivers then, as it happened on both printers - or are they one and the same - which would explain a lot.
Maybe a stupid idea.. but is there any chance that your image has a 1/4" white border that you can't see (because it's white)? Have you tried printing any other image?
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Mike, with Epson sheet prints the 1/2 inch at the bottom is normal. It will happen on all sheet prints of any size and you can't override it. LR will show the 1/2 inch in the print window. At least on the roll printers. The 4900 may allow this to be overridden.
Just wanted to make sure with all the other issues you knew the 1/2 was ok.
Back to your problem, the only thing I can think of is an issue with paper type selected.
Also have you tried a totally different image? I have had a similar issue where on sheet mode my 9900 put a faint white line at the top of the print 1/2 from the top. I could print any other image with no problem but that file was corrupted. It printed fine on a friends 9900 and I never could figure it out. It was only on that one image.
Hope you get this fixed.
Paul
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Mike, with Epson sheet prints the 1/2 inch at the bottom is normal. It will happen on all sheet prints of any size and you can't override it. LR will show the 1/2 inch in the print window. At least on the roll printers. The 4900 may allow this to be overridden.
It can be overridden on the 3800 and 3880, I think I posted how above. No idea about any other printers.
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With roll printers, 7800, to 9900 the 1/2 is a given, can't be over-ridden. It has something to do with how the printer takes the sheet and then scans it.
Always has to be accounted for on sheet work with these printers.
Paul
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Maybe a stupid idea.. but is there any chance that your image has a 1/4" white border that you can't see (because it's white)? Have you tried printing any other image?
Not a stupid idea and I thought that may be the problem... but it wasn't that.
I tried a bunch of different 'canned' paper sizes today and it finally worked on the 13x19 (Centered) setting. It supposedly put a .56 margin at the top and bottom, .12 on the sides... and since my image was 10.25 x 15.25 - well within the borders. It printed perfectly. At least I got my job done! Why this didn't work like it has for the last two years I still have no idea.
I would still like to know why this is happening, but Epson couldn't figure it out either so I probably never will. I usually print on roll paper anyway, but for certain smaller jobs, sheets just make more sense.
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Not a stupid idea and I thought that may be the problem... but it wasn't that.
... It supposedly put a .56 margin at the top and bottom, .12 on the sides... and since my image was 10.25 x 15.25 - well within the borders. It printed perfectly. At least I got my job done! Why this didn't work like it has for the last two years I still have no idea.
It should only be 0.56" on the trailing edge, not the top, unless you have some how turned off the 3 mm setting on the printer console panel. It should be 3 mm (about an 1/8") top and both sides. There are some console settings that override driver dialog settings, and visa versa.
Brian A
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Selecting the paper size with only .56 on the bottom didn't work. I'll check the console panel though. Do you know where exactly I'd find that setting Brian?
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Selecting the paper size with only .56 on the bottom didn't work. I'll check the console panel though. Do you know where exactly I'd find that setting Brian?
I can't remember, and I will not be back to my studio till late this afternoon. But if 3 mm margins have been set, it would be displayed on the console screen whenever it is ready to print or waiting for paper.
Brian A