Printing Covers (Photoshop, GIMP, Paint.NET, Paint)

[Shadow_Zero]

Damn, I tried to print via Paint at my work, on a laser printer. But now at home I discover the image didn't fit on the A4 paper   ?_?
Now checking print preview in Paint at home and for me this part of the instruction seems to be incorrect:

• Change your paper to Legal or larger and set your page orientation to landscape. Leave the scaling at 100%. Printing full DVD cases on Legal paper means you may have to adjust your margins from .75 on all sides to .5 You will need to test this on your printer.

I have to deselect the Centering check boxes, else it will not come out right. Can anyone else verify that? If so, we should update the instuction on the first page.

Also, I don't get this. The instructions state that all UGC covers on the site are in the right resolution. But they all are 3366 x 2100, while the instruction shows 3225 x 2156???

EDIT:
After some more fiddling, I actually can't seem to get it right in Paint. The right side of the image keeps 'falling off'. I found out centering horizontal + vertical is ok for Legal, but not A4 (horizontal will make 3/4 of the image fall off the preview with A4).
I made some pics: http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/Shadow_Zero80/library/UGC/Paint%20print%20issue?sort=6&page=1

[Arseen]

I print from Paint (XP version) on to A4 paper with no problems using 5mm margins (0.2 inch).

3366 x 2100 is the correct resolution with 300 DPI.

[Shadow_Zero]

Got a legacy Photoshop CS2 from Adobe (https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?pid=4485850&e=cs2_downloads), now the print is perfect!

@Arseen: The Paint instruction mentions 0.5 inch margins, or do I miss the 0.2 inch instruction??
Shouldn't the resolutions be rectified in the instructions?

EDIT:
Scratch that last part. I need to edit the image to 3225 x 2156 for it to fit in the UGC. 3366 x 2100 won't fit!
Actually, only now I notice that, keeping the aspect ratio, it's 3225 x 2012 (not 2156). Confusing!

[Arseen]

@Arseen: The Paint instruction mentions 0.5 inch margins, or do I miss the 0.2 inch instruction??
Shouldn't the resolutions be rectified in the instructions?

General rule is set both centerings (Horizontal and Vertical) on and make the margins as small as possible, 0 is fine too.
Landscape and make sure that scaling is 100% and autofit is off.

[Arseen]

Might be that as the latest patches of UGCs is smaller than the originals, the fit is tighter.

[Vanir]

Might be that as the latest patches of UGCs is smaller than the originals, the fit is tighter.

Wait, is this true? Can you confirm this? And if so, do you know of a general date that they may have changed case sizes? I've been wracking my brains for months trying to figure out why the prints are too big for the case, and I'm sick of looking at 70+ identical clear cases on my shelf.

[Arseen]

Might be that as the latest patches of UGCs is smaller than the originals, the fit is tighter.

Wait, is this true? Can you confirm this? And if so, do you know of a general date that they may have changed case sizes? I've been wracking my brains for months trying to figure out why the prints are too big for the case, and I'm sick of looking at 70+ identical clear cases on my shelf.

I don't use UGCs myself, but what I have been reading on the boards here, they have indeed shrunk the case ( or the way the cover fits in it) by millimeter or 2.
I think the change took place end of last year or fall.

UGC covers still fit but need just bit more trimming.

[Shadow_Zero]

Changing the resolution to 3225, as per screenshot in the OP, instead of 3366 works for me in any case!

[Traveller]

I just got a few UGC's and I had to trim the N64 cover to fit. I got it printed at Office Works and made sure that it was printed as the actual image size.

I guess they are definitely smaller? Or could it have been a setting? I'm new to doing these custom cases.

[rykerrk]

Changing the resolution to 3225, as per screenshot in the OP, instead of 3366 works for me in any case!

I'll have to try this.  As you can see, I had a bit of a problem when I got my prints home today...

Kinda took the wind out of my sails over doing this, especially considering I just wasted about twenty eight prints.  :/

Unless someone else had any other ideas.  I'm using Paint on Windows 7, printing on A4 (8.5x14) with scaling at 100%.

[Shadow_Zero]

Got a legacy Photoshop CS2 from Adobe (https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?pid=4485850&e=cs2_downloads), now the print is perfect!

@Arseen: The Paint instruction mentions 0.5 inch margins, or do I miss the 0.2 inch instruction??
Shouldn't the resolutions be rectified in the instructions?

EDIT:
Scratch that last part. I need to edit the image to 3225 x 2156 for it to fit in the UGC. 3366 x 2100 won't fit!
Actually, only now I notice that, keeping the aspect ratio, it's 3225 x 2012 (not 2156). Confusing!

@rykerrk: Try it with Photoshop and the instruction in the OP (and image size at 3225).

[Vanir]

Well, I finally found the perfect size for the UGCs: 3345 x 2100.  

Goes right up to both edges, while still being about 1 millimeter shorter than the entire plastic sleeve of the UGC (which may be a bad thing, but I'm tired of adjusting).

Now if only I can find out how to stop my printer from making roller marks(?)...


Ugghhhhh, and they're apparently getting worse after a couple months of the printer never being used...

[Nacho3]

Got a legacy Photoshop CS2 from Adobe (https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?pid=4485850&e=cs2_downloads), now the print is perfect!

@Arseen: The Paint instruction mentions 0.5 inch margins, or do I miss the 0.2 inch instruction??
Shouldn't the resolutions be rectified in the instructions?

EDIT:
Scratch that last part. I need to edit the image to 3225 x 2156 for it to fit in the UGC. 3366 x 2100 won't fit!
Actually, only now I notice that, keeping the aspect ratio, it's 3225 x 2012 (not 2156). Confusing!

@rykerrk: Try it with Photoshop and the instruction in the OP (and image size at 3225).

I haven't read this thread for a while or I would have posted this earlier but 3225 x 2156 @ 300 DPI is for a DVD size cover not UGC (in the original post he is printing an Xbox 360 game). UGC should be 3366 x 2100 but if that doesn't fit the new cases only the 3366 would be affected because they are the same height and it would not be by very much (if you change it to 3mm shorter it would only end up being 3331 x 2100, 3225 makes it 12mm shorter and I have a hard time believing they are that much shorter). However, that would change the aspect if you only change that so the best to do is print at 3366 x 2100 then trim slightly inside the left and right side. Check this post for proper dimensions of all kinds of cases http://www.thecoverproject.net/forums/index.php?topic=39.0

[steve5513]

I've tried in both GIMP and MS Paint and can't get it to work. Image dimensions are 3366x2100 which is correct for the UGC which I'm using. Paper size I'm using is A4 (Tried setting printer to both legal and A4 and neither work)

The right hand side of the cover always gets cut off a bit. So, for example, on the bottom right hand side of the N64 covers is the rating and then to the right of that is "Nintendo" written vertically. That bit of vertical text is always cut off. Anyone know what's going wrong? I've checked several times and my settings are the exact same as the guide shows.

[Arseen]

Make sure that scaling 100%,, fit to page is off, margins are as small as possible (with A4 5mm is max, but if you can set it to 0) and put centering on both vertically and horizontally.

That is all I can think of.