Printing problems

[Ben Paddon]

Because of the high resolutions, my computer assumes that the images are a hojillion inches by another hojillion inches, and thus printing at 100% scale means I only get part of the image. I can resize the image down but I lose a lot of detail that way, which kind of defeats the purpose of having large sized images in the first place. I'm using PSP7 and I'm printing on A4 size paper, and I have successfully printed off one DVD case cover by resizing the image only slightly and printing the image at 24 scale, but when I've recreated this method subsequently I get a printout which is ever-so-slightly too large.

Now in theory I could size the image down a bit more and create a white border around it, but that would take ages to get right. Does anyone know how I can solve this issue? I can't print out any covers until this is sorted and I've wasted almost an entire black ink cartridge printing out test images (just a black border, of course, but I've done it so many times!).

[Snowcone]

Can someone that uses PSP7 chime in on this? I don't use PSP.

[wshbrngr]

DISCLAIMER:  I am no expert.

However, printing with Photoshop or IfanView (freeware) I was asked if I wanted to print from dpi or actual size. (full size on screen is huge). I chose to print by dpi and the results are correct. I would guess psp7 has the same ability. But this is only a guess.


This reflects my results only, other results may vary. Offer not valid or available in any state where prohibited by law.

[nesagwa]

Im having a similar problem with the Wii Sports jewel case.

Im printing it to fit the DPI and it LOOKS about right, but when I put it next to a CD case its like 1/4 an inch too wide.

[Snowcone]

The cd jewel case includes the spine on 2 sides so it needs to be folded twice.

[nesagwa]

The cd jewel case includes the spine on 2 sides so it needs to be folded twice.

I guess I was eyeballing it wrong and just a worry wart.  Fits fine.

Sorry for the trouble 

[Ben Paddon]

I sorted the problem out. A quick fix is to insert the image into a Microsoft Word document and resize it from there. Here's what you do:

• 1. Open Word, and go to File > Page Setup.... et the orientation to Landscape and click "OK". You'll probably want to change the zoom setting to "Page Width", too - this can be done by finding the Zoom setting on the Standard Toolbar (it's a drop-down menu above the font colour options, full of percentage options).
• 2. Go to Insert > Picture > From File... then find your boxcover. Click "OK" and your cover has been inserted into the image. It may be too big, or too small, but we're about to fix that.
• 3. Right-click the image and select "Format Picture". A new window will open with a selection of options. Select the "Layout" tab and choose "In front of text".
• 4. Now choose the "Size" tab. Turn off "Lock aspect ratio" just to be on the safe side. You'll need to input the dimensions for your cover in centimetres. You can use inches if you like, but you'll get a printout which is slightly too large for some reason. You can use an online conversion tool like this one to convert between inches and centimetres. For a DVD case size cover, the measurements are 18.25625cm heigh by 27.305cm wide. CLick OK when you're done.
• 5. Now you'veresized the image, you may need to move it. Click and drag the image to the centre of the page.
• 6. You're now ready to print! Adjust the printer's quality settings as you see fit (I usually print mine on high-quality photo paper, because I'm sad like that) and watch your correctly-sized cover come out of the printer. Magic!
  

[KaiserWAVE]

Thanks for the guide Ben. I'm sure this will help a lot of people who are stopping by this site. Good work.