Printing with Adobe Reader

[member_3]

I recently got involved in a discussion of fit problems on a model that had been printed using Adobe Reader. The original model was in A4 format (8.3" x 11.7") and was being printed on U.S. letter size (8.5" x 11") paper. The following is offered because I was not previously aware of how Adobe handled the options and I felt some others might not be also.

Adobe offers four options for printing a document:
1. No scaling (print as is)
2. Fit to printable area
3. Shrink to printable area
4. Scale to a fixed percentage of the original (e.g., 112% or 98%, etc.)

NO SCALING - when printing A4 pages on letter size paper this often results in "clipping" at the top and/or bottom of the page. This can be avoided by printing on U.S. legal size (8.5" x 14") paper or some other paper that has dimensions greater than A4. I use a 9" x 12" art paper, for example.

FIT TO PRINTABLE AREA - Bad dog! No biscuit! This option will force the original to fit the paper size on which you are printing. In the case of A4 to letter the height is squeezed into 11" while the width is expanded to 8.5". This distorts the original AND SHOULD NEVER BE USED for dimension critical pages, i.e. those with parts on them. This was the cause of the fit problems mentioned at the beginning.

SHRINK TO PRINTABLE AREA - Bad kitty! No catnip! A little different than "fit" because the original dimensions will be changed only if they exceed the paper on which you are printing. In the case of A4 to letter, the height is reduced but the width is not. Again, this option SHOULD NEVER BE USED for dimension critical pages.

SCALE TO A FIXED PERCENTAGE - Because no distortion is introduced, this option can be used to reduce the size of the A4 page to fit on a letter size page - 94% will ensure that nothing is clipped top or bottom. The disadvantage here is that your 1:33 scale model has now become a 1:35 scale model (but at least the parts should fit.)

One other (less desirable) method can be used - print the page with no scaling and with the "auto center" option deselected. Then use the "View, Rotate" option to invert the image and print it again. You will have the info that was clipped on one of the sheets. This uses twice the paper and twice the ink so is NOT recommended.

Bottom line - print with no scaling on paper that can accommodate the 11.7" height of A4 paper or print at 94%.

I hope this has been of help to someone else out there...

[cgutzmer]

Yes indeed it does help! When I printed I almost always used fir to page. I figured it would "fit" every page the same! If it uses a differnt "fit" per page that could explain some of the problems I had along the way :)
Chris

[ccoyle]

Thanks, Ron!

I confess I did not know what all those various printing options actually meant.

The disadvantage here is that your 1:33 scale model has now become a 1:35 scale model

Yes, but now one can incorporate their model into dioramas featuring 1/35 p*****c armor! ;)

[rmks2000]

An old trick I learned from DeWayne was to tape a 3/4" strip of card to the letter-size cardstock in order to make it as long as A4. In most cases with Marek's kits, all of the parts will print on the actual letter portion of the card. You'll need to determine where the strip is added (top or bottom) based on how the parts are located.

[cgutzmer]

ooohhhh very cool tip!

[Retired_for_now]

I always wondered what the red button did ...

[Wilfried]

Hello Ron,

nice, thank you for this explanation! This will be stop a lot of questions about fitting and scaling problems ..

With lovely greetings
the Wilfried

[dansls1]

Very good explanation of what can be a confusing topic Ron - thanks ;)

[Retired_for_now]

Ron,
Using Adobe Reader 8 I have options of: none, fit, shrink, multiple pages per sheet, and booklet. To do the scaling trick I have to select none on the Adobe print page, then click printer properties (HP inkjet) on that page and use the printer's effects tab to print at a "percent of normal size."

Yogi

Just when you thought it was safe ...

[member_3]

Yogi - I might have misled a little - as you said, the scale to a percentage is reached by clicking the printer "Properties" button and then selecting the "Page Layout" tab (at least for my Epson.) Each printer may have its own variation of this. My original rambling made it sound like the options were all in the same place - sorry. :(

[SJPONeill]

Thanks, Ron...really useful as I was also one of those who thought that 'fit to page' was the way to go - probably explains some funny fits as well (a good excuse anyway!!)

[Barry]

Check if you set your printer to a custom length greater than the normal it's the easiest way.can Do it a sheet at a time though you just use your normal paper if we are talking the difference between A4 and Letter.

[JT Fox]

I find that if I use "Advanced" and then "Print As Image" it will sometimes improve the colour of the print.

Cheers JTF

[ccoyle]

Using Adobe Reader 8 I have options of: none, fit, shrink, multiple pages per sheet, and booklet. To do the scaling trick I have to select none on the Adobe print page, then click printer properties (HP inkjet) on that page and use the printer's effects tab to print at a "percent of normal size."

I'm using Adobe Reader 7, and I have to do the same procedure, except for some unfathomable reason, setting the '% of normal size' option seems to not be overriding the 'no scaling' option. I'm still getting parts running off the page, and I'm about ready to run up the white flag. Any thoughts?

[redhorse]

One other option for parts that overrun the page is to use the snapshot tool in Acrobat. It will allow you to only print the part you selected - just right click on the selected area and choose print. It doesn't work for really big parts, but it is helpful.

[Gideon]

Unfortunately, my printer driver (HP) does not offer a "percent of normal size" option. What saved me was downloading and installing a different PDF reader that has the option to scale to a given percentage from the software's print dialogue box. The software is called Foxit Reader and is available free at this website.

Foxit Software - Foxit Reader 3.0 for Windows (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader/)

The other day I was able to change from 1:100 to 1:96 by priniting at 104.17% (nice resolution of scaling).

Hope it helps someone else as much as it has helped me.

[Ponchomx]

Thanks, very helpful for those who started.

[airdave]

I just want to comment on a couple of related printer thoughts...

most printers have no idea what paper has been inserted for printing.
it only knows what setting is chosen, for paper size.

the problem is if the image being printed doesn't fit within the bounds of the installed paper...but unless the parts on the model page reach the edges, then usually the parts will fit on the slightly smaller sheet.

its only if the designer has positioned parts beyond the print margin for that size of paper.

many printers settings include adjustment for margin sizes
allowing you to squeeze a little more printing room out of a page.
(some printers will even offer marginless printing.)

never..."fit to page" when printing. the rescale is not consistent between pages and you will end up with different size parts!
(also never "crop, rotate and fit" because this can also be inconsistent from page to page)

try opening files in some sort of imaging software (ie paint program)
and print from there, using the "print preview" and "print settings" options to postion and modify to fit.
this also applies to "Reader" programs...always try to avoid using the built in Windows print options
or your Printer software (that came with your printer)

(and remember, if you upscale or downsize a page or part, you must apply the same percentage adjustment to all other pages and parts)