A4 and US Letter PDF Compatibility?

[jagolden01]

Leif,

Don't understand the "awkward handle" thing.

Also, how can it be said that the "determined measurements" will work for ALL inkjets. Rather a broad statement without actual samples to back it up.

[papersmithforge]

Originally Posted by jagolden01

Just stay at 7" x 10" and it'll be fine. Simple as that.

Also, how can it be said that the "determined measurements" will work for ALL inkjets. Rather a broad statement without actual samples to back it up.

It isn't my desire to sound rude or start a flame war or anything of the sort jagolden01, that said, you essentially made a sweeping statement in your previous post and then try to point out that logic fallacy in another's argument.

The purpose of this thread is precisely to try and gather as many samples as possible so as to make an informed conclusion. You chose not to provide samples from your particular printer and I respect that. The measurements I have determined as "universal" have been computed from the 20 or so different printer's data that was made available to me (on this forum and others). Also, I have looked at data from various printer manufacturers available on their websites, not extensively, but I have indeed surveyed them.

I can make available the dataset, but that wouldn't serve much purpose as I would imagine most folks are interested in the result rather than the work.

@Leif: I have included my nickname in my signature now, so Mig will do just fine, and happy to know you're still keeping an eye on the thread.

[rjm]

I have an old iMac driving an hpdeskjet 920c. I suppose Carl (goldenbear) could
tell me how old and outdated that is! I don't see any to set margins.
On letter paper at 100% and fit to print set to none I get the following:
Top first mark is 1, Left is 9, Right is 8 and bottom is 16 in 32nds.
Top first mark is 4, Left is 7, Right is 7 and bottom is 12 in mms.
On A4 paper Top first mark is 2, Left is 4, Right is 4 and bottom is 15 in 32nds.
Top first mark is 2, Left is 4, Right is 4 and bottom is 12 in mms.
Sometimes I have to tell the printer I'm using Legal paper but deselect
centering to get the length to print in full on A4 paper.
Do these numbers tell me anything? (Other than buying a new printer,
that is).

[papersmithforge]

That's alright rjm, and thatnks for contributing, I myself have an HP Deskjet 820 Cse so I'm running even more ancient tech. What that tells me is that the area I determined should successfully print on your printer regardless of paper size. Although I will highlight something that seems to be amiss. Your A4 sheet all works as it should, but your Letter sheet seems to have a discrepancy. The left, right, and bottom margins are fine in the sense that if we convert from inches to millimeters or vice-versa we get the numbers that are there. However, when we convert the top margin's 1/32 of an inch we don't get anywhere near 4 mm. So either your printer decided to print more on one cycle or maybe it didn't track the paper correctly on one of those two prints. My HP has some issues with gripping the paper. I have to physically push it into the feeder with my hand to get it to cycle.

Thanks again for helping rjm.

Assuming you can resolve the issue of the top margin, these numbers also tell you the maximum page area available to your particular printer. So if you were designing stuff for yourself you could maximize the size and placement of pieces. This way you wouldn't chop off anything inadvertently or have unnecessary unused space.

I find the centering command to be unreliable so I try to avoid it altogether, because again that all depends on printer setups and maximum print area and stuff your average user might not think of. When you center it may shift the page downwards which is why some of it may get cut off.

[rjm]

Thanks Mig,
Actually the numbers I gave are what I thought you were interested in, that is
the first full mark that had a number associated with it.
On both sides of both pieces of paper the printing starts at 2mm from the top
and stops printing at 12 mm from the bottom. This bottom measurement is
what causes me to select Legal size paper to print on A4 and Letter size paper
without losing the full print at the bottom. The Left and right sides of the A4 sheet
print to less than 4mm from the sides, I put the paper in the printer right up
against the right side of the tray since it (the tray) is Letter size width. This is
useful when the model has something to be printed on the back so that it is
in registration with the front. The Left and Right sides of the Letter are both
at 6mm from the sides.
To me this is consistent from page to page so I think the printer is "grabbing"
the paper the same way every time. The only time I have trouble starting a
page correctly is on photo paper, sometimes it gets really messed up.
I had an older hpdeskwriter that had provisions for setting the margins, but
this one doesn't as far as I know. So I'm stuck with what I have. Most models
I download seem to be ok, but not all. Some don't have a problem going to
a different scale than what is advertised by doing a "fit to" what ever paper
they are using, but if all would agree on whatever works on both A4 and
Letter size IMHO we wouldn't have to.
By the way I bought the "Bear" from eCardModels and printed it at 1/72nd
scale which is big enough for me.
Thanks for this thread.
Bob