5.5" x 8.5" paper/card -- my PTR center feeds - Word fails to center feed adjust?

K

Kevin Waite

Okay....
Simply....

If I add an envelop to a document -- Word prints the envelop correctly,
understand that my printer forces all custom paper sizes to be center
fed. For envelops -- printing from Word is fine.

If I make a custom paper size, in this case, 5.5" width and
8.5" length.

So far I have not been able to make Word print this so that
it adjust for the fact that this paper/card has to be center
fed.....

I have played around with starting with an envelop and
converting it from Landscape to Portrait -- and that
works fine -- it is when I change the paper size setting
to custom from envelop #10 -- this is when it loses
the center feed adjustment....

HELP!!!

Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
Kevin Waite
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

The printer *forces* the paper to be center-fed? Mine has paper guides that
center small paper stock, but I can feed small stock to the left (without
using the paper guides) if required, and it is required for paper sizes not
defined in the printer driver. If the paper size is available from the list
on the Paper tab of Page Setup, then it can be fed from the center; if it is
"Custom," then I have to feed it as if it were Letter. If this is not
possible for you, then you have no option but to set up your smaller size
centered on a Letter-sized sheet (adjusting the side margins as needed) in
order to feed it from the center.
 
K

Kevin Waite

Well, for thicker stock, like the cards I am trying to print,
they must be feed from tray 1 -- on my laser printer -- tray 1
has sliders that pinch together to fit the size of the paper,
they pinch by centering the paper -- so that thick non-std.
size stock feeds through in the center of the paper print
path.

What is MS Word doing for envelops? Because it does
envelops correctly. Can I not make a custom envelop size?

Still seeking HELP!

Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
Kevin Waite
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

Envelopes are a defined size. If you look at the Paper tab of Page Setup,
you'll see that Envelope #10 is one of the choices. I have a similar printer
(HP LJ 4100), and I feed all kinds of custom sizes from the left edge of
Tray 1, leaving the sliders fully extended. As long as the paper is wide
enough to be caught by the center roller, it will feed fine. If the cards
are a size you use frequently, you may be able to define a paper size for
them through the printer Properties (this is an option that may be available
only for PostScript printers, but I can do it for the 4100).
 
K

Kevin Waite

Ms. Barnhill,
I appreciate your responses -- but you are missing the KEY
point....
MS Word knows how to tell the printer that the page will
be center fed for envelops, and even envelops of differing
sizes.
Thus there must be a way to configure MS Word such that
a page will be center fed.
Not using the slides will result in cards shifting this way
and that and I need to print in exactly specific margins -- so
that isn't the best approach, secondly the RSVP cards I
am also going to print will miss or barely miss the center
roller if I ignore the centering sliders.
I understand that you don't know how to do this.
But it would seem that this is almost a basic thing -- and it
seems not well implemented if envelops are hard coded/configured
for center feed and all customer page sizes are left
without similar support -- it is just how to enable it.

Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Kevin Waite
p.s. I only posted this twice (2nd thread) because this thread was not
present
when I checked this morning -- it showed up later....
 
K

Kevin Waite

The way to make this work is:

You must define ALL custom paper sizes at the OS level (printer driver
level) for XP/NT/2000. In Win95/98 you did not.

Please review the following from: MS's knowledge base Q304639
In Windows 95, you can select the paper size Custom, and then select the
page height and width. Under NT-based systems, to print to a custom size,
you must select a printer form, which specifies the paper size. To view the
different forms that are available on your system, open the Printers window,
and click Server Properties on the File menu.

Once I made a new printer paper size form called My_Card -- with a size 5.5
x 8.5 you can then select from within Word "My_Card" as a paper size and
when I print with the corresponding card stock center fed -- it prints
correctly! Problem is solved.

Hope this helps everyone....

Sincerely,

Kevin Waite
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

No, I am not overlooking the key point. The key point is that the printer
driver you are using has a defined size for the envelope and not for the
card (and Word is only doing what the printer driver allows it to do).
Unless you define a paper size for the card, it is a "custom" size and the
printer will feed it from the left.
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

This is pretty much what I told you to do, but I accomplished the same thing
through the printer Properties; presumably if you do it in the Server
Properties dialog, the size is established for all installed printers.
 
K

Kevin Waite

Ms. Barnhill,

Well, the key to this whole
story is how to define a paper size under
XP/NT/2000 -- since you can't
under MS Word correctly, and Word
doesn't warn or report an error, it
just prints wrong.

You never explained that this was
an OS issue that came with the advent
of NT/2000/XP. Nor did you reference
the key MS's knowledge base Q304639
white paper.

Per your guidance and usage you
have been feeding custom sizes without
using your printer centering sliders,
and if the card stock is too small
to reach the middle feed roller, you
are S.O.L. This is sub-par guidance.

I scanned this newsgroup at Google Groups going
back to '99. And many folks have been
turned away without learning the
correct solution.

a) with the advent of XP/NT/2000 -- MS Word is
no longer allowed to create a new paper size -- but
if you do -- there will be no error reported -- but
your printing will likely be wrong.

b) creating a paper size for a printer has been formally moved
to the OS level and once you create and name a
new paper size there it will then become a valid selection
from MS Word.

Sincerely,
Kevin Waite
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

I have created several paper sizes for stock that I use frequently. But my
impression (perhaps faulty) is that there is a limit to the number of custom
sizes you can create (unless you delete some of the built-in sizes), so I
don't create new sizes for one-offs (I use a lot of specialty notepaper,
greeting cards, etc., that are of extremely variable sizes).
 
S

Steven White

Kevin

I've reviewed your post because it is nearly identical to mine of a few days prior that I was puzzled by the workaround offered. I've quickly looked at the knowledge base article that your research took you to. Did you use the STRUCT.VCX class to perform the steps listed and if so, did it fix your issue so that it made it simple to print that custom size paper? When I have more time, I plan to look further at your solution to see if it will address mine as well. In any case, thanks for your insight and research!
 
L

Lynn Herman

Kevin

I am having a similar problem with trying to correctly print a 5.5"x8.5" card so I appreciated your entry. I am using Windows 2000 Professional. However, if I define a new form under Server Properties as you outline, I can not see it as a choice in Word under Page Setup, paper size for my local printer. However, if I select one of my network printers, the choice for "my_card" is there. Any thoughts there

Lynn Herma

----- Kevin Waite wrote: ----

The way to make this work is

You must define ALL custom paper sizes at the OS level (printer drive
level) for XP/NT/2000. In Win95/98 you did not

Please review the following from: MS's knowledge base Q30463
In Windows 95, you can select the paper size Custom, and then select th
page height and width. Under NT-based systems, to print to a custom size
you must select a printer form, which specifies the paper size. To view th
different forms that are available on your system, open the Printers window
and click Server Properties on the File menu

Once I made a new printer paper size form called My_Card -- with a size 5.
x 8.5 you can then select from within Word "My_Card" as a paper size an
when I print with the corresponding card stock center fed -- it print
correctly! Problem is solved

Hope this helps everyone...

Sincerely

Kevin Wait
 
B

Bob S

I am having a similar problem with trying to correctly print a 5.5"x8.5" card so I appreciated your entry. I am using Windows 2000 Professional. However, if I define a new form under Server Properties as you outline, I can not see it as a choice in Word under Page Setup, paper size for my local printer. However, if I select one of my network printers, the choice for "my_card" is there. Any thoughts there?
Click to expand...

It sounds as though you created the new form on the computer that is
acting as server for the network printer. If you also want your local
printer to see that form, you also need to create it on the computer
that is acting as server for the local printer, i.e. your own
computer. In general, you need to create the form on each computer
that is hosting a printer that you want to use the form with.

So start with your local printer properties dialog and create the form
again.

Bob S
 
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