printing circles to exact measurements

[John Pfuntner]

I want to create a document with some circles of exact sizes. When I say
exact, this isn't brain surgery or rocket science... it doesn't really have
to be precise but it should be a lot closer than it is. I'm using Word 2003
(11.5604.5606) and printing on an HP deskjet 845c. I have two types of
circles: one should be 2-15/16" inches in diameter and the other should be
2-1/2". I've created the circles and went into their properties pages to
set their height and width to 2.93" and 2.5". When I view on the screen at
100% zoom, the image sizes look pretty good if I hold a ruler up... but I'm
not sure if I can even rely on that. Anyway, when I print to my deskjet,
the sizes are bigger: 3-1/8" in diameter and 2-5/8". I'm trying to make up
a design sheet from which someone can draw designs that can be made into a
Badge-A-Minit 2-1/2" button.

Without fiddling with the sizes and printing dozens of tests until I get it
right, can anyone suggest how I can get circles the size I want?

Also, I'd like to be able to share this document with other family and
friends and they'll print on different printers. If I come up with
something that prints well for me, can I guarantee my friends will get the
same size on their printers?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Well, first of all, disabuse yourself of the notion that 100% Zoom means
anything. Depending on your screen size and resolution, "100%" could be
larger or smaller than the printed page; it's just a reference point. But if
you've set the sizes of your AutoShapes to exact dimensions, then that's
what you *should* get when you print. If I create circles this size in Word
2003 and print on an HP LJ 4100, I get circles the exact size expected. So
there's something wrong somewhere.

One thing to consider would be the weight of the line used to draw the
circles. The default line weight is 0.75 pt, which shouldn't affect the size
of the shapes, but obviously one that is much heavier would have to be taken
into account (and I'm not sure whether Word measures the dimensions of the
shape from the inside, outside, or center of the line). Beyond that, the
problem must be in the printer driver. The size differences are so subtle
that it doesn't seem likely that any page scaling is involved, so it could
just be that the driver is not very accurate. You might check www.hp.com to
see if there is an updated driver that might do better.

 

[Mary Sauer]

Avery has a blank template for a 2.5 round label
http://www.avery.com/us/Main?action...&node=10194440&cat=Labels&subcat=Round+Labels