Word images tiling when printing

[Jess]

I have a user who has a master document. In that master document he has
several seperate documents totaling 170 pages. This document has jpgs and
tiffs that are rather large in file size themselves.

When he prints the document there are certain images that will "tile" or
split...the same image repeats 2, 3, or 4 times in the image placeholder.

He is using Word 2003 because we were trying to get him to compress the
images down (his documents would end up 75% smaller after compressing and
deleting crop marks), however he feels that 200dpi is not working for what he
is doing. However, when he compresses the document the images do not tile (I
assume this is because Word 2003 uses a pdf-ish utility to compress those
pictures).

As of right now he needs to print this uncompressed document and does not
want the images to tile. What causes this to happen, and is there a reghack
to change the dpi settings for compression in Word 2003?

Thanks!

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi =?Utf-8?B?SmVzcw==?=,

This is not something I've ever heard of, before. Word doesn't really respect
DPI; as I recall, it processes everything at 96 dpi. But JPG compression does
lose graphic information.

I'm wondering, though, if there's a problem in the actual graphics files that's
causing the tiling. Maybe they're in a format that Word's JPG converter can't
handle correctly. But once they're compressed, whatever this extra information
is that's causing the tiling is getting filtered out?

What happens if you open such a JPG in a different graphics editor, save it
again, and import that into Word? Is the result any different?

I have a user who has a master document. In that master document he has
several seperate documents totaling 170 pages. This document has jpgs and
tiffs that are rather large in file size themselves.

When he prints the document there are certain images that will "tile" or
split...the same image repeats 2, 3, or 4 times in the image placeholder.

He is using Word 2003 because we were trying to get him to compress the
images down (his documents would end up 75% smaller after compressing and
deleting crop marks), however he feels that 200dpi is not working for what he
is doing. However, when he compresses the document the images do not tile (I
assume this is because Word 2003 uses a pdf-ish utility to compress those
pictures).

As of right now he needs to print this uncompressed document and does not
want the images to tile. What causes this to happen, and is there a reghack
to change the dpi settings for compression in Word 2003?

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or reply
in the newsgroup and not by e-mail

 

[Rob]

I've got the same problem, this is because word
automaticaly compress the image. When I disable
compression, MS Word automatic enable it.

Does enyone know a solution?

 

[Rene Ramirez]

I believe this is an on going problem that Microsoft has failed to fix. I
also believe the problem lies in the way Office handles lossy format graphics
(jpg, gif, etc). I ran a few test after my users started complaining about
this. I found out that the way Office handeled jpgs in Word 2000 is
different in 2003, infact from XP to 2003 it is different. If you use a
graphics file that is larger is size (i.e. 8x10) and insert it into word,
resize (i.e. 4x7) it will cause it to "tile" the image just as Jess
explained. If you use a graphics editor to resize the image (i.e. 4x7), it
will NOT "tile". This is true if you use a graphic that is lets say a jpeg.
BUT, here is a trick for you; If you were to insert the exact same graphics
file in its original size (i.e. 8x10), but previously having saved the
graphics file as an .eps, you do not get this "tiling" effect.

I really do believe that Microsoft needs to come up with a way to fix this.

Oh yea, before I forget, there is a nother work around. Ready? If you want
to keep your pictures as JPGs, and want to avoid the "tiling" effect, go to
Control Panel | Printers (XP only) | Printers & Faxes | ...Then right click
on the printer you are going to print the document to, go to the ADVANCED
tab, and select the PRINT DIRECTLY TO THE PRINTER option instead of the
SPOOLING option. For some reason this seems to work. CAUTION: because you
are printing directly to the printer, you may be limited by the printer's
physical memory. It will also render your box useless until the print job is
finished.

Again, I really think Microsoft needs to come out with a fix.

If you get stuck please feel free to contact me at: (e-mail address removed)

-Rene

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Rene,

The workarounds you mention can help. There are
some odd issues that seem to only kick in with spooling
to certain brand/model/version of printers/drivers.

Are you seeing this in a new Word 2003 document or
only in Master documents? That feature can be somewhat
'fragile'. If you have a document that repeatedly
shows the tiling effect could you zip and email me a
copy along with information on your Windows and printer
model/driver versions?

To reduce the document file size and to keep Word from storing
multiple image copies sizing a graphic to the finished
size is suggested as you recommended and using graphics
that have stored the Pixel per inch (PPI) value in them
as well. Starting witth Word 2002 MS switched
to GDI+ as the graphics engine, first introduced in
Office then in Windows XP and there are several other
'vendor' provided GDI+ DLLs that show up.

EPS filter support was also changed starting in Word 2002
(built-in and rendering the EPS rather than the preview)
but EPS has never been one of the MS 'first choice' graphics
formats.

=======
I believe this is an on going problem that Microsoft has failed to fix. I
also believe the problem lies in the way Office handles lossy format graphics
(jpg, gif, etc). I ran a few test after my users started complaining about
this. I found out that the way Office handeled jpgs in Word 2000 is
different in 2003, infact from XP to 2003 it is different. If you use a
graphics file that is larger is size (i.e. 8x10) and insert it into word,
resize (i.e. 4x7) it will cause it to "tile" the image just as Jess
explained. If you use a graphics editor to resize the image (i.e. 4x7), it
will NOT "tile". This is true if you use a graphic that is lets say a jpeg.
BUT, here is a trick for you; If you were to insert the exact same graphics
file in its original size (i.e. 8x10), but previously having saved the
graphics file as an .eps, you do not get this "tiling" effect.

I really do believe that Microsoft needs to come up with a way to fix this.

Oh yea, before I forget, there is a nother work around. Ready? If you want
to keep your pictures as JPGs, and want to avoid the "tiling" effect, go to
Control Panel | Printers (XP only) | Printers & Faxes | ...Then right click
on the printer you are going to print the document to, go to the ADVANCED
tab, and select the PRINT DIRECTLY TO THE PRINTER option instead of the
SPOOLING option. For some reason this seems to work. CAUTION: because you
are printing directly to the printer, you may be limited by the printer's
physical memory. It will also render your box useless until the print job is
finished.

Again, I really think Microsoft needs to come out with a fix.

-Rene>>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx