Word MVPs - Why do images not always print as expected?

W

Word Worrier

What follows was originally posted in microsoft.public.word.general -
please excuse my reposting. I would very much like some informed
answers...
+ + ==================================

I was using Word 2000 to make a CD cover. I picked a couple pictures
I liked, cropped them using image editing software, and put them into
a Word document containing a two column, one row table with cell sizes
set to 4.75 wide by 4.715 high (the dimensions in inches of a CD
cover) with cell margins set to zero. I of course sized the images so
that they fit exactly in the cells.

I then typed the track listings into the left cell (the one that would
form the "inside" cover for the CD, formatting the text so that parts
of the picture under it were visible.

When I print the thing, it comes up with the text and photo aligned
way differently - not even close - to the way I have it in the
document.

I can restart Windows, go into the document, even do a print preview,
and it looks perfect. Print it and, again, the text/background image
alignment are off by probably half an inch. That's more than 10%.

First, why is this happening?

Second, is there a better way to work with images and text in Word
that would prevent it from happening? I of course could make a mental
note that the text will show up half an inch higher in print than on
screen, and through trial and error get it right - but what is the
point of all that effort when Word is SUPPOSED to be WYSIWYG?
 
P

pcbutts1

Why use word? Use the label making program that comes with your burning
software. Also try updating your printer drivers.
 
W

Word Worrier

Why use word? Use the label making program that comes with your burning
software. Also try updating your printer drivers.
Click to expand...

I have a version 4.something Jewel Case Creator that came with the
then-Adaptec, now Roxio EZ-CD Creator that came with my drive. It's
okay, but doesn't give me nearly as much control and flexibility as
Word does.

Anyway, my original question actually applies to non-CD applications.
For example, I was printing a document in which I'd included a photo
that I had cropped in Word. On the screen, it looked perfect (had
cropped a full-length shot of a person down to his face). It printed
showing not the face, but the stomach. So that's another example of
Word displaying one thing and printing another, which is the issue I'm
actually trying to solve.
 
W

Word Worrier

Your printer drivers are they the most current? I have seen this with HP
printers.
Click to expand...

Oops, sorry, I neglected to address that one. My printer is an HP
920C purchased in 2002. The drivers for my OS (Windows 98), dated
12-11-01, have not changed since I bought the printer. I have been to
the HP site here and there checking for updates.

Other suggestions?
 
L

Liz

I was using Word 2000 to make a CD cover. I picked a couple pictures
I liked, cropped them using image editing software, and put them into
a Word document containing a two column, one row table with cell sizes
set to 4.75 wide by 4.715 high (the dimensions in inches of a CD
cover) with cell margins set to zero. I of course sized the images so
that they fit exactly in the cells.

I then typed the track listings into the left cell (the one that would
form the "inside" cover for the CD, formatting the text so that parts
of the picture under it were visible.

When I print the thing, it comes up with the text and photo aligned
way differently - not even close - to the way I have it in the
document.

I can restart Windows, go into the document, even do a print preview,
and it looks perfect. Print it and, again, the text/background image
alignment are off by probably half an inch. That's more than 10%.

First, why is this happening?
Click to expand...

Print preview may not spot a margins error. Have you checked
your Page Setup dialog? Make sure the layout of your page orientation,
margin sizes, paper size, all set correctly.

I have Microsoft Picture It Publishing 2001, it includes tons of
pre-created templates for cards, calendars, CD covers...You can
find it in the Pick a Design tab, Labels/Stickers, Photo Labels.
But I have no hands-on experience.
 
W

Word Worrier

Print preview may not spot a margins error. Have you checked
your Page Setup dialog? Make sure the layout of your page orientation,
margin sizes, paper size, all set correctly.

I have Microsoft Picture It Publishing 2001, it includes tons of
pre-created templates for cards, calendars, CD covers...You can
find it in the Pick a Design tab, Labels/Stickers, Photo Labels.
But I have no hands-on experience.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion, but it too is a no-go. The document
margins are all one inch, well within the printer's capabilities.
 
T

Thip

Word Worrier said:
What follows was originally posted in microsoft.public.word.general -
please excuse my reposting. I would very much like some informed
answers...
+ + ==================================

I was using Word 2000 to make a CD cover. I picked a couple pictures
I liked, cropped them using image editing software, and put them into
a Word document containing a two column, one row table with cell sizes
set to 4.75 wide by 4.715 high (the dimensions in inches of a CD
cover) with cell margins set to zero. I of course sized the images so
that they fit exactly in the cells.

I then typed the track listings into the left cell (the one that would
form the "inside" cover for the CD, formatting the text so that parts
of the picture under it were visible.

When I print the thing, it comes up with the text and photo aligned
way differently - not even close - to the way I have it in the
document.
Click to expand...
Are you working in Print Layout view? I've seen this happen when working in
*Normal* view.
 
G

Graham Mayor

Do the paper sizes match for both document and printer and do you have no
scaling checked in the print dialog?
Frankly Word is not the best application for printing CD covers. That title
goes to Surething www.surething.com and if you regularly print labels, this
application is well worth the money. Microsoft's Publisher also has a number
of disc/case label templates and makes working with graphics and text easier
than Word.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP
E-mail [email protected]
Web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>
 
W

Word Worrier

Do the paper sizes match for both document and printer and do you have no
scaling checked in the print dialog?
Frankly Word is not the best application for printing CD covers. That title
goes to Surething www.surething.com and if you regularly print labels, this
application is well worth the money. Microsoft's Publisher also has a number
of disc/case label templates and makes working with graphics and text easier
than Word.
Click to expand...

Paper size matches ( US 8.5 by 11 inch). No scaling selected in print
dialog.

In my CD cover, the paper is landscape oriented in the Word doc; in
the HP 920c dialog, Features tab, the orientation is "Portrait"

However, also in this thread, I've mentioned that often, if I crop a
photo in Word, it will look fine onscreen but print wrong (different)
from the onscreen representation. I will often crop a body picture to
be just the face, and then the printout will be the person's chest, or
the head from the eyes down with the top missing.
 
T

TF

Is there any possibility that you could try this with a different printer to
confirm that it isn't a printer driver issue? DO you have a colleague or
neighbour that could try it for you?

--
Terry Farrell - Word MVP
http://www.mvps.org/word/


Do the paper sizes match for both document and printer and do you have no
scaling checked in the print dialog?
Frankly Word is not the best application for printing CD covers. That title
goes to Surething www.surething.com and if you regularly print labels, this
application is well worth the money. Microsoft's Publisher also has a number
of disc/case label templates and makes working with graphics and text easier
than Word.
Click to expand...

Paper size matches ( US 8.5 by 11 inch). No scaling selected in print
dialog.

In my CD cover, the paper is landscape oriented in the Word doc; in
the HP 920c dialog, Features tab, the orientation is "Portrait"

However, also in this thread, I've mentioned that often, if I crop a
photo in Word, it will look fine onscreen but print wrong (different)
from the onscreen representation. I will often crop a body picture to
be just the face, and then the printout will be the person's chest, or
the head from the eyes down with the top missing.
 
T

TF

In fact, if you would like to attach a sample document on an email to me,
I'll take a look at it for you to see if I can spot the problem.

Terry


Do the paper sizes match for both document and printer and do you have no
scaling checked in the print dialog?
Frankly Word is not the best application for printing CD covers. That title
goes to Surething www.surething.com and if you regularly print labels, this
application is well worth the money. Microsoft's Publisher also has a number
of disc/case label templates and makes working with graphics and text easier
than Word.
Click to expand...

Paper size matches ( US 8.5 by 11 inch). No scaling selected in print
dialog.

In my CD cover, the paper is landscape oriented in the Word doc; in
the HP 920c dialog, Features tab, the orientation is "Portrait"

However, also in this thread, I've mentioned that often, if I crop a
photo in Word, it will look fine onscreen but print wrong (different)
from the onscreen representation. I will often crop a body picture to
be just the face, and then the printout will be the person's chest, or
the head from the eyes down with the top missing.
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

I have experienced a similar problem with an HP DeskJet 6122: if I crop a
JPEG (only JPEGs are affected), it appears correct in Word, but the entire
picture is printed using the dimensions of the cropped picture, thus
distorting the image. This happens in Publisher as well. I went round and
round with HP about this, dealing with several different techs. Apparently
none of them had heard of this problem before, and none were willing to
admit that the HP driver might be at fault (and actually, it's hard to see
how it could be).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
W

Word Worrier

Is there any possibility that you could try this with a different printer to
confirm that it isn't a printer driver issue? DO you have a colleague or
neighbour that could try it for you?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the continued suggestions and help everyone.

1. Terry, presuming yours is an msn address (what the thing converted
to when I clicked on it), I have emailed you a document to look at.

2. I have the "ghostwriter" or "ghost script" or something like that
freeware PDF convertor. It serves as another printer option for me,
dumping output to a PDF file. I have two such configurations. Both
mess up the document I sent to you. One is an Apple Laser Writer II
NT; the other is an HP Color Laser Jet PS. This, I guess, means that
those drivers are being used to dump the output to a PDF format. But
because both drivers fail in the same was as my dumping to my real
printer does, that suggests to me the problem is a Word issue.
 
W

Wai

I read all the replies and your questions in the post.
I think it may be that problem, but I'm not sure.

Would you mind to send me a file?
So I can take a look (or even try with mine) and see if
it is that problem.

My email address:
wai_wai_sir_plus{{at}}yahoo.com.hk
 
W

Word Worrier

Although I've gotten quite a few attempts at help here, many above and
beyond normal call of duty, my problem still hasn't been solved. So
to reiterate, with my Word 2000 software in Windows 98, and with my as
updated as possible HP 920c printer drivers (they are current, but
"current" is actually two years ago), I occasionally have problems
printing documents incorporating images.

One problem is that when I use a background image, say within a table
cell, the text over the image will print aligned far differently from
how it shows up on the screen, whether in regular ("Page View") or
Print Preview modes.

The other problem is that if I incorporate a jpg into a document, then
crop the jpg within Word, the photo will print differently from how it
appears onscreen. For example, if I incorporate a jpg of a person's
entire body, then crop so that just the face is in the document, the
picture will sometimes print with the top of the head chopped off, or
will print showing the person's chest or stomach instead of their
face. And sometimes, it will print fine. I don't know what makes the
difference between printing as intended, versus printing oddly.

I hope I get as much good help this week as I did last - and I REALLY
hope someone can find a solution this week!
 
T

TF

Hi

Do you have a really good example document that exhibits the problem? Would
you like to email it to me (preferably zipped) so that I see the problem you
are experiencing?

Terry Farrell


Although I've gotten quite a few attempts at help here, many above and
beyond normal call of duty, my problem still hasn't been solved. So
to reiterate, with my Word 2000 software in Windows 98, and with my as
updated as possible HP 920c printer drivers (they are current, but
"current" is actually two years ago), I occasionally have problems
printing documents incorporating images.

One problem is that when I use a background image, say within a table
cell, the text over the image will print aligned far differently from
how it shows up on the screen, whether in regular ("Page View") or
Print Preview modes.

The other problem is that if I incorporate a jpg into a document, then
crop the jpg within Word, the photo will print differently from how it
appears onscreen. For example, if I incorporate a jpg of a person's
entire body, then crop so that just the face is in the document, the
picture will sometimes print with the top of the head chopped off, or
will print showing the person's chest or stomach instead of their
face. And sometimes, it will print fine. I don't know what makes the
difference between printing as intended, versus printing oddly.

I hope I get as much good help this week as I did last - and I REALLY
hope someone can find a solution this week!
 
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