3880 & 13x19 paper

<p>mac OSx 10.5.8 | PS CS4 | epson 3880 using auto sheet feeder<br>

I am printing a 12x18 inch image centered on 13x19 inch epson exhibition fiber paper.<br>

There is no 13x19 in listed in Page Setup so I'm using the nearest equivalent which is Super A3 ( actually super A3 is 329mm x 483mm).<br>

I am selecting just Super A3 and not borderless or borderless retain size.<br>

Scale image to paper is un-checked and center image is checked.<br>

In photoshop i had increased the canvas to 13x19 inches. The 12x18 printed image is a 1/16th shy on each dimension.<br>

And, the 13 x 19 in canvas size prints outside of the paper size. i know this because I selected all and stroked the canvas size with a 2px black stroke inside the selection. This black 'border' didn't show on the print at the paper's edge.<br>

How can I precisely get a 12x18 image with equal .5 in border all around on 13x19?<br>

Is it a mistake to first enlarge the canvas?<br>

Should I set up a Custom size instead of using super A3? If so with the standard .13 in borders?</p>

<p>Use a 13x19 canvas, and set up a custom paper size in your print driver. Just tell it 13x19, and thing will work out great. At least, they do for <em>me </em>while using 13x19 paper through a 3880, but then I use Epson's drivers for Windows. Not sure if your print dialogs are exactly the same. But sure Mac users aren't prevented from defining their own paper sizes.<br /><br />In my case, I just saved that definition to my driver's list of custom profiles. Didn't change anything about the paper, the printing process/preferences (Epson's profils work great for me), just the size. Then when I go back to use it again, I just choose that one from the user list, and off I go.</p>

<p>yes, use a 13x19 canvas, don't increase it.</p>

<p>you may have to define a custom papersize due to the 0.5" border requirement (dunno offhand what size border it would default to for a large-ish sheet like that but probably only 0.125"</p>

<p>I'm using a Windows computer and CS5, but...</p>

<p>1- Click the Print Settings box in the first window to come up (assuming you'll see this), it takes you to the Epson printing properties box.<br /> 2- In the Epson properties dialog box that comes up, "Main" tab, in the "Paper Settings" section, at the "Size" selection hit the "User Defined" button.<br /> 3- In the "User Defined" dialog box that comes up you can create your own custom paper sizes for the printer to recognize, entering the paper dimensions, choosing metric or inch sizing, and even assign a name to the paper size (such as 13x19 inch). Hit "Save" and then "Okay" and it will save that paper size for you, which you will now find in the "Paper Settings" >> "Size" pull down box. This is how I work with 13x19.</p>

<p>3a- In the "Paper Settings" dialog box, I always go into the "Printable Area" pull down and make sure "Printable Area- Standard, Centered" boxes are checked to center the image on the paper, regardless of how bit I tell the printer to make an image on a sheet of paper. (My early printing attempts... "Why is my image not centered on the paper...? Oh..." That's when I found "Centered" in that Printable Area dialog box.)</p>

<p>Now that I've created this paper size, back in the first dialog box that comes up after telling PS that you want to print, I use the "height" and "width" boxes to manually enter the size of the image I want printed on the sheet of paper I'm printing onto.</p>

<p>Again, I'm assuming these functions will be the same for you. Steps 2, 3, and 3a should be identical on your computer since they are the same Epson 3880 command boxes I see on my computer. The last step, the height and width entry boxes, might be different with your CS4.</p>