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Brandy redux -> Envelope printing problems (7/2/2007 6:54:04 PM)
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NOTE: It is very important to keep in mind that the information in this message DOES NOT apply to either Print Shop 2.0 or PrintMaster 2.0 - because Print Shop 2.0 and PrintMaster 2.0 are not true upgrades of the earlier versions of Print Shop and PrintMaster.
The first most important rule when printing Envelope projects with many Broderbund programs is that the program expects the Paper Size in the selected printer's Properties to be set to 8 1/2" x 11". This is because the program will position the Envelope project on an 8 1/2" x 11" space. And, the position of the envelope on that 8 1/2" x 11" space will be determined by the Envelope Feed setting on the Print window (i.e. Left, Center, Right, Tall, Wide). So, when you go to Print Preview, you will see that the envelope will be positioned on ONLY that portion of the 8 1/2" x 11" space where the envelope will be inserted into the printer's paper feed.
For some printers, the Envelope Feed function seems to be reversed when Broderbund programs are used. When this problem occurs, it is often necessary to experiment with the various Envelope Feed options until the desired results are achieved.
For printers that have an automatic Paper Sensor, the only way to print Envelope projects from many Broderbund programs would be to turn OFF or temporarily disable the Paper Sensor - because when the Paper Sensor sees that the envelope in the paper feed does not match the required 8 1/2" x 11" size in the program, the envelope will either not print correctly or the printer will generate a 'paper mismatch' error message. Unfortunately, some printers don't provide an option for turning OFF or temporarily disabling the Paper Sensor.
One frequently used option for working around envelope printing problems is to start with a Wide Blank Page project - instead of an Envelope project. Then, after opening the Blank Page project, you would go to Printing | Print Setup in the File menu, select the printer that you plan to use to print the project, then set the Paper Size to the exact size of the envelope that is to be printed. Then, click on OK until you are returned to the workspace. You should then see that the workspace has been resized to match the Paper Size in Print Setup.
If you do decide to start with a Wide Blank Page project, and if you experience problems with margins being too large when you set the printer's Paper Size to a regular envelope size, that problem is being caused by the fact that some printers will set larger margins for standard envelope sizes than they will for other Paper Sizes. You should be able to achieve smaller margins by NOT selecting a regular envelope size. Instead, you would create a custom Paper Size that is the same size as the envelope. And, you would also have to make sure that the Paper Type is NOT set to envelope.
Regardless of whether you choose to use a regular Envelope project or a Blank Page project, it is extremely important to select BOTH the Printer and Paper Size in Print Setup BEFORE going to File | Print - because if you change either the Printer or Paper Size after going to File | Print, the envelope project will be reformatted to match the new settings. And, the new settings might not look anything like what you saw on the workspace.
And, last, but sometimes most important of all, many printing problems are the result of using an outdated or incorrect printer driver. So, if the tips above do not help to correct your envelope printing problem, the best course of action would be to go to your printer manufacturer's web site to make sure you are using the correct and most current printer driver for the Operating System you are using. If you find that you are already using the correct printer driver, it couldn't hurt to uninstall and reinstall the printer driver (on the off chance that the currently installed driver is corrupt in some way).
If upgrading the printer driver doesn't help to solve the problem, and if you are using WinXP, Win 2000, WinVista or Windows 7, you might want to be sure to log onto the computer with a Computer Administrator account - because Limited User accounts are known to experience far more printing problems than Computer Administrator accounts.
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