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TheTSArt12
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Document Printing/Exporting Offset

Jun 21, 2012 1:26 AM

Not too long ago I upgraded from CS 4 to 5.5.  I haven't done much printing until now. 

 

I'm finding everything in InDesign that I print or export to PDF is offset by 1/8 inch to the left, leaving a wider margin on the right.  (As a PDF, this error becomes visible onscreen.)   I have checked every setting I can think of and everything looks correct.

 

I did some tests to be sure it wasn't a driver or printer problem by drawing boxes in Pages and Word.  They print flawlessly. 

 

Could there be something new in 5.5 that I'm unaware of causing this?

 

Thanks,

Tim

1478 Views   20 Replies   Latest reply: Peter Spier, Jun 21, 2012 1:57 PM
 
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  • Peter Spier
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    1. Peter Spier,
    Jun 21, 2012 5:47 AM   in reply to TheTSArt12
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    This has to be something in your settings, and it sounds to me like it could be that you have a bleed specified for the right side, but not the left, and are including the bleed in the output.

     
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  • TheTSArt12
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    2. TheTSArt12,
    Jun 21, 2012 9:39 AM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    Peter, in Document Setup my bleed and slug settings are all at 0. 

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    3. Peter Spier,
    Jun 21, 2012 9:45 AM   in reply to TheTSArt12
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    OK, then the first guess was wrong.

     

    Waht is the document size in Document setup? What's the size of the paper in the printer?

     
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  • TheTSArt12
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    4. TheTSArt12,
    Jun 21, 2012 10:03 AM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    Peter, they are both the same, standard Letter, 8.5 x 11. Page Setup in the print dialog box is also set to Letter.

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    5. Peter Spier,
    Jun 21, 2012 10:17 AM   in reply to TheTSArt12
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    It probably isn't related, but what's the printer?

     

    Nothing in the "offset" fields inthe print dilaog, right?

     

    I'm going to suggest that you try trashing the prefs. See Replace Your Preferences

     
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  • TheTSArt12
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    6. TheTSArt12,
    Jun 21, 2012 10:32 AM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    Peter, it's a Canon printer.  Offset is set to 0 in print dialog. 

     

    It does bake the offset visually into PDFs via the File->Export (not PDF via the native print dialog box).  This is another reason why I believe it's not related to the printer.

     

    Little scared trashing the prefs, did that a few years ago and got deactivated, call Adobe, had to reinstall,... was several days mess.  But got to do something, so I will try.  Thanks.

     
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  • TheTSArt12
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    7. TheTSArt12,
    Jun 21, 2012 11:02 AM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    I trashed my preferences via the keyboard shortcut.  Problem persists.  However, PDF export print improved to about 1/16 inch offset. 

     

    Something just occurred me, I know you have to have Java installed to run CS apps.  Apple recently updated and that messed up some web work I was doing.  I wonder if they could be related?  Longshot and I suppose more people would have the same problem.

     

    Related to after trashing the prefs.  It's been years since I had to redo prefs.  In dialog boxes (like New Document) I thought you set what type of measurements they display under preferences->Units & Increments.  Am I wrong or did that change, as I can't get them back to displaying inches.

     

    Thanks.

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    8. Peter Spier,
    Jun 21, 2012 11:31 AM   in reply to TheTSArt12
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    Yes, you set the units in the prefs. Do it with no files open to make it the default. For existing files that are using the wrong units, right-click a ruler, or the box where the rulers meet, and reset them there.

     

    Is this showing up on screen with the PDF, or only in print? I asked about the printer because some printers, especially older inkjets, have uneven non-printing margins. It can help to set the page position to Centered inthe ID print dialog, but you have to actually turn off centering in Acrobat, though if your printer is one of those with uneven margins, the "rotate and fit to printable area" might account for the shift if it occurs only in prints, and a 1/16" difference is actually well within the tolerance of most printers even if the non-printing area is symmetrical.

     
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  • TheTSArt12
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    9. TheTSArt12,
    Jun 21, 2012 11:39 AM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    Thanks... It's been so long since I've done it, I forgot about not having a document open!

     

    Yes, the error is baked into PDF files, you can see it onscreen. 

     

    When I first noticed the problem I went into Pages and Word and printed a box set to the margins and the printer was spot on.

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    10. Peter Spier,
    Jun 21, 2012 11:56 AM   in reply to TheTSArt12
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    I'm stumped...

     
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  • TheTSArt12
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    11. TheTSArt12,
    Jun 21, 2012 12:09 PM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    Well, at least it's not just me then. 

     

    It's weird I was looking for something and pulled a box down from a shelf.  It had my original PageMaker 3.0 package and disks inside.  What a sign on a day I'm completely baffeled by InDesign! 

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    12. Peter Spier,
    Jun 21, 2012 12:22 PM   in reply to TheTSArt12
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    would you be interested in sending me a test file to see if it misbehaves here, too?

     
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  • TheTSArt12
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    13. TheTSArt12,
    Jun 21, 2012 12:44 PM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    Yeah, I'm not allowed to send content, but I can send you a stripped down layout, which still has the same problems.  I'm unable to see your email in your profile, though.

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    14. Peter Spier,
    Jun 21, 2012 12:47 PM   in reply to TheTSArt12
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    I'll send you an upload link by Private Message..

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    15. Peter Spier,
    Jun 21, 2012 1:12 PM   in reply to TheTSArt12
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    I got your files. You probably don't want to know that it works perfectly here with all the export settings I've tried.

     

    There's something strange going on on your end. Any third-party plugins installed? Font manager?

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    16. Peter Spier,
    Jun 21, 2012 1:13 PM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    Was this a clean install of ID, or did you try to migrate the app from an earlier version of the OS?

     
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  • TheTSArt12
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    17. TheTSArt12,
    Jun 21, 2012 1:20 PM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    Ugh!  No plugins for InDesign (Photoshop, yes).  Apple's Font Book is sufficient for my needs.

     

    It was an upgrade from CS 4.  I've been running Mac OS Lion since last fall with CS 4 on it.  So the upgrade was to the same OS.

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    18. Peter Spier,
    Jun 21, 2012 1:25 PM   in reply to TheTSArt12
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    We've tried the easy stuff. I guess the next step is uninstall, run the clean tool (CS Cleaner Tool for installation problems | CCM, CS6, CS5.5, CS5, CS4, CS3) and reinstall.

     
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  • TheTSArt12
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    19. TheTSArt12,
    Jun 21, 2012 1:50 PM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    Ugh, again.  Thanks for your help, I'll give that a try in the morning--start my day off right, you know.   

     

    I'll post back how things turn out.

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    20. Peter Spier,
    Jun 21, 2012 1:57 PM   in reply to TheTSArt12
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    Good luck.

     
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