Make sure your printer is correctly calibrated

For several months now - or is it years ??? - I have been chipping away at a Scalescenes large overall roof (R005).  I made a few roof arches and a few "solid" and "open" side walls.

At some time during the build, I changed my printer - I have no idea when but this job has been on and off the back burner so many times, I may well have changed the printer twice ……………………:roll::roll::roll:

The strange thing is, although the print has most definitely been set at 100%, I have two distinct sizes of structures - both walls and roof arches, some of each having been printed over as period of time.

I'm pretty sure it can only be as a result of the printer not printing at 100% because the difference in size is not enough to suggest an error when setting the scaling.

My Scalescenes kits always open at 174% (for some reason ……).  I then set the scale to 100% and print off the sheets I need.  Of the 9 roof arches I've made, 4 are slightly larger than the other 5 (too large to use) and the wall panels are similarly over or under sized.  Having reprinted some of the wall sheets, it would appear the smaller prints are coming from the current printer.  I have no idea if the smaller prints are correct or the larger ones.  Whichever are correct, I'm using this printer now so wil have to reprint and build almost half of what I've already built …………………:twisted::twisted::twisted::twisted:

The moral of the story is to check and double check all your sizes before commencing building or, better still, print off everthing you'll need in one go.  (I think John Dew told me to do that when he built his roof - but I knew better …………………:???::???::oops::oops::oops:)

If anyone has a use for some over/under - sized arches (or walls), let me know ………………:cheers

That,s a blow Peter .:roll:   Hopefully some one ,maybe John will come back with some actual size that you could check against .
Sorry i don,t have that kit on file.

   G`day Peter,

 Don`t forget the paper size has to be set as well. If you print at 100%, one copy in Letter and one copy in A4…..there will be a slight difference in sizes. At least that`s what I found when printing out a full size track plan in Xtrack Cad.

 :cheers  Gormo

Be great if it,s something as easy as that.   Well done Gormo.  Fingers crossed for you Peter.

I'll check guys but, as far as I know, my printer is set for A4 - I've never used letter size which is, I think, an American sort of A4 - ish ………………….:roll::roll::roll:

I'd have thought the scaling was to do with the printing scale in relation to the download rather than the paper ………:hmm  If I ask it to print bigger than the available paper size, I think it either only prints part of the job or will say "this is too big for the settings - do you want to continue ?" - or maybe I'm mistaken ………………………..:roll::roll::roll::roll:

On edit - just checked and the printer is set for A4. :thumbs

The default seems to be A4 - a nuisance for me because my printer takes Letter (8.5" x 11").  It's usually not too bad but you do have to watch that the tops and bottoms aren't truncated.

It's a shame that there isn't a scale on the prints so you can confirm.  I've seen that somewhere.

John

Also, if you print in Faststone, there are other choices.

Try a few different defaults for your pictures folder, Peter.  Like Faststone, Windows docs, etc.

Go into Properties and you can set the defaults.

Each one has different print options.

I do have Faststone loaded on here Max - Doug (Dooferdog) ppointed me in that direction for photo editing but I don't use it for normal everyday printing.  For that, I simply click "print" which presumasbly, accesses the printer software - this one is an HP Envy wireless printer whilst the last one was an Epson something or other …………  I always seem to hit problems with ink cartridges either drying up, blocking or otherwise, refusing to print properly.  It's usually cheaper to change the printer than to mess with changing too many cartridges ………………..

I do sometimes change the print options - especially when printing photos, but mostly, it's just left as "standard" because that what it mostly does.

Regarding a scale John - yes, it is a pity there isn't one printed on the kits - I too remember seeing one printed somewhere on a download kit but can't remember where…………

Having one would help although, as long as all the pages are printed at the same scale, it doesn't actually matter if it's too big or too small.  It's when different pages are printed at different sizes within the same kit that the fun starts ………..:???::???:

John Dew did tell me to print everything off at the same time but I think the suggestion arose because he had a change of ink tints caused by printing at different times - probably with different cartridges - on his roof panels I seem to recall.  Printing this kit off in one go would be quite a lot of printing - my station is, I think,  the same size as John's - i.e. 4 wall panels long requiring around 14 roof arches and 16 separate wall panels ……….:shock::shock:

[user=565]Brossard[/user] wrote:

It's a shame that there isn't a scale on the prints so you can confirm.  I've seen that somewhere.

John

Peco  turnout templates for 00 have the scale printed on them .

Petermac, contact John Wiffen via PM from YMR or send him an e-mail and  point him toward this thread - he may not get to see all threads regarding Scalescenes on the various forii he is on.

I found the same thing when I printed some arches off at school using the library's Canon printer. These came out smaller than when I printed at home with my HP printer.

It is purely down to the different ways the two printers handle the files. It would take a little experimentation to 'fix' the problem, either scaling one printer up or the other down a little.

[user=606]Sol[/user] wrote:

[user=565]Brossard[/user] wrote:

It's a shame that there isn't a scale on the prints so you can confirm.  I've seen that somewhere.

John

Peco  turnout templates for 00 have the scale printed on them .

Thanks Max, yes, that's where I've seen them.

John

I have 2 printers both of them are Epson, and the older printers colour is lighter than the new one is, does anyone know how I can get the older printers colour to come to life again?

I ran 2 prints the same from a scalescene kit and the scaling is fine, only a colour problem with one of the printers.

Scalescenes Scale?

There is!

On the test sheet with all the common textures, in a red box bottom right there is a box saying words to the effect " this line is exactly 1" long " and " this line is exactly one centimetre.." when your printer is properly set.

Won't get you out of the horrid fix you are in, Peter, but drawing attention to it here might save a lot of angst for others.

Desolé, mon ami.

Doug

[user=1767]Geoff I[/user] wrote:

I have 2 printers both of them are Epson, and the older printers colour is lighter than the new one is, does anyone know how I can get the older printers colour to come to life again?

I ran 2 prints the same from a scalescene kit and the scaling is fine, only a colour problem with one of the printers.

Hullo Geoff,

Three simple things to check…..Are your cartridges the same [ish] age? I would not have thought that would make a great deal of difference though but…

When you have opened the PDF file from Wiffen Land, select Print - Properties - Advanced…

and firstly see what the colour management setting is. It may say EPSON VIVD or ADOBE RGB. This chooses how the 'pooter will treat the download info, which will change from 'pooter to 'pooter' maker to maker. I always set mine to ADOBE RGB when printing building downloads, to ensure constancy in quality, saturation etc.

Secondly, there is a control called GAMMA, which although there is some technical description, to me changes the overall 'brightfulness' of an entire print. It may be set at 1.1 or 2.2 [don't ask….] I set mine at 2.2 for no particular reason except that it stays at that stting even when I've not printed anything for ages.

Finally, print off a Scalescenes test sheet off of each to see how you results compare, and check the scaling [see post above]

If they are at odds, consult your  online manual to check printout sizing adjustment, not for the faint hearted, indeed some newer lower end 'pooters do not support this degree of tweaking.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Doug

[user=312]dooferdog[/user] wrote:

[user=1767]Geoff I[/user] wrote:

I have 2 printers both of them are Epson, and the older printers colour is lighter than the new one is, does anyone know how I can get the older printers colour to come to life again?

I ran 2 prints the same from a scalescene kit and the scaling is fine, only a colour problem with one of the printers.

Hullo Geoff,

Three simple things to check…..Are your cartridges the same [ish] age? I would not have thought that would make a great deal of difference though but…

When you have opened the PDF file from Wiffen Land, select Print - Properties - Advanced…

and firstly see what the colour management setting is. It may say EPSON VIVD or ADOBE RGB. This chooses how the 'pooter will treat the download info, which will change from 'pooter to 'pooter' maker to maker. I always set mine to ADOBE RGB when printing building downloads, to ensure constancy in quality, saturation etc.

Secondly, there is a control called GAMMA, which although there is some technical description, to me changes the overall 'brightfulness' of an entire print. It may be set at 1.1 or 2.2 [don't ask….] I set mine at 2.2 for no particular reason except that it stays at that stting even when I've not printed anything for ages.

Finally, print off a Scalescenes test sheet off of each to see how you results compare, and check the scaling [see post above]

If they are at odds, consult your  online manual to check printout sizing adjustment, not for the faint hearted, indeed some newer lower end 'pooters do not support this degree of tweaking.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Doug

Doug thanks for the swift answer, I will try that tonight after work and let you know my results, the cartridges are all newish bought as a set.

I just tried your suggestion Doug - RGB a bit darker & sharper  according to my eyes,than Epson Vivid  - now to remember it.

Fingers crossed Geoff…



[user=606]Sol[/user] wrote:

I just tried your suggestion Doug - RGB a bit darker & sharper  according to my eyes,than Epson Vivid  - now to remember it.

Well I'm glad it has helped someone!
 


Yes, I suppose I am getting forgetful, the number of envelopes I have printed with addresses on the backs, too.

Poop poop!

Doug

Doug I did what you said and the colour goes darker but on 2.2 it seemed to dark then there was 1 more setting which was 1.8 and only just a little lighter, as for scale it seems fine.

Just a shade lighter would be better if there is a way of doing it.

Sorry, Geoff, that's about all I know on the subject, but a play about with these controls might get you somewhere closer. glad the scale is right, though.

Doug

Sometimes its not the printer setting that cause scaling problems its the settings in the actual pdf software, when you press print make sure all scaling options such as Fit to Page or fit to printable area are unchecked and that the scale is 100% in the software's print dialog.

I print using three different printers and have never had a problem by doing the above.