Certificates - Printing Formats and Specifications

Message boards : Number crunching : Certificates - Printing Formats and Specifications
Message board moderation

To post messages, you must log in.

AuthorMessage
GALAXY-VOYAGER
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 21 Oct 12
Posts: 85
Credit: 157,743
RAC: 0
Australia
Message 1304485 - Posted: 10 Nov 2012, 14:52:50 UTC

I would like to bring to attention that The Format and Specifications of The Certificate seems to be that of NORTH AMERICAN Standards. Upon viewing The Certificates in PRINT PREVIEW it appears that they are Formatted to LETTER Specifications.
LETTER Size Dimensions are 215.9 x 279.4 millimeters which is 8.50 x 11.00 inches.

North American Standards File Formats are Useless for Australian Requirements. The Problem is that The Certificates are NOT Suitable to Print Out using INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS Sizes, which is the format that is used in Australia. The Standard Size for Printed Documents, including Certificates, in Australia, and obviously certain other locations in the World, is A4.
A4 Size Dimensions are 297.0 x 210.0 millimeters which is 8.27 x 11.69 inches.

Australia Stopped using Quarto sizes for General use quite a few years ago. Printers, that connect to Computers, which are used by Home Users and also Businesses, DO NOT use QUARTO Size Paper. It IS NOT simply a case of Changing The Settings on The Printer Specifications to Print It Out. When you View the Certificate in PRINT PREVIEW, it appears to be Positioned towards the Top Left Corner of The Sheet. Also, it Is Not Just a Simple Case of Adjusting The Borders, because Printers have a GRIP Area at One End, usually the Right End when you View as Landscape Orientation, in Print Preview. So when the Document or Certificate is Printed Out, it will Print with Wider Borders at The Bottom and The Right Edges, because of Incompatible Format.
There needs to be an Option to Select/Specify what FORMAT we wish to use: That is LETTER or A4, or any other Sizes such as 8 x 10 Inches that might be used in other Locations, so that it is Automatically reformatted to Print out on the appropriate sized Paper.
I work in The Printing Industry, and I have had this Problem with many Clients who have Supplied us with Artwork in North American File Formats, that is LETTER Size, also known as QUARTO. The Files have been Completely Unusable, because you Cannot Just Resize the Document to fit on A4 Size Paper. Any Attempt to do so just Distorts The Document. To make LETTER Size Formatted Artwork Useable to Print on A4 Paper, we have had to Redo it completely, which can be Expensive. fortunitely, because I understand a bit about this, I have been able to, with numerous attempts - depending on the Specific Certificate and how much Detail is on it, adjust it to Fit on A4 Paper. However, this can be Time Consuming, and most of the General Public would have NO IDEA how to do it.
There MUST be some way to include The Option of which Format we wish to Print The Certificates. The Page that shows The Certificate needs to be like that of a Printer Preferences.[/code]
GALAXY-VOYAGER
ID: 1304485 · Report as offensive
Profile skildude
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 4 Oct 00
Posts: 9541
Credit: 50,759,529
RAC: 60
Yemen
Message 1304497 - Posted: 10 Nov 2012, 15:10:04 UTC - in response to Message 1304485.  

First, Welcome to America... and shouldn't you be addressing this to the folks at HP or Epson? We have little control over printers on this forum. Admittedly you seem to have a problem but I bet the printers Q&A would be a more appropriate solution site.

I bet you don't even realize that those Printers aren't made in the US either. Most likely yours is from China.

I do appreciate the dilemma but HP probably has more knowledge on a fix for you than we do.


In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope
ID: 1304497 · Report as offensive
Profile soft^spirit
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 18 May 99
Posts: 6497
Credit: 34,134,168
RAC: 0
United States
Message 1304552 - Posted: 10 Nov 2012, 17:15:56 UTC

there is a "print to fit" option usually as well.

The USA standard letter size is 8.5" by 11", so it should be changed very little.
Janice
ID: 1304552 · Report as offensive
GALAXY-VOYAGER
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 21 Oct 12
Posts: 85
Credit: 157,743
RAC: 0
Australia
Message 1304791 - Posted: 11 Nov 2012, 6:16:21 UTC - in response to Message 1304497.  
Last modified: 11 Nov 2012, 6:23:49 UTC

Thanks for your reply, but No ..... The Problem is NOT a Printer Error or Problem. It is a File Format problem. Letter Size Format is Different to A4 Size Format. It would be similar to you trying to print a Letter Formatted Certificate onto a Foolscap Sheet of Paper, without making appropriate File Format changes to the File. I have had another response via a PM which suggested I contact Seti@Home Help page, which I'll do. Once again, thanks for your concern anyway ..... Happy Number Crunching.

ps .. Thanks for the welcome To America greeting, but I'm in Australia, not America.
Also, Yes, I do realise that they are made outside the US, but if they are made for US Companies, they are obviously made to their Specifications, and the Default Preferences & Settings are in US Standard.
GALAXY-VOYAGER
ID: 1304791 · Report as offensive
bill

Send message
Joined: 16 Jun 99
Posts: 861
Credit: 29,352,955
RAC: 0
United States
Message 1304809 - Posted: 11 Nov 2012, 8:09:57 UTC - in response to Message 1304485.  

No wonder nobody can find drop bears anymore.
You've destroyed all their trees to make over-sized
stationary and have driven them to extinction.
ID: 1304809 · Report as offensive
Profile Link
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 18 Sep 03
Posts: 834
Credit: 1,807,369
RAC: 0
Germany
Message 1304820 - Posted: 11 Nov 2012, 8:48:26 UTC

Well, you can simply cut of a bit of the paper, the URL, date and "1 of 1" you probably don't like to have either.

Otherwise you could print it as a picture at first and print it than with a program like IrfanView perfectly centered on the page and without all the additional info.

The thing that they could really improve is the resolution of the pictures, that's very low and looks not so nice when printed out.
ID: 1304820 · Report as offensive
Profile HAL9000
Volunteer tester
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 11 Sep 99
Posts: 6534
Credit: 196,805,888
RAC: 57
United States
Message 1305377 - Posted: 12 Nov 2012, 15:21:10 UTC
Last modified: 12 Nov 2012, 15:55:25 UTC

I am guessing you are referring to the Certificate of Computation which is generated here http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/cert_print.php.
It is not generated as any specific paper size it is just HTML.

While I am able to print my cert out on any size I like with the default document (business card size looks a big amusing). I do work for a printer manufacture where I test drivers, firmware, & such. So I might have an advantage in what to do to make a document print the way I want.

I did these steps with IE:
-Open print setup from the browser.
-Set the page size, orientation, checked shrink-to-fit, & selected OK to save the settings.
-Selected Print from the browser & selected the printer driver I wanted.
-Printed the document.

I did find the print was slightly off center. So I opened Print preview and then adjusted the left margin until it was lined up perfectly.

As the document is simple HTML you can save the page when you are viewing your certificate. Then modify it in anyway you would like if the software and/or driver you are using doesn't generate very good output.
SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[
ID: 1305377 · Report as offensive
Richard Haselgrove Project Donor
Volunteer tester

Send message
Joined: 4 Jul 99
Posts: 14649
Credit: 200,643,578
RAC: 874
United Kingdom
Message 1305392 - Posted: 12 Nov 2012, 16:18:04 UTC

To which I would add:

During my consultancy days, I would very often come across computers where most (UK, in my case) Windows localisations had been applied, but printer drivers - especially Windows internal drivers - still defaulted to US 'letter' paper.

Quite why Microsoft buried the necessary adjustment on

Printer - Properties - Advanced - Printing Defaults - Advanced - Paper Size

I'll never know, but that's where you find it on Windows 2000 and Windows XP (particularly if you need to install the driver using network/domain administrator privileges, but have all the other users inherit the setting).
ID: 1305392 · Report as offensive
Profile HAL9000
Volunteer tester
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 11 Sep 99
Posts: 6534
Credit: 196,805,888
RAC: 57
United States
Message 1305399 - Posted: 12 Nov 2012, 16:40:15 UTC - in response to Message 1305392.  

To which I would add:

During my consultancy days, I would very often come across computers where most (UK, in my case) Windows localisations had been applied, but printer drivers - especially Windows internal drivers - still defaulted to US 'letter' paper.

Quite why Microsoft buried the necessary adjustment on

Printer - Properties - Advanced - Printing Defaults - Advanced - Paper Size

I'll never know, but that's where you find it on Windows 2000 and Windows XP (particularly if you need to install the driver using network/domain administrator privileges, but have all the other users inherit the setting).

Printing Preferences/Defaults is also accessible from the printer or file menu where you Properties is being selected. In new OS's it is labeled "Set Printing Defaults".
SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[
ID: 1305399 · Report as offensive

Message boards : Number crunching : Certificates - Printing Formats and Specifications


 
©2024 University of California
 
SETI@home and Astropulse are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and donations from SETI@home volunteers. AstroPulse is funded in part by the NSF through grant AST-0307956.