PPT97: Slides Not Centered When Printing from HP DeskJet Printer

ID: Q190401

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 97 For Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you print slides to a Hewlett-Packard (HP) DeskJet printer, the slides may be printed off-center. This problem may also occur with the Epson Color Stylus and other ink jet printers.


CAUSE

This problem occurs because of the unprintable region of the printer and the way PowerPoint prints slides.

For example, when you set the HP DeskJet 520 to landscape orientation, it has the following unprintable regions:

Left: .59 inch
Right: .08 inch
Top: .25 inch
Bottom: .25 inch

This means that if a slide is too big to fit on a page, it is cropped unevenly.

When PowerPoint positions slides on a page, it starts from the center of the page and works out equally in all directions. Some printer drivers do not provide the correct location for the center of the page.


RESOLUTION

Change HP DeskJet Paper Settings

If you change the paper settings in the printer driver to A4 (European size, 8.27 by 11.69 inches) but do not change the slide setup options, the slide looks more centered when it is printed. The printout is centered left and right with a slightly larger margin on the top than on the bottom. If you set the paper size to A4, the nonprintable region is set for A4 paper. The unprintable region is 280.1 x 203.6 mm with margins of:

Left: 15.0 mm (0.59 inches)
Right: 2.0 mm (0.08 inches)
Top: .3.1 mm (0.12 inches)
Bottom: 3.6 mm (0.16 inches)

In some cases, you may have to change the settings to force A4 paper size in PowerPoint as well as on the printer. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. On the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Printers.


  2. Right-click the printer icon, and then click Properties.


  3. Change the Paper Source or Paper Size option to A4.



MORE INFORMATION

For a complete list of HP DeskJet printable regions and margins, click the hyperlink below to the following article on the HP Support Web site:

HP DeskJet and DeskWriter Printers - Printable Areas/Minimum Margins

Additional query words: HP Deskjet Print Slides Center Crooked w_powerpt powerpoint powerpnt offcenter off-center skewed slanted shifted align

Keywords : kbprint kbdta kbformat
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb


Last Reviewed: February 1, 2000
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