Epson Print Layout misaligned, white border when borderless

[Thomas Nilsson]

I just installed Epson Print Layout to use with my new ET-8550.

However, it seems "misaligned".

I have loaded and setup the image as in the screenshot below. Using Auto-Borderless Paper Source.

It looks good in the preview in Epson Printer Layout.
But in the printer driver preview, also shown in the screenshot, there's a white borde on one long side and one short side (right and top). When printed I also get these white borders, so it's clearly Epson Print Layout that's the issue.

When I print from other programs, like Windows Photo or GIMP, or from my smartphone, I do not see this issue.

Any idea what's wrong and how to fix it?

 

[Thomas Nilsson]

Here's with the settings visible

 

[wilberforce_1]

13x18 cm is not actually 5x7 inches, despite what EPL implies. Check your paper dimensions exactly match the page setup dimensions

 

[Gesture]

Let us know how that works.

I think you are trying to thread the needle too exactly. To print borderless, your image dimension has to be slightly more than your canvas dimension. What happens if you deselect Scale to Fit?

 

[Thomas Nilsson]

That sounds like a reasonable reason.
That would mean there's a discrepancy between EPL and the printer driver. EPL clearly indicates 13x18cm with 5x7" in parentheses. The thing is that 5x7" is 12.7 by 17.8cm, so for this issue to occur, it would mean that EPL sends 12.7x17.8cm when 13x18cm is expected. Since this works with other programs, it still seems to me it's EPL that needs to change.

It should be noted though that the physical paper size really is 12.7x17.8 cm (not 13x18cm)

Strange though I don't see similar issues when printing from Windows Photo or GIMP.

You have a good point here, but it doesn't seem to quite add up, considering everything else works, except EPL.

 

[Thomas Nilsson]

It works without issues with other applications, like Windows Photo and Gimp.

 

[Thomas Nilsson]

double post

 

[Thomas Nilsson]

Another thing to notice here is that even though I have set the Orientation to Landscape, Print Preview gets/displays Portrait.
Again, if I try the same in Windows Photo, Print preview shows a correct Landscape
Here's the same "everything" in Windows Photo. Note that Orientation is correct and there are no white borders.

 

[JohnT1972]

I have exactly the same issue with my P600 and EPL. A very small white border on two sides. I have tried if the paper was not properly installed. But that is not the problem. Lightroom, photoshop or Epson Easy print do not have the two whote borders.



I seldom print borderless A4 or A3+ but occasionally 10x15 or 13x18 I print borderless. Someone has the correct answer?

 

[wilberforce_1]

Did you select Expansion?

See this from EPL manual:



Note that when using other software, borderless printing is done via the Epson driver which automatically selects expansion, although the amount of expansion can be varied by the user (but cannot be zero):



If you want to use something other than zero or max expansion (the only options in EPL), use the Epson driver via other software. I almost always use the Min setting, which still expands the image significantly.

Note that zero expansion is basically not practical to use, due to paper and printer tolerances.

btw, I suggest use borderless sparingly. The overspray will gum up the pads in the platen area.

 

[Thomas Nilsson]

I have exactly the same issue with my P600 and EPL. A very small white border on two sides. I have tried if the paper was not properly installed. But that is not the problem. Lightroom, photoshop or Epson Easy print do not have the two whote borders.

I seldom print borderless A4 or A3+ but occasionally 10x15 or 13x18 I print borderless. Someone has the correct answer?

This seems to be a quirk with EPL specifically.

Even when set to borderless, it won't go all the way out to the borders, especially not in the preview. Klick the "Expansion" box and it will. Though in the preview it will look like a relatively large portion of the image will end up outside the paper, but in reality it won't.

I must say I think other programs handle this better and closer to reality, even though I can understand the thought behind the way EPL does it, but they seem to have overcomplicated it and caused something that is further away from reality than those programs how simply ignores it, or covers it up.

 

[Thomas Nilsson]

btw, I suggest use borderless sparingly. The overspray will gum up the pads in the platen area.

That is something I have been thinking about, as I tend to use borderless printing frequently. Is there a way to keep these areas clean? By maintenance, manual cleaning, I mean.

Good explanation there on the Expansion functionality and how EPL differs from other software! Thanks!

 

[JohnT1972]

It is typically Epson. A few months ago i bought myself a Canin Pixma Pro200S, using Epson Professional Print & Layout software. I’ve read the recommandations of Keith Cooper. Printing is finally a nice thing to do, compared to the problems I’ve had the past years with my Epson printers.



Currently I print mostly glossy prints on the Canon Pro 200S and Semi-gloss, Luster, Black & White on the Surecolor P600. Therefore i can compare the performance of the software and printers.

 

[wilberforce_1]

btw, I suggest use borderless sparingly. The overspray will gum up the pads in the platen area.

That is something I have been thinking about, as I tend to use borderless printing frequently. Is there a way to keep these areas clean? By maintenance, manual cleaning, I mean.

Not really, I don’t think. Maybe mop it up, but need to be careful not to contaminate other areas with ink else you will get marks on front or back of prints, very easy to do.

It is not so much an issue with a dye printer compared to pigment.
The pads are generally not user replaceable, so requires expensive service.

Also most inkjet printers keep track of how much borderless printing is done and will issue an error message when pads reach calculated end of life, and the error message usually cannot be reset by user, only by service technician using a service "adjustment program."

However the printer allows for a pretty good amount of borderless printing (within reason), just do not overdo it. I know that is vague, but is best I can say.

See these extracts from user manual and from service manual: