color printing bug?

[Guurt]

Hello All,

I have made a template design in PPT 2003 in which the text place holder on
the master slide is filled with a semi transparant color (70 %). Through the
slide color schemes the half transparant background color can be changed
(light green or light red). When I choose a slide lay out 'title and 2
column text' 2 text holders with the background color appear on the screen.
On the screen the color is consistent (same in both text holders). When
printed, the 2 text holders have different colors!? Not a very tiny bit but
a clear difference in intensity. One color is more 'deeper' or the other is
more 'transparant'. This appears on 3 different color printers (Canon pixma
5000, and 2x HP 2000 C).

I am working with Pentium IV, WinXPpro and PPT 2003.

Does anyone know how to make it print as it appears on the screen?

Thanks in advance
Mirjam

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Hello All,

I have made a template design in PPT 2003 in which the text place holder on
the master slide is filled with a semi transparant color (70 %). Through the
slide color schemes the half transparant background color can be changed
(light green or light red). When I choose a slide lay out 'title and 2
column text' 2 text holders with the background color appear on the screen.
On the screen the color is consistent (same in both text holders). When
printed, the 2 text holders have different colors!? Not a very tiny bit but
a clear difference in intensity. One color is more 'deeper' or the other is
more 'transparant'. This appears on 3 different color printers (Canon pixma
5000, and 2x HP 2000 C).

PowerPoint's transparency features look great on screen but aren't
well-supported for printing, unfortunately. The problem you describe is a new
one but I have a guess as to why it's happening.

If you change the position of the body text placeholder on the slide master or
change its size slightly, does the effect change when you print?

 

[Guurt]

Dear Steve,

Thanks for your suggestion, but no. Changing the textholder size or position
does not make the 2 semi transparant colored shapes color their backgrounds
exactly the same.

So now we changed them into soft solid colors (due to we had to change the
slide color scheme too) and then they print the same background color.

So, is this a genuine bug?

Thanks
Mirjam (&Guurt)

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Thanks for your suggestion, but no. Changing the textholder size or position
does not make the 2 semi transparant colored shapes color their backgrounds
exactly the same.

So now we changed them into soft solid colors (due to we had to change the
slide color scheme too) and then they print the same background color.

So, is this a genuine bug?

Probably so, or at least another side effect of using transparency when
printers don't really support it; it's all smoke and mirrors and sometimes the
mirror cracks. ;-)

Can you reproduce this on a simple one-slide presentation? If so, I'd like to
see it. Email to steve at-sign pptools dot com and also let me know which PPT
version, which Windows version and what printer you're using.

Thanks!