Is there a way to define print offsets?

[guyeda]

I'm printing a thesis that requires some pretty precise print formatting
(reviewers literally measure margins with a ruler!) I need to print the
document on two printers: one for the black/white text pages and one for the
color pages. The problem is that the two printers have slightly different
print characteristics. The color printer prints slightly lower and to the
left and the black/white one prints far enough to the right to have
flush-right text fall within the right margin when printed out. Back in the
day, this was common and there were settings you could define that could
correct for these discrpeancies, but I can't seem to find them in Word 2003.

 

[macropod]

Hi guyeda,

This isn't something controlled by Word, but by your printer's configuration. If you check the Printer properties (either through
Word's print menu or via the Windows Control Panel), you may find a setting that allows you to define the print offsets. I doubt it,
though. Probably either or both of the printers need some maintenance - or at least the paper trays adjusted properly.

Cheers

 

[guyeda]

Thanks for the reply macropod,

I think the printers are essentially working fine, they just have minute
differences in terms of the precise print locations. The left/right
difference is less than 1/32" and the top/bottom difference is about 1/32".
Unfortunately for me, that difference is enough for the reviewers to notice
while measuring. I'll probably end up saving the file as a duplicate prior
to the final printing and goose the Word margin settings to match the
physical print margins, but this solution makes me somewhat nervous.

Hi guyeda,

This isn't something controlled by Word, but by your printer's configuration. If you check the Printer properties (either through
Word's print menu or via the Windows Control Panel), you may find a setting that allows you to define the print offsets. I doubt it,
though. Probably either or both of the printers need some maintenance - or at least the paper trays adjusted properly.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

I'm printing a thesis that requires some pretty precise print formatting
(reviewers literally measure margins with a ruler!) I need to print the
document on two printers: one for the black/white text pages and one for the
color pages. The problem is that the two printers have slightly different
print characteristics. The color printer prints slightly lower and to the
left and the black/white one prints far enough to the right to have
flush-right text fall within the right margin when printed out. Back in the
day, this was common and there were settings you could define that could
correct for these discrpeancies, but I can't seem to find them in Word 2003.

 

[macropod]

Hi guyeda,

Maybe the reviewers need to get a life!!! Who but they care about a difference of 1/32" in a margin due to the limitations of
printer hardware. Maybe you could send the files to them as PDFs so they can see that the margins are correct...

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

Thanks for the reply macropod,

I think the printers are essentially working fine, they just have minute
differences in terms of the precise print locations. The left/right
difference is less than 1/32" and the top/bottom difference is about 1/32".
Unfortunately for me, that difference is enough for the reviewers to notice
while measuring. I'll probably end up saving the file as a duplicate prior
to the final printing and goose the Word margin settings to match the
physical print margins, but this solution makes me somewhat nervous.

Hi guyeda,

This isn't something controlled by Word, but by your printer's configuration. If you check the Printer properties (either through
Word's print menu or via the Windows Control Panel), you may find a setting that allows you to define the print offsets. I doubt
it,
though. Probably either or both of the printers need some maintenance - or at least the paper trays adjusted properly.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

I'm printing a thesis that requires some pretty precise print formatting
(reviewers literally measure margins with a ruler!) I need to print the
document on two printers: one for the black/white text pages and one for the
color pages. The problem is that the two printers have slightly different
print characteristics. The color printer prints slightly lower and to the
left and the black/white one prints far enough to the right to have
flush-right text fall within the right margin when printed out. Back in the
day, this was common and there were settings you could define that could
correct for these discrpeancies, but I can't seem to find them in Word 2003.

 

[Graham Mayor]

Of course they are working fine, but they have different drivers (and
drivers that are probably different to those that the reviewers are using).
*Any* document printed from Word will be a slave to the active printer
driver's capabilities. See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm. Print the whole thing
on the same printer, or use PDF format if you have to supply a file version.

As Word is the industry standard word processing application, if the
reviewers are not aware of this aspect of the document creation process,
they have no business doing the reviewing!

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

Thanks for the reply macropod,

I think the printers are essentially working fine, they just have
minute differences in terms of the precise print locations. The
left/right difference is less than 1/32" and the top/bottom
difference is about 1/32". Unfortunately for me, that difference is
enough for the reviewers to notice while measuring. I'll probably
end up saving the file as a duplicate prior to the final printing and
goose the Word margin settings to match the physical print margins,
but this solution makes me somewhat nervous.

Hi guyeda,

This isn't something controlled by Word, but by your printer's
configuration. If you check the Printer properties (either through
Word's print menu or via the Windows Control Panel), you may find a
setting that allows you to define the print offsets. I doubt it,
though. Probably either or both of the printers need some
maintenance - or at least the paper trays adjusted properly.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

I'm printing a thesis that requires some pretty precise print
formatting (reviewers literally measure margins with a ruler!) I
need to print the document on two printers: one for the
black/white text pages and one for the color pages. The problem is
that the two printers have slightly different print
characteristics. The color printer prints slightly lower and to
the left and the black/white one prints far enough to the right to
have flush-right text fall within the right margin when printed
out. Back in the day, this was common and there were settings you
could define that could correct for these discrpeancies, but I
can't seem to find them in Word 2003.

 

[Jay Freedman]

If I were the dean of a college and I found that thesis reviewers were wasting
their time measuring the margins of submissions, I'd fire them on the spot.

Of course, that might explain why I'm not an academic and -- with no more than a
master's degree -- I'm employed in a position where I do something useful.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all
may benefit.

Of course they are working fine, but they have different drivers (and
drivers that are probably different to those that the reviewers are using).
*Any* document printed from Word will be a slave to the active printer
driver's capabilities. See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm. Print the whole thing
on the same printer, or use PDF format if you have to supply a file version.

As Word is the industry standard word processing application, if the
reviewers are not aware of this aspect of the document creation process,
they have no business doing the reviewing!

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

Thanks for the reply macropod,

I think the printers are essentially working fine, they just have
minute differences in terms of the precise print locations. The
left/right difference is less than 1/32" and the top/bottom
difference is about 1/32". Unfortunately for me, that difference is
enough for the reviewers to notice while measuring. I'll probably
end up saving the file as a duplicate prior to the final printing and
goose the Word margin settings to match the physical print margins,
but this solution makes me somewhat nervous.

Hi guyeda,

This isn't something controlled by Word, but by your printer's
configuration. If you check the Printer properties (either through
Word's print menu or via the Windows Control Panel), you may find a
setting that allows you to define the print offsets. I doubt it,
though. Probably either or both of the printers need some
maintenance - or at least the paper trays adjusted properly.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

I'm printing a thesis that requires some pretty precise print
formatting (reviewers literally measure margins with a ruler!) I
need to print the document on two printers: one for the
black/white text pages and one for the color pages. The problem is
that the two printers have slightly different print
characteristics. The color printer prints slightly lower and to
the left and the black/white one prints far enough to the right to
have flush-right text fall within the right margin when printed
out. Back in the day, this was common and there were settings you
could define that could correct for these discrpeancies, but I
can't seem to find them in Word 2003.

 

[guyeda]

Thanks for the replies guys. As for firing the format reviewers,
unfortunately that's their primary function. The acceptance process requires
approval from your supervisory committee, which makes their decisions on the
basis of content, and the format reviewer, who makes his decision based
solely on format. So the format reviewer is literally responsible for
checking things like font sizes, margins, etc. It's ironic that the
rationale for this is to provide experience in creating "publication quality"
material, but the submission process for actual publication in my field is
entirely via electronic document, not physical paper ones. I'll probably
give the PDF format a try, but since everything presumably goes through the
print driver my guess it'll still have this minor difference. The problem
appears to be more with the black/white printer than the color one and I've
got several other printing options for that so I don't think a solution will
be too hard. Still, I'm surprised there isn't a way to do this. Back in the
day of dot-matrix printers this sort of adjustment was usually mandatory.

Appreciate the help,

Greg

If I were the dean of a college and I found that thesis reviewers were wasting
their time measuring the margins of submissions, I'd fire them on the spot.

Of course, that might explain why I'm not an academic and -- with no more than a
master's degree -- I'm employed in a position where I do something useful.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all
may benefit.

Of course they are working fine, but they have different drivers (and
drivers that are probably different to those that the reviewers are using).
*Any* document printed from Word will be a slave to the active printer
driver's capabilities. See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm. Print the whole thing
on the same printer, or use PDF format if you have to supply a file version.

As Word is the industry standard word processing application, if the
reviewers are not aware of this aspect of the document creation process,
they have no business doing the reviewing!

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

Thanks for the reply macropod,

I think the printers are essentially working fine, they just have
minute differences in terms of the precise print locations. The
left/right difference is less than 1/32" and the top/bottom
difference is about 1/32". Unfortunately for me, that difference is
enough for the reviewers to notice while measuring. I'll probably
end up saving the file as a duplicate prior to the final printing and
goose the Word margin settings to match the physical print margins,
but this solution makes me somewhat nervous.

:

Hi guyeda,

This isn't something controlled by Word, but by your printer's
configuration. If you check the Printer properties (either through
Word's print menu or via the Windows Control Panel), you may find a
setting that allows you to define the print offsets. I doubt it,
though. Probably either or both of the printers need some
maintenance - or at least the paper trays adjusted properly.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

I'm printing a thesis that requires some pretty precise print
formatting (reviewers literally measure margins with a ruler!) I
need to print the document on two printers: one for the
black/white text pages and one for the color pages. The problem is
that the two printers have slightly different print
characteristics. The color printer prints slightly lower and to
the left and the black/white one prints far enough to the right to
have flush-right text fall within the right margin when printed
out. Back in the day, this was common and there were settings you
could define that could correct for these discrpeancies, but I
can't seem to find them in Word 2003.

 

[macropod]

Be aware too that printing the exact same file on another printer - even of the same make and model - is likely to result in minor
differences in the physical margins. That's just a limitation of the hardware. Start printing on other printers, which likely means
using different printer drivers, and you've got another set of variables to deal with.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

Thanks for the replies guys. As for firing the format reviewers,
unfortunately that's their primary function. The acceptance process requires
approval from your supervisory committee, which makes their decisions on the
basis of content, and the format reviewer, who makes his decision based
solely on format. So the format reviewer is literally responsible for
checking things like font sizes, margins, etc. It's ironic that the
rationale for this is to provide experience in creating "publication quality"
material, but the submission process for actual publication in my field is
entirely via electronic document, not physical paper ones. I'll probably
give the PDF format a try, but since everything presumably goes through the
print driver my guess it'll still have this minor difference. The problem
appears to be more with the black/white printer than the color one and I've
got several other printing options for that so I don't think a solution will
be too hard. Still, I'm surprised there isn't a way to do this. Back in the
day of dot-matrix printers this sort of adjustment was usually mandatory.

Appreciate the help,

Greg

If I were the dean of a college and I found that thesis reviewers were wasting
their time measuring the margins of submissions, I'd fire them on the spot.

Of course, that might explain why I'm not an academic and -- with no more than a
master's degree -- I'm employed in a position where I do something useful.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all
may benefit.

Of course they are working fine, but they have different drivers (and
drivers that are probably different to those that the reviewers are using).
*Any* document printed from Word will be a slave to the active printer
driver's capabilities. See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm. Print the whole thing
on the same printer, or use PDF format if you have to supply a file version.

As Word is the industry standard word processing application, if the
reviewers are not aware of this aspect of the document creation process,
they have no business doing the reviewing!

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>




guyeda wrote:
Thanks for the reply macropod,

I think the printers are essentially working fine, they just have
minute differences in terms of the precise print locations. The
left/right difference is less than 1/32" and the top/bottom
difference is about 1/32". Unfortunately for me, that difference is
enough for the reviewers to notice while measuring. I'll probably
end up saving the file as a duplicate prior to the final printing and
goose the Word margin settings to match the physical print margins,
but this solution makes me somewhat nervous.

:

Hi guyeda,

This isn't something controlled by Word, but by your printer's
configuration. If you check the Printer properties (either through
Word's print menu or via the Windows Control Panel), you may find a
setting that allows you to define the print offsets. I doubt it,
though. Probably either or both of the printers need some
maintenance - or at least the paper trays adjusted properly.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

I'm printing a thesis that requires some pretty precise print
formatting (reviewers literally measure margins with a ruler!) I
need to print the document on two printers: one for the
black/white text pages and one for the color pages. The problem is
that the two printers have slightly different print
characteristics. The color printer prints slightly lower and to
the left and the black/white one prints far enough to the right to
have flush-right text fall within the right margin when printed
out. Back in the day, this was common and there were settings you
could define that could correct for these discrpeancies, but I
can't seem to find them in Word 2003.

 

[Graham Mayor]

If you are submitting the documents electronically for the 'reviewers' to
view on screen, then unless you know what printer driver the reviewer has
set as active printer at the time he/she opens the document, and which
release of the font outlines he/she has installed then there is no possible
way that you can setup the document to ensure that how it is viewed remotely
reflects how you set it up locally.

Word is not a page layout application. It is a dynamic entity that calls on
the active printer driver and the Windows fonts to layout the document. If
the reviewers are not aware of this, they really have no business
criticising the layout of a Word document.

If you want to produce a document appears as more as you intend then you
need to create a PDF format of the document which doesn't rely on the
printer driver, but on its own driver. It *may* be possible to embed the
fonts you wish to use to overcome the display issues inherent in PDF
viewing, but the ONLY way you can present a document and be sure it appears
exactly as you intend is to print it and submit the hard copy. If the
reviewers think otherwise then they are deluding themselves ... and more to
the point potentially penalising or rewarding you for something over which
you have no control. If what you say about the process is true, then it is
fundamentally flawed.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

Thanks for the replies guys. As for firing the format reviewers,
unfortunately that's their primary function. The acceptance process
requires approval from your supervisory committee, which makes their
decisions on the basis of content, and the format reviewer, who makes
his decision based solely on format. So the format reviewer is
literally responsible for checking things like font sizes, margins,
etc. It's ironic that the rationale for this is to provide
experience in creating "publication quality" material, but the
submission process for actual publication in my field is entirely via
electronic document, not physical paper ones. I'll probably give the
PDF format a try, but since everything presumably goes through the
print driver my guess it'll still have this minor difference. The
problem appears to be more with the black/white printer than the
color one and I've got several other printing options for that so I
don't think a solution will be too hard. Still, I'm surprised there
isn't a way to do this. Back in the day of dot-matrix printers this
sort of adjustment was usually mandatory.

Appreciate the help,

Greg

If I were the dean of a college and I found that thesis reviewers
were wasting their time measuring the margins of submissions, I'd
fire them on the spot.

Of course, that might explain why I'm not an academic and -- with no
more than a master's degree -- I'm employed in a position where I do
something useful.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

Of course they are working fine, but they have different drivers
(and drivers that are probably different to those that the
reviewers are using). *Any* document printed from Word will be a
slave to the active printer driver's capabilities. See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm. Print the
whole thing on the same printer, or use PDF format if you have to
supply a file version.

As Word is the industry standard word processing application, if the
reviewers are not aware of this aspect of the document creation
process, they have no business doing the reviewing!

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>




guyeda wrote:
Thanks for the reply macropod,

I think the printers are essentially working fine, they just have
minute differences in terms of the precise print locations. The
left/right difference is less than 1/32" and the top/bottom
difference is about 1/32". Unfortunately for me, that difference is
enough for the reviewers to notice while measuring. I'll probably
end up saving the file as a duplicate prior to the final printing
and goose the Word margin settings to match the physical print
margins, but this solution makes me somewhat nervous.

:

Hi guyeda,

This isn't something controlled by Word, but by your printer's
configuration. If you check the Printer properties (either through
Word's print menu or via the Windows Control Panel), you may find
a setting that allows you to define the print offsets. I doubt it,
though. Probably either or both of the printers need some
maintenance - or at least the paper trays adjusted properly.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

I'm printing a thesis that requires some pretty precise print
formatting (reviewers literally measure margins with a ruler!) I
need to print the document on two printers: one for the
black/white text pages and one for the color pages. The problem
is that the two printers have slightly different print
characteristics. The color printer prints slightly lower and to
the left and the black/white one prints far enough to the right
to have flush-right text fall within the right margin when
printed out. Back in the day, this was common and there were
settings you could define that could correct for these
discrpeancies, but I can't seem to find them in Word 2003.

 

[guyeda]

Hi Graham,

You're preaching to the choir here! I wish I could submit the document
electronically. It looks great on screen, regardless of the printer I
choose. I agree that the process is fundamentally flawed when for the large
majority of students, final approval is held-up on the basis of minute flaws
in the appearance of the thesis as opposed to the content of the thesis. It
also results in a monumental waste of paper as student after student prints
out 100+ page documents only to have to revise/reprint because of minute
formatting deficiencies of the order of 1/32". So much for this school's
effort to be a leader in sustainable living practices. Nonetheless, while I
feel this whole formatting adventure is a pretty big waste of time, an even
bigger waste of time would be to try to fight the beauracracy on this issue.
My guess is that the process will eventually change to match current
publishing practices primarily because these formatting requirements are
relatively archaic, but also because of the paper consumption issue.

Best wishes,

Greg

If you are submitting the documents electronically for the 'reviewers' to
view on screen, then unless you know what printer driver the reviewer has
set as active printer at the time he/she opens the document, and which
release of the font outlines he/she has installed then there is no possible
way that you can setup the document to ensure that how it is viewed remotely
reflects how you set it up locally.

Word is not a page layout application. It is a dynamic entity that calls on
the active printer driver and the Windows fonts to layout the document. If
the reviewers are not aware of this, they really have no business
criticising the layout of a Word document.

If you want to produce a document appears as more as you intend then you
need to create a PDF format of the document which doesn't rely on the
printer driver, but on its own driver. It *may* be possible to embed the
fonts you wish to use to overcome the display issues inherent in PDF
viewing, but the ONLY way you can present a document and be sure it appears
exactly as you intend is to print it and submit the hard copy. If the
reviewers think otherwise then they are deluding themselves ... and more to
the point potentially penalising or rewarding you for something over which
you have no control. If what you say about the process is true, then it is
fundamentally flawed.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

Thanks for the replies guys. As for firing the format reviewers,
unfortunately that's their primary function. The acceptance process
requires approval from your supervisory committee, which makes their
decisions on the basis of content, and the format reviewer, who makes
his decision based solely on format. So the format reviewer is
literally responsible for checking things like font sizes, margins,
etc. It's ironic that the rationale for this is to provide
experience in creating "publication quality" material, but the
submission process for actual publication in my field is entirely via
electronic document, not physical paper ones. I'll probably give the
PDF format a try, but since everything presumably goes through the
print driver my guess it'll still have this minor difference. The
problem appears to be more with the black/white printer than the
color one and I've got several other printing options for that so I
don't think a solution will be too hard. Still, I'm surprised there
isn't a way to do this. Back in the day of dot-matrix printers this
sort of adjustment was usually mandatory.

Appreciate the help,

Greg

If I were the dean of a college and I found that thesis reviewers
were wasting their time measuring the margins of submissions, I'd
fire them on the spot.

Of course, that might explain why I'm not an academic and -- with no
more than a master's degree -- I'm employed in a position where I do
something useful.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:03:43 +0200, "Graham Mayor"

Of course they are working fine, but they have different drivers
(and drivers that are probably different to those that the
reviewers are using). *Any* document printed from Word will be a
slave to the active printer driver's capabilities. See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm. Print the
whole thing on the same printer, or use PDF format if you have to
supply a file version.

As Word is the industry standard word processing application, if the
reviewers are not aware of this aspect of the document creation
process, they have no business doing the reviewing!

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>




guyeda wrote:
Thanks for the reply macropod,

I think the printers are essentially working fine, they just have
minute differences in terms of the precise print locations. The
left/right difference is less than 1/32" and the top/bottom
difference is about 1/32". Unfortunately for me, that difference is
enough for the reviewers to notice while measuring. I'll probably
end up saving the file as a duplicate prior to the final printing
and goose the Word margin settings to match the physical print
margins, but this solution makes me somewhat nervous.

:

Hi guyeda,

This isn't something controlled by Word, but by your printer's
configuration. If you check the Printer properties (either through
Word's print menu or via the Windows Control Panel), you may find
a setting that allows you to define the print offsets. I doubt it,
though. Probably either or both of the printers need some
maintenance - or at least the paper trays adjusted properly.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

I'm printing a thesis that requires some pretty precise print
formatting (reviewers literally measure margins with a ruler!) I
need to print the document on two printers: one for the
black/white text pages and one for the color pages. The problem
is that the two printers have slightly different print
characteristics. The color printer prints slightly lower and to
the left and the black/white one prints far enough to the right
to have flush-right text fall within the right margin when
printed out. Back in the day, this was common and there were
settings you could define that could correct for these
discrpeancies, but I can't seem to find them in Word 2003.

 

[grammatim]

May I suggest that you bring this situation (anonymously seems wise)
to the attention of the local media? They never pass up a chance to
ridicule academics over minutiae, and this appears to be a perfect
candidate for ridicule.

Could you tell us what country you're in?

Hi Graham,

You're preaching to the choir here!  I wish I could submit the document
electronically.  It looks great on screen, regardless of the printer I
choose.  I agree that the process is fundamentally flawed when for the large
majority of students, final approval is held-up on the basis of minute flaws
in the appearance of the thesis as opposed to the content of the thesis.  It
also results in a monumental waste of paper as student after student prints
out 100+ page documents only to have to revise/reprint because of minute
formatting deficiencies of the order of 1/32".  So much for this school's
effort to be a leader in sustainable living practices.  Nonetheless, while I
feel this whole formatting adventure is a pretty big waste of time, an even
bigger waste of time would be to try to fight the beauracracy on this issue.  
My guess is that the process will eventually change to match current
publishing practices primarily because these formatting requirements are
relatively archaic, but also because of the paper consumption issue.

Best wishes,

Greg

If you are submitting the documents electronically for the 'reviewers' to
view on screen, then unless you know what printer driver the reviewer has
set as active printer at the time he/she opens the document, and which
release of the font outlines he/she has installed then there is no possible
way that you can setup the document to ensure that how it is viewed remotely
reflects how you set it up locally.

Word is not a page layout application. It is a dynamic entity that callson
the active printer driver and the Windows fonts to layout the document. If
the reviewers are not aware of this, they really have no business
criticising the layout of a Word document.

If you want to produce a document appears as more as you intend then you
need to create a PDF format of the document which doesn't rely on the
printer driver, but on its own driver. It *may* be possible to embed the
fonts you wish to use to overcome the display issues inherent in PDF
viewing, but the ONLY way you can present a document and be sure it appears
exactly as you intend is to print it and submit the hard copy. If the
reviewers think otherwise then they are deluding themselves ... and moreto
the point potentially penalising or rewarding you for something over which
you have no control. If what you say about the process is true, then it is
fundamentally flawed.

My web sitewww.gmayor.com
Word MVP web sitehttp://word.mvps.org
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

Thanks for the replies guys.  As for firing the format reviewers,
unfortunately that's their primary function.  The acceptance process
requires approval from your supervisory committee, which makes their
decisions on the basis of content, and the format reviewer, who makes
his decision based solely on format.  So the format reviewer is
literally responsible for checking things like font sizes, margins,
etc.  It's ironic that the rationale for this is to provide
experience in creating "publication quality" material, but the
submission process for actual publication in my field is entirely via
electronic document, not physical paper ones.  I'll probably give the
PDF format a try, but since everything presumably goes through the
print driver my guess it'll still have this minor difference.  The
problem appears to be more with the black/white printer than the
color one and I've got several other printing options for that so I
don't think a solution will be too hard.  Still, I'm surprised there
isn't a way to do this.  Back in the day of dot-matrix printers this
sort of adjustment was usually mandatory.
Appreciate the help,
Greg
:
If I were the dean of a college and I found that thesis reviewers
were wasting their time measuring the margins of submissions, I'd
fire them on the spot.
Of course, that might explain why I'm not an academic and -- with no
more than a master's degree -- I'm employed in a position where I do
something useful.
--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP        FAQ:http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.
On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:03:43 +0200, "Graham Mayor"
Of course they are working fine, but they have different drivers
(and drivers that are probably different to those that the
reviewers are using). *Any* document printed from Word will be a
slave to the active printer driver's capabilities. See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm. Print the
whole thing on the same printer, or use PDF format if you have to
supply a file version.
As Word is the industry standard word processing application, if the
reviewers are not aware of this aspect of the document creation
process, they have no business doing the reviewing!
--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor -  Word MVP
My web sitewww.gmayor.com
Word MVP web sitehttp://word.mvps.org
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
guyeda wrote:
Thanks for the reply macropod,
I think the printers are essentially working fine, they just have
minute differences in terms of the precise print locations.  The
left/right difference is less than 1/32" and the top/bottom
difference is about 1/32". Unfortunately for me, that difference is
enough for the reviewers to notice while measuring.  I'll probably
end up saving the file as a duplicate prior to the final printing
and goose the Word margin settings to match the physical print
margins, but this solution makes me somewhat nervous.
:
Hi guyeda,
This isn't something controlled by Word, but by your printer's
configuration. If you check the Printer properties (either through
Word's print menu or via the Windows Control Panel), you may find
a setting that allows you to define the print offsets. I doubt it,
though. Probably either or both of the printers need some
maintenance - or at least the paper trays adjusted properly.
Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------
I'm printing a thesis that requires some pretty precise print
formatting (reviewers literally measure margins with a ruler!)  I
need to print the document on two printers:  one for the
black/white text pages and one for the color pages.  The problem
is that the two printers have slightly different print
characteristics.  The color printer prints slightly lower and to
the left and the black/white one prints far enough to the right
to have flush-right text fall within the right margin when
printed out.  Back in the day, this was common and there were
settings you could define that could correct for these
discrpeancies, but I can't seem to find them in Word 2003.-

 

[guyeda]

Hey! I'm an academic! It's also not the academics that make these rules,
it's the administrators. In all fairness to the school, these procedures are
likely the result of trying to have a uniform thesis submission process
across disciplines that are substantially different. I just think they need
to set up a system like many journals currently have. If you don't submit
your document with the proper formatting and styles, the system rejects it.
Once you do have the proper styles set, however, the system uses those styles
to perform the document layout that's appropriate for both traditonal paper
as well as the current online publishing formats. The experience would be
more relevant to the stated goals of the thesis preparation and would likely
be a more efficient process. I can see however, how this may be an even more
difficult task for someone in a department that may not have to go through
submissions like this on a regular basis. It also introduces the problem of
defining some sort of standard document format that would likely result in a
mandate for the use of only certain programs/file types. This is somewhat
problematic for a public institution (I'm in the US btw) as it requires some
reasonable justification for why all it's students MUST use/buy Word, for
example. There are no easy solutions for this if it's to be implemented on a
university wide basis, which is why I think it makes more sense for the
departments to decide what is appropriate.

Greg

 

[Graham Mayor]

It might be worth passing a copy of this thread to the administrators. As my
friend and fellow Word MVP Greg Maxey suggests, public service workers are
often like a broken gun ... it doesn't work and you can't fire it!

As for the immediate problem, as someone suggested earlier, for a printed
copy it would probably be best to create a PDF copy and print that.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

Hi Graham,

You're preaching to the choir here! I wish I could submit the
document electronically. It looks great on screen, regardless of the
printer I choose. I agree that the process is fundamentally flawed
when for the large majority of students, final approval is held-up on
the basis of minute flaws in the appearance of the thesis as opposed
to the content of the thesis. It also results in a monumental waste
of paper as student after student prints out 100+ page documents only
to have to revise/reprint because of minute formatting deficiencies
of the order of 1/32". So much for this school's effort to be a
leader in sustainable living practices. Nonetheless, while I feel
this whole formatting adventure is a pretty big waste of time, an
even bigger waste of time would be to try to fight the beauracracy on
this issue. My guess is that the process will eventually change to
match current publishing practices primarily because these formatting
requirements are relatively archaic, but also because of the paper
consumption issue.

Best wishes,

Greg

If you are submitting the documents electronically for the
'reviewers' to view on screen, then unless you know what printer
driver the reviewer has set as active printer at the time he/she
opens the document, and which release of the font outlines he/she
has installed then there is no possible way that you can setup the
document to ensure that how it is viewed remotely reflects how you
set it up locally.

Word is not a page layout application. It is a dynamic entity that
calls on the active printer driver and the Windows fonts to layout
the document. If the reviewers are not aware of this, they really
have no business criticising the layout of a Word document.

If you want to produce a document appears as more as you intend then
you need to create a PDF format of the document which doesn't rely
on the printer driver, but on its own driver. It *may* be possible
to embed the fonts you wish to use to overcome the display issues
inherent in PDF viewing, but the ONLY way you can present a document
and be sure it appears exactly as you intend is to print it and
submit the hard copy. If the reviewers think otherwise then they are
deluding themselves ... and more to the point potentially penalising
or rewarding you for something over which you have no control. If
what you say about the process is true, then it is fundamentally
flawed.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

Thanks for the replies guys. As for firing the format reviewers,
unfortunately that's their primary function. The acceptance process
requires approval from your supervisory committee, which makes their
decisions on the basis of content, and the format reviewer, who
makes his decision based solely on format. So the format reviewer
is literally responsible for checking things like font sizes,
margins, etc. It's ironic that the rationale for this is to provide
experience in creating "publication quality" material, but the
submission process for actual publication in my field is entirely
via electronic document, not physical paper ones. I'll probably
give the PDF format a try, but since everything presumably goes
through the print driver my guess it'll still have this minor
difference. The problem appears to be more with the black/white
printer than the color one and I've got several other printing
options for that so I don't think a solution will be too hard.
Still, I'm surprised there isn't a way to do this. Back in the day
of dot-matrix printers this sort of adjustment was usually
mandatory.

Appreciate the help,

Greg

:

If I were the dean of a college and I found that thesis reviewers
were wasting their time measuring the margins of submissions, I'd
fire them on the spot.

Of course, that might explain why I'm not an academic and -- with
no more than a master's degree -- I'm employed in a position where
I do something useful.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:03:43 +0200, "Graham Mayor"

Of course they are working fine, but they have different drivers
(and drivers that are probably different to those that the
reviewers are using). *Any* document printed from Word will be a
slave to the active printer driver's capabilities. See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm. Print the
whole thing on the same printer, or use PDF format if you have to
supply a file version.

As Word is the industry standard word processing application, if
the reviewers are not aware of this aspect of the document
creation process, they have no business doing the reviewing!

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>




guyeda wrote:
Thanks for the reply macropod,

I think the printers are essentially working fine, they just have
minute differences in terms of the precise print locations. The
left/right difference is less than 1/32" and the top/bottom
difference is about 1/32". Unfortunately for me, that difference
is enough for the reviewers to notice while measuring. I'll
probably end up saving the file as a duplicate prior to the
final printing and goose the Word margin settings to match the
physical print margins, but this solution makes me somewhat
nervous.

:

Hi guyeda,

This isn't something controlled by Word, but by your printer's
configuration. If you check the Printer properties (either
through Word's print menu or via the Windows Control Panel),
you may find a setting that allows you to define the print
offsets. I doubt it, though. Probably either or both of the
printers need some maintenance - or at least the paper trays
adjusted properly.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

I'm printing a thesis that requires some pretty precise print
formatting (reviewers literally measure margins with a ruler!)
I need to print the document on two printers: one for the
black/white text pages and one for the color pages. The
problem is that the two printers have slightly different print
characteristics. The color printer prints slightly lower and
to the left and the black/white one prints far enough to the
right to have flush-right text fall within the right margin
when printed out. Back in the day, this was common and there
were settings you could define that could correct for these
discrpeancies, but I can't seem to find them in Word 2003.