# Weird Printing Problem -- HELP!!



## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Trying to print the template done in CorelDraw shown below (on my computer screen).

When it prints, the picture is no longer lined up like this. See the hole shown for the ribbon on the right? It's between them and above my husband's head. When I check print preview everything is perfect. Send the print job, and the alignment of the picture is different, and the hole is IN any husband's head! Now I've been told he needs me like a hole in his head, but that still doesn't explain this!

Tried it again from scratch, and again the same thing. Closed all files and closed out the program. Reopened and redesigned it, following all procedures to the T. Still doesn't print correctly! 

My next step will be to power off the PC altogether and try again, but I have to admit I'm losing my temper!! This has happened before I got the templates from Conde and I was cropping photos to the approximate print size -- they would print uncropped. Why?????? See next post for a print example. I can't post 2 photos in one post or my app crashes...


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Ok, here's an example of what's printing from the file above... This is the 3rd print and they're all wrong!!


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Trying to print the template done in CorelDraw shown below (on my computer screen).
> 
> When it prints, the picture is no longer lined up like this. See the hole shown for the ribbon on the right? It's between them and above my husband's head. When I check print preview everything is perfect. Send the print job, and the alignment of the picture is different, and the hole is IN any husband's head! Now I've been told he needs me like a hole in his head, but that still doesn't explain this!
> 
> ...


See my screen shots as attached.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

mgparrish is probably on the right track.

Test with some regular paper cut to match the size of your card stock so you don't waste any more of that.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> See my screen shots as attached.


Neither of those options were selected... I'm going crazy trying to figure this out!


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

I guess the other post I wrote didn't show up?? Am I in the Twilight Zone here, or what?? This is the other print screen.

Just tried printing again after using a template that has printed correctly previously... Heck I'll try anything at this point... Printed on regular plain copy paper 8.5 X 11


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Nope!! My hubby still has a hole in his head...


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

Mellisa,
save it as a jpg, the whole page. then print on normal paper 'dont print to size' & 'do fit image to size' in draft quality grayscale on normal paper.

using non sub printer of course.


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## ParrotPrinting (Feb 23, 2015)

Melisa .....I could be completely wrong but you have the size as cell phone size and your printing on 8.5 X 11


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

if you align your image on the template correctly on the screen and you are working in A4 size just save/export the whole page as a PDF.
It will be absolutely spot on and then you can get down to the business of printing an image that cannot move from the pdf


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

ParrotPrinting said:


> Melisa .....I could be completely wrong but *you have the size as cell phone size* and your printing on 8.5 X 11



You nailed it, that should be the problem.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Dekzion said:


> if you align your image on the template correctly on the screen and you are working in A4 size just save/export the whole page as a PDF.
> It will be absolutely spot on and then you can get down to the business of printing an image that cannot move from the pdf


Now that's an excellent idea!! I did have the new document opened in the correct cellphone size, and then selected custom size (cellphone size) in print options through Printer Preferences. The print preview always looked like it was on the correct paper, and the photo looked correct, as well. 

This was even more strange, because the designs I printed the other day were fine. This was the only one I did last night... My trial evaluation copy of the software ends today, and I will install my new CorelDraw X7 from CD tonight. Hoping that will cure this strange problem, but if it doesn't, the PDF solution you mention sounds like the IDEAL work-around. THANK YOU!!! I hadn't thought of that!!!


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

ParrotPrinting said:


> Melisa .....I could be completely wrong but you have the size as cell phone size and your printing on 8.5 X 11


No, layout on screen was cellphone paper, and I did print it as a custom-sized cellphone paper in the printer properties. Everything else printed fine that was designed the other day. It's just this one that I did tonight that I'm struggling with.


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## 2011scottc73 (Aug 3, 2011)

I know this is know help but I am cringing remembering when my cutter used to just do its own thing for no reason. Sooo annoying.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

2011scottc73 said:


> I know this is know help but I am cringing remembering when my cutter used to just do its own thing for no reason. Sooo annoying.


You may not be solving my problem, but your empathy really does help! Sometimes I experience the most unusual problems, and I think, "why am I the only one this is happening to??" Suffice it to say I am never the person at the office that's asked to buy our lottery tickets, LOL! Thanks for helping me to realize I am not alone, ha ha.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> No, layout on screen was cellphone paper, and I did print it as a custom-sized cellphone paper in the printer properties. Everything else printed fine that was designed the other day. It's just this one that I did tonight that I'm struggling with.


There must be a bit of a disconnect in the paper size on-screen in the template vs. what the printer thinks it is printing and perhaps vs. the actual size of the physical paper. Also, look for any "centering" options that may have been selected.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> There must be a bit of a disconnect in the paper size on-screen in the template vs. what the printer thinks it is printing and perhaps vs. the actual size of the physical paper. Also, look for any "centering" options that may have been selected.


Could it be this?? Should both drop down on top, right say "Cellphone paper" instead of "Same as Document Size"?


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Or could it be the Layout page -- it says "Settings for Page 1 <-> 2.96", 4.08" vertically. The cellphone paper is 3.5" wide by 7" high. 

And what does "imposition layout" mean? It says "As in Document (full page)"


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

If I do make a PDF can I print it from Corel with the ICC profile?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Or could it be the Layout page -- it says "Settings for Page 1 <-> 2.96", 4.08" vertically. The cellphone paper is 3.5" wide by 7" high.
> 
> And what does "imposition layout" mean? It says "As in Document (full page)"


You are not printing "gang sheets' so you won't be using "imposition layout".

http://product.corel.com/help/Corel...king-with-imposition-layouts.html&single=true

Are you using special cut paper that is cut to "cell phone" size?

If that is the case then the page size in CD and the page size of the actual paper in the printer must match, and the printer driver must know precisely what size that paper is.

Do you have a regular "A" size (8 1/2 x 11) paper that you can print and just set the normal paper size in both Corel Draw and the Epson driver?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> If I do make a PDF can I print it from Corel with the ICC profile?


You are still gonna have the same issues. What size your PDF needs to be as well as the actual paper size? All these sizes must match up making the pdf as well.

Looks to me you are making this way more complicated than it has to be.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

Yes, on the right track, I think.

Make sure size AND *orientation* match in CD print dialog and the printer's own dialog. One or the other may be seeing the width measurement as the height. Reverse them as a test if all else fails.

In one of the screen shots of the CD print dialog I see that the Issues tab says that there are 2 issues. Bet you one of those issues is "Objects don't fit on page." 

Making a PDF will only cure the issue if the problem lies with the printer's own driver and you manage to set the PDF print output correctly. In any case, should be able to get the printer driver set to work right.


It is sort of annoying, but every time I print 13x19 I have to set the paper size again in the print driver. It simply won't listen to Corel about page size, so have to set it in both places. Again, double check page orientation in Corel versus the printer driver ... that particular template might have that set different than the others did. In some situations I have had to reverse the height/width values in the printer driver.


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## Dekzion (May 18, 2015)

If you make it as an A4 standard PDF (just publish as a PDF) Open it as usual with Adobe and hit print. your Ricoh driver will print a straight PDF and so will the sawgrass powerdriver if installed.
There is no corel needed and nothing can possibly move out of line.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Dekzion said:


> If you make it as an A4 standard PDF (just publish as a PDF) Open it as usual with Adobe and hit print. your Ricoh driver will print a straight PDF and so will the sawgrass powerdriver if installed.
> There is no corel needed and nothing can possibly move out of line.


This is not Ricoh nor using SG Power Driver


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> You are still gonna have the same issues. What size your PDF needs to be as well as the actual paper size? All these sizes must match up making the pdf as well.
> 
> Looks to me you are making this way more complicated than it has to be.


I'm not making anything complicated...The design on the screen is 3.5 X 7 the exact size of the paper I am using. That size paper was set up through printer properties as custom and named "cellphone paper". It is specified as being in Tray 1 of the printer. Am I missing something? That's why I provided my screen shots. Do I need to specify something in the Corel print settings about the paper size? This is why I am asking. Believe me I have better things to do than "make things more complicated than they need to be". I came for help bc I am at my wits end. I keep checking my settings and everything looks right to me, but I just don't know what everything means in CD. Sorry for asking too many questions...


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> I'm not making anything complicated...The design on the screen is 3.5 X 7 the exact size of the paper I am using. That size paper was set up through printer properties as custom and named "cellphone paper". It is specified as being in Tray 1 of the printer. Am I missing something? That's why I provided my screen shots. Do I need to specify something in the Corel print settings about the paper size? This is why I am asking. Believe me I have better things to do than "make things more complicated than they need to be". I came for help bc I am at my wits end. I keep checking my settings and everything looks right to me, but I just don't know what everything means in CD. Sorry for asking too many questions...


The design size on the screen is just that ... the design size.

Your document work space size needs to match your actual paper size.

See the attached. I can put in any size of design in my work space as long as it fits inside.

If your paper is 3.5 X 7 then your document size should be the same. What do you have for settings in the screens I attached?

The context of "boundary" is the actual geometric span of the design, not the page span. Your design "boundary" would be 3.5 X 7.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> The design size on the screen is just that ... the design size.
> 
> Your document work space size needs to match your actual paper size.
> 
> ...


Attached is the first screen shot. The second will be in a separate post. They appear to be the same as yours.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Here's the Options page... Everything looks the same to me...


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Here's the Options page... Everything looks the same to me...


Those look OK ... but unless you always plan to use 3.5 x 7 paper then I would set the default size to something typical like letter size then just create a custom preset for your cell phone paper and use that when you need to.

I need to see your screen for your custom cell phone paper setup. My screen of course is just the dialog, I don't have it set custom.

See my screen shot as attached.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Also, please post a full screen shot with your design in the CorelDraw workspace, I need the see the rules and the page zoom out enough to confirm the work space size.

You can use this for you screen shots, it's free.

The Screen Capture Utility

Free version link ...

http://www.gadwin.com/download/PrintScreen_Setup.zip

I use something different (snagit) but this is free and works good.


An example is attached.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Here's the Options page... Everything looks the same to me...


Here is a test document in pdf form it is 3.5 x 7.

See my screen shot. Open only in Adobe Acrobat Reader and confirm 3.5 x 7 as shown in the screen shot. I use Acrobat Pro but the file should open in Reader and print OK. Make sure your print settings in Reader is set to print to the exact size, no resize, scale %, etc, use the same settings in the Epson driver as you are for your cell phone paper.

Keep this file out of Corel Draw for now. 

The idea is to isolate the issue either to being CD or the Epson driver.

This is assuming that your "custom" size is set correctly in the Epson driver.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> Those look OK ... but unless you always plan to use 3.5 x 7 paper then I would set the default size to something typical like letter size then just create a custom preset for your cell phone paper and use that when you need to.
> 
> I need to see your screen for your custom cell phone paper setup. My screen of course is just the dialog, I don't have it set custom.
> 
> See my screen shot as attached.


Here it is...


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

I'm using my cellphone for screen shots at the moment, just bc it's faster and I can grab a photo to post even if I'm on the run...


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> Also, please post a full screen shot with your design in the CorelDraw workspace, I need the see the rules and the page zoom out enough to confirm the work space size.
> 
> You can use this for you screen shots, it's free.
> 
> ...


Here's a screen shot of the design space. Custom size and 3.5 X 7...


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> Here is a test document in pdf form it is 3.5 x 7.
> 
> See my screen shot. Open only in Adobe Acrobat Reader and confirm 3.5 x 7 as shown in the screen shot. I use Acrobat Pro but the file should open in Reader and print OK. Make sure your print settings in Reader is set to print to the exact size, no resize, scale %, etc, use the same settings in the Epson driver as you are for your cell phone paper.
> 
> ...


Still 3.5 X 7... Only difference from yours is the PDF Producer Version.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

You're not gonna believe this... Look what just popped up on my screen... If there's an update, load it, right??


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Still 3.5 X 7... Only difference from yours is the PDF Producer Version.


OK see how it prints straight of the PDF reader you have.

One thing weird is that that hole for the template should not be shifting around. Even if you had a width height mismatch then it would show everything proportionally scaled or mis-sized, that circle/hole in the template should not be moving around to the forehead on the man.

What happens if you group everything then print, or if you convert the entire design to bitmap ...

Keep in mind if you do this then your template is embedded now in your bitmap and not able to go back to a composite bitmap/vector design, so save this out to another file name first before you convert to a bitmap.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Ok, there was an update for E-Web Print and I updated it. Could this be the answer?? It says I am up-to-date now with the Epson software.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> You're not gonna believe this... Look what just popped up on my screen... If there's an update, load it, right??



No disable that. It can cripple your 3rd party cart/CIS setup.

Epson can render 3rd party chips useless this way.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Ok, there was an update for E-Web Print and I updated it. Could this be the answer?? It says I am up-to-date now with the Epson software.


If the pdf file I gave you prints OK then the problem is not with your printer or it's settings.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Ok, there was an update for E-Web Print and I updated it. Could this be the answer?? It says I am up-to-date now with the Epson software.


That is another application, not your printer driver. It will only effect things you bring into that application and print out from that application. It will not effect how you print in Corel Draw to the Epson driver. Really unrelated.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Unfortunately, my troubleshooting for tonight has to come to an end. I'm on the east coast, and it's 2:10 right now. I gotta get up before 6:00. I've only gotten 3 hours of sleep the last two nights, so my husband just got up and yelled at me, LOL. I'm gonna save the file in CD, and close everything out and power down. Hopefully I'll have a few minutes in the morning, and will bootup and see what happens. If not, it'll have to wait until tomorrow night... UUGH. So close!!!

Mike, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for all of your assistance. You are incredibly charitable to take your time to help me. I really appreciate it.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> No disable that. It can cripple your 3rd party cart/CIS setup.
> 
> Epson can render 3rd party chips useless this way.


Oh crap. That's why I did receive an update message once before and I didn't do anything about it... Hope I didn't do anything to compromise the CIS! YIKES!!!


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

OK, I'll give up for tonight AFTER I print the PDF...


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Ok this is the print page. What's next? It shows 8.5 X 11 on the right side of the page...


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

I just read your previous post. Sorry there's a lag I guess... I saved your file and then opened in Adobe Acrobat. The print settings show it as 8.5 X 11 on the right hand side.

I changed the size option to actual size and orientation to portrait. Do I try to print it even though it's showing letter size and not 3.5 X 7?


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Here's the screen shot


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Ok well, I was waiting for an answer, but I gotta hit the bed. Thanks again. To be continued I guess...


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## Helvis (Jan 26, 2015)

I don't print any transfers but I had a thought. I hope I am not sending you on a goose chase.

If you uncheck Mirror Image does it still move the photo inside of the template/container when printed? 

My thinking is that the photo and template/container being of different sizes (and not necessarily locked in place to each other) could be causing the movement when mirrored by the printer driver. If that is what is happening, it may be resolved by flipping the whole design over in CorelDraw (select all objects then click the mirror horizontally icon) so that it is already reversed and no mirroring is needed by the printer driver.

Anyways, good luck. I hope I'm not leading you astray.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Ok this is the print page. What's next? It shows 8.5 X 11 on the right side of the page...


Print using the same exact options as the cell phone images.

Check your print options closely, you need to check "actual size". You need to have paper size of 3.5 x 7 indicating in that page.

If that image prints correctly (using your cell phone settings and custom size) then that indicates the issue is happening due to Corel Draw.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Helvis said:


> I don't print any transfers but I had a thought. I hope I am not sending you on a goose chase.
> 
> If you uncheck Mirror Image does it still move the photo inside of the template/container when printed?
> 
> ...


If only the photo part of the design is being flipped, but the template part is not, then what you say is possible.

If both items, photo and template are flipped then that won't cause the template hole to shift relative to the photo, it would flip with the photo and be inverted as well.

If the hole is not flipped then it can move relative to the photo.

Grouping them all together before inverting is a good practice.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> I just read your previous post. Sorry there's a lag I guess... I saved your file and then opened in Adobe Acrobat. The print settings show it as 8.5 X 11 on the right hand side.
> 
> I changed the size option to actual size and orientation to portrait. Do I try to print it even though it's showing letter size and not 3.5 X 7?


Set your custom paper size in the Epson driver before you print. Do that while you are in that printing dialog as shown in the attached.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Helvis said:


> I don't print any transfers but I had a thought. I hope I am not sending you on a goose chase.
> 
> If you uncheck Mirror Image does it still move the photo inside of the template/container when printed?
> 
> ...


That's actually a good thought. I saw that once the photo is in the template, you can lock the contents. I had actually done that, but kept unlocking to adjust the photo, and didn't re-lock it again. I wonder if that could be it...


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> That's actually a good thought. I saw that once the photo is in the template, you can lock the contents. I had actually done that, but kept unlocking to adjust the photo, and didn't re-lock it again. I wonder if that could be it...


In Corel you should "group" elements. You can then lock after grouping. Locking just keeps you from editing that specific object that is locked until you unlock basically. If you have you objects grouped then when you mirror image all objects in the grouped collection get mirrored.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> Set your custom paper size in the Epson driver before you print. Do that while you are in that printing dialog as shown in the attached.


Gotcha. I'm gonna do this as soon as I can tonight, and will post my results. I googled the issue yesterday and found this bit of info. They're saying its a bug, but what's sticking in my craw, is why other photos have printed perfectly, and why THIS one is affected... The inconsistency is just weird....


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## Helvis (Jan 26, 2015)

What I was thinking is that the objects are both being mirrored but possibly one on a different axis than the other because of different sizing and that is what is causing the photo to not be in the same place after being mirrored. Purely speculation.




mgparrish said:


> If only the photo part of the design is being flipped, but the template part is not, then what you say is possible.
> 
> If both items, photo and template are flipped then that won't cause the template hole to shift relative to the photo, it would flip with the photo and be inverted as well.
> 
> ...


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Gotcha. I'm gonna do this as soon as I can tonight, and will post my results. I googled the issue yesterday and found this bit of info. They're saying its a bug, but what's sticking in my craw, is why other photos have printed perfectly, and why THIS one is affected... The inconsistency is just weird....


If it is a bug or Corel setting issue then that test file will confirm. The idea is to take Corel out the "equation" in this test.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Not sure now if this was in regard to the cropped photos reappearing in my printed design, or this problem -- but maybe it could pertain to both??


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

Helvis said:


> What I was thinking is that the objects are both being mirrored but possibly one on a different axis than the other because of different sizing and that is what is causing the photo to not be in the same place after being mirrored. Purely speculation.


That would only be possible if Corel has a bug. I have a different version so I can't confirm using mine. But Corel can be buggy.

If the design is to be mirrored for heat transferring then all objects on the page must be mirrored. So flipping some and not others can be a problem. Grouping everything before printing (and flipping) solves that, unless you mirror globally ie in the printer driver and don't mirror in the normal workspace.

If you "flip" (mirror) items selectively in the work space you might miss some objects and not flip them. So I group everything then mirror the grouped selection.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Not sure now if this was in regard to the cropped photos reappearing in my printed design, or this problem -- but maybe it could pertain to both??


I mentioned this earlier,

if you convert the entire document to bitmap before you print then it forces everything on the page to be one big object. This means that if something is treating individual objects differently then it cant do that any more since every is converted to one single bitmap object.

The downside is that you can no longer edit individual items if you force to bitmap, so save your file in regular form before converting and call the converted file something else. Or you can't edit as individual objects anymore.

I would group everything on the page first in the normal un-mirrored orientation, then mirror that grouped item, then print.

If that doesn't work then convert to bitmap before printing ... again ... save the original first before mirroring and if you want top save the converted file then name it something different.

But suggest you print that pdf file I have you first. We don't yet know if this is a Corel Draw problem or not.


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## WalkingZombie (Mar 15, 2014)

First and foremost, if the issue is only with the template circle "hole" moving around within the image, just delete that circle in corel. You don't need that. If it prints out wrong and not entirely inside the actual substrate hole, it will print onto the substrate. The only thing you need is the template border/outline. Remove everything on the inside.... although, I noticed that the image moved around.

If you're still having issues, attach the file or PM it to me and I can test print it for you. Send it exactly how you have it now.

I can do a quick on-screen video on what I'm doing in CD and then show you how it prints out. It may or may not help.

Not much needs to be done in CD, for the most part. My workspace can be 11x17 and I can print using my phone case settings. I just have to move up my image in the print preview. I also don't need to have everything grouped. Prints fine whether my design is ungrouped, power clipped, not power clipped, etc.

Something is being over-thought. Hopefully we can find it.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

WalkingZombie said:


> First and foremost, if the issue is only with the template circle "hole" moving around within the image, just delete that circle in corel. You don't need that. If it prints out wrong and not entirely inside the actual substrate hole, it will print onto the substrate. The only thing you need is the template border/outline. Remove everything on the inside.... although, I noticed that the image moved around.
> 
> If you're still having issues, attach the file or PM it to me and I can test print it for you. Send it exactly how you have it now.
> 
> ...


Grouping isn't necessary, no one has said so, _however in this context_ ...

1. It is for troubleshooting purposes, I suggest that she try it just to see what happens. 

2. If you want to mirror everything in the work space then you need to make sure all individual objects "flip". If she flipped the photo, but not the template, then it could easily explain why she has that hole ending up on that person forehead.

While it is not necessary in this case for the hole, it would be a good idea to understand the problem. In doing really small stuff like unisub tags it helps one to see what would be omitted in the hole area, so while it isn't needed it can be a good visual indication on smaller items.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

The image of the print you posted in Post#2 is backwards. The people are on opposite sides of each other and the text is reversed. Was that some sort of experiment on purpose, or is the photo getting flipped/mirrored separately from the border/template during printing?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

NoXid said:


> The image of the print you posted in Post#2 is backwards. The people are on opposite sides of each other and the text is reversed. Was that some sort of experiment on purpose, or is the photo getting flipped/mirrored separately from the border/template during printing?


With sublimation printing it is necessary to mirror image the transfer, the exceptions are backing printing on glass or plastics. If the image is on top then it must be mirrored. 

If seen thru something like glass (back printing) then you don't mirror.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

mgparrish said:


> With sublimation printing it is necessary to mirror image the transfer, the exceptions are backing printing on glass or plastics. If the image is on top then it must be mirrored.
> 
> If seen thru something like glass (back printing) then you don't mirror.


I thought she was printing on paper card stock with a pre-punched hole in it ... But it is a transfer to put on something else? Okay. A transfer to put on a Cell phone case, I guess . . . so the hole is the camera. I had thought it was a Christmas ornament, or some such 

Should one be doing that flipping in CD or in the printer? It is not flipped in CD, as shown in the first image posted. Can we tell for sure that they are both flipping? Maybe add a character directly to the template to see if it gets mirrored? 

Somehow, that template part is not being treated the same as the photograph part. As suggested, grouping them together in CD might accomplish something. This "Template" thing is in reality just stuff on a layer in CD, right? So no special magical template properties or powers . . . Just thinking out loud.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

NoXid said:


> I thought she was printing on paper card stock with a pre-punched hole in it ... But it is a transfer to put on something else? Okay. A transfer to put on a Cell phone case, I guess . . . so the hole is the camera. I had thought it was a Christmas ornament, or some such
> 
> Should one be doing that flipping in CD or in the printer? It is not flipped in CD, as shown in the first image posted. Can we tell for sure that they are both flipping? Maybe add a character directly to the template to see if it gets mirrored?
> 
> Somehow, that template part is not being treated the same as the photograph part. As suggested, grouping them together in CD might accomplish something. This "Template" thing is in reality just stuff on a layer in CD, right? So no special magical template properties or powers . . . Just thinking out loud.


It is for heat transfer onto a non paper item. This is the sublimation forum. Heat transfers.

The template serves as an aid for correct alignment of the transfer paper onto the hard and irregular shape substrate. 

The idea is the outline of the template extends beyond the boundary of the substrate, you keep the substrate (hard item to be heat pressed) inside the lines, and the lines won't transfer onto the substrate, strictly a guide.


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## WalkingZombie (Mar 15, 2014)

mgparrish said:


> Grouping isn't necessary, no one has said so, _however in this context_ ...
> 
> 1. It is for troubleshooting purposes, I suggest that she try it just to see what happens.
> 
> ...


Now how did I know you were going to quote me on that.  hehe!... I totally agree. I wasn't pointing fingers saying anyone was wrong. I just didn't want her thinking that it "had" to be done. And I was just giving her an idea as far as what I do that works.... *opens window*... *jumps out*....


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

WalkingZombie said:


> Now how did I know you were going to quote me on that.  hehe!... I totally agree. I wasn't pointing fingers saying anyone was wrong. I just didn't want her thinking that it "had" to be done. And I was just giving her an idea as far as what I do that works.... *opens window*... *jumps out*....


LOL she doesn't have to convert everything to bitmap either, but it is just something to try also.

She has a non-commercial version of Corel and who knows what bugs exist, so have to keep that in mind. Each new update of CD they fix old bugs, and create new ones to later fix and then create new ones. 

To your other point though, it will likely be something simple in the end.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

mgparrish said:


> It is for heat transfer onto a non paper item. This is the sublimation forum. Heat transfers.
> 
> The template serves as an aid for correct alignment of the transfer paper onto the hard and irregular shape substrate.
> 
> The idea is the outline of the template extends beyond the boundary of the substrate, you keep the substrate (hard item to be heat pressed) inside the lines, and the lines won't transfer onto the substrate, strictly a guide.


Cool, thanks.

So it looks very much like the photo is getting moved to the right (into what should be the space above their heads) during printing, but the template window is not. I would crop that photo so there is no extra image area to the left, or just stick it in a PowerClip that is smaller than the print area. 

I've had wonky print/PDF results before when objects extended outside of the printable area, and she did have two warnings/issues on the Issues tab, one of them no doubt being about something extending outside the _printable_ area, which is usually smaller than the paper being printed on.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

mgparrish said:


> ... it will likely be something simple in the end.


No doubt.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

NoXid said:


> Cool, thanks.
> 
> So it looks very much like the photo is getting moved to the right (into what should be the space above their heads) during printing, but the template window is not. I would crop that photo so there is no extra image area to the left, or just stick it in a PowerClip that is smaller than the print area.
> 
> I've had wonky print/PDF results before when objects extended outside of the printable area, and she did have two warnings/issues on the Issues tab, one of them no doubt being about something extending outside the _printable_ area, which is usually smaller than the paper being printed on.


My guess is that this is a problem exists inside Corel.

The pdf file I gave her will eliminate the printer driver and custom paper size as being a possible problem. If that pdf test file I made prints OK outside of Corel then for sure it is a Corel problem.

But I have seen printer drivers do strange things too when using custom paper sizes etc, so need to rule that out.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.... It printed perfectly through Acrobat. It's CorelDraw that's the problem...

Now for the important question... What's next?? Do I group the template and the photo and lock them? Do I make it a bitmap?? UUGH. Hate that my relationship with CD has started off so rocky. This is gonna make me paranoid with every design I print.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Also noticed that my prints are slightly rotated, clockwise -- but that can be fixed by adjusting alignment on print head through the printer software, right? Can anything actually go right, lol?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> DRUM ROLL PLEASE.... It printed perfectly through Acrobat. It's CorelDraw that's the problem...
> 
> Now for the important question... What's next?? Do I group the template and the photo and lock them? Do I make it a bitmap?? UUGH. Hate that my relationship with CD has started off so rocky. This is gonna make me paranoid with every design I print.


Start with just grouping all the objects together. When you go to print then do a print preview first before printing, check if your work space as shown in the preview is 3.5 x 7. If anything is obvious you can go back and fix it before printing. 

The idea is to verify 100% your work space is 3.5 x 7 before you commit to print and there is not shifting around of objects. Of course you need to have your Epson driver set correctly for the custom paper size (which we know works from printing the pdf.)


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

By the way, the 2 issues listed on the print tab are about low resolution on the photo, and that there are one or more rotated images. Everyone's guesses as to what they were for, were wrong. But I appreciate everyone's effort to help me figure it out! THANKS!!


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Also noticed that my prints are slightly rotated, clockwise -- but that can be fixed by adjusting alignment on print head through the printer software, right? Can anything actually go right, lol?



Head alignment causes a poor nozzle check, not the entire image being skewed.

That skewing may be due to poor paper feed using those small papers. If the paper is not grabbed perfectly straight it can go in crooked.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Ok, photo and template were apparently grouped already. And they were locked (lock contents to power clip). Gonna try "Lock Object"...


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Ok, photo and template were apparently grouped already. And they were locked (lock contents to power clip). Gonna try "Lock Object"...


Grouping is not the same as locking.

Grouping allows all the objects in the grouped collection to be moved, re-sized, copied, mirrored, etc. all together at the same time.

If you are needing to group the entire page (as in this case) then select all the objects before click "Group Objects"

If any objects are already grouped you can select the object in question then see if any "Ungroup" options are showing.

See the attached.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Nope... Still has a hold in his head. And yes, I could delete the hole, but right now I'm using that to show me if the image is being moved within the template during printing. It's easy to see a hole in my hubby's head, LOL.

For the people that said the template may not be mirroring but the image is -- how would you know? The template is identical on each side. Next text is a B on the right side of the transfer, touching the edge of the template. I grouped it with the photo and template and then indicated "Lock Object". We'll see what happens with this...


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> Grouping is not the same as locking.
> 
> Grouping allows all the objects in the grouped collection to be moved, re-sized, copied, mirrored, etc. all together at the same time.
> 
> ...


No, I know about grouping. I've used it extensively. I only meant that it was already grouped previous to now.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Nope... Still has a hold in his head. And yes, I could delete the hole, but right now I'm using that to show me if the image is being moved within the template during printing. It's easy to see a hole in my hubby's head, LOL.
> 
> For the people that said the template may not be mirroring but the image is -- how would you know? The template is identical on each side. Next text is a B on the right side of the transfer, touching the edge of the template. I grouped it with the photo and template and then indicated "Lock Object". We'll see what happens with this...


You are correct the hole won't move if it is perfect symmetrical. If the photo is flipped then it changes where the hole would be showing inside the photo object. Doubt this has anything to do with mirroring at this point was just a question to be answered.

OK, now convert everything to bitmap and re-try. Sure does look like a CD bug.

While we are doing this exercise it's important to keep doing the print preview.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Here, it is grouped, and I am using the option "Lock Object", including the B


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Here, it is grouped, and I am using the option "Lock Object", including the B


Suggest to convert the entire doc to bitmap now and print.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

The print preview always looks perfect. It's just the actual print that's off.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

I'm gonna have to go back in the thread to see your instructions on how to convert to bitmap. I assume I have to unlock it to do that. Do I keep the B there or no?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> The print preview always looks perfect. It's just the actual print that's off.


Yup, that's why I think there is a program bug.

Converting to bitmap eliminates individual objects. The photo is clearly moving relative to the template once it goes to the printer.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> I'm gonna have to go back in the thread to see your instructions on how to convert to bitmap. I assume I have to unlock it to do that. Do I keep the B there or no?


Just select all ... everything on the page, then convert to bitmap. It's easy.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Didn't work. Hole is still in his head and the image shifted, even though it was locked -- and the B is mirrored, so I assume the template mirrored too. No progress. On to making it a bitmap. Referring back to Mike's instructions on how to do it. Be right back.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> Just select all ... everything on the page, then convert to bitmap. It's easy.


Gotcha. Ok.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Just a thought. Could the problem lie with something in the creation of the template? I didn't have this problem with other templates I did... Well one printed smaller than the substrate, but it's possible that I accidentally changed its size when adjusting the photo...


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Ok converted to bitmap and then was checking print settings (yet again) -- and now there's no issues to report. Nothing about the resolution being too low, or that the image had been rotated.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Just a thought. Could the problem lie with something in the creation of the template? I didn't have this problem with other templates I did... Well one printed smaller than the substrate, but it's possible that I accidentally changed its size when adjusting the photo...


Clearly there is something wrong somewhere. You should be able to see the same printed as you do in the preview.

Where I am going is that for now you need a work around. 

You may or may not be able to address the root cause directly. 

There could be something between all the steps you did to clip everything, the creation of the template. 

You would have to start from a blank paper, then go step by step and print the in-between stages as well to see where things go south, ... tedious to troubleshoot this I think.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Here's the screen shot


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

I have actually consistently recreated the same design several times and it's been consistent in changing it. 

Very simple. Set up with File>New and paper size indicated there. Now I have blank 3.5 X 7 page. I open the template I got from Conde. Copy it into the New file. Import the photo and resize. Right click, click on PowerClip Inside and the black arrow shows up pointing to the template. I click, it jumps into the template. Then both were rotated to fit on to the cellphone paper. Go to Epson printer settings to make sure of settings, check CD print settings have everything selected for my ICC profile, check print preview (looks identical to image in design space) and then hit OK to print. Printed image comes out differently.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> I have actually consistently recreated the same design several times and it's been consistent in changing it.
> 
> Very simple. Set up with File>New and paper size indicated there. Now I have blank 3.5 X 7 page. I open the template I got from Conde. Copy it into the New file. Import the photo and resize. Right click, click on PowerClip Inside and the black arrow shows up pointing to the template. I click, it jumps into the template. Then both were rotated to fit on to the cellphone paper. Go to Epson printer settings to make sure of settings, check CD print settings have everything selected for my ICC profile, check print preview (looks identical to image in design space) and then hit OK to print. Printed image comes out differently.


Well without question you should be able to do all those things you mention, but Corel appears to be bugging out on you when you go to print. Suggest you convert to bitmap and print for now.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

OK! THE "CONVERT TO BITMAP" WORKED! It's a bug and that sucks bc that means I will need to do that each time, and like you said, it can hinder making adjustments on single facets of the group. I guess I could always do all the adjusting before converting it to bitmap, no?

I checked the version I am running of CorelDraw, and it's 17.1.0.572 and if I remember correctly, that Googled post I attached earlier said it was still happening in version 17.2 I wonder what the latest update is... I did not register my software yesterday when I installed it. Perhaps I should get on that right away to receive updates to the software.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> OK! THE "CONVERT TO BITMAP" WORKED! It's a bug and that sucks bc that means I will need to do that each time, and like you said, it can hinder making adjustments on single facets of the group. I guess I could always do all the adjusting before converting it to bitmap, no?
> 
> I checked the version I am running of CorelDraw, and it's 17.1.0.572 and if I remember correctly, that Googled post I attached earlier said it was still happening in version 17.2 I wonder what the latest update is... I did not register my software yesterday when I installed it. Perhaps I should get on that right away to receive updates to the software.


OK, yes, check for CD updates. Once it's bitmap and saved there is no going back, so edit first then convert. Save you original as well before converting and if you save the bitmap version give it a unique name. 

I suspect this bug doesn't happen when using a 8.5 x 11 page work space in CD and setting the printer for a normal letter size page. we proved the printer can print 3.5 x 7 so I think Corel is choking due to the odd size work space and custom paper size.

This can be easily proved by simply taking your same design and just change the page size in CD to letter and then the same in the Epson driver. You can use any regular paper for that testing.

Now having said all that. Not sure what using the custom paper "buys" you. Saving money? Convenience? Not to mention your printer is clearly not feeding it well.

I use regular size paper then "gang" my images on a single page for efficiency.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

The other print issue I had was I used the Crop Tool to crop a photo. I only wanted the bottom part of the image on the ornament. In the design space it did not show. But DID show up when I printed it. I assume it's the same bug. That's what my Google Search indicates. So, until my software is updated to correct that bug, I will just crop it in Elements, save it, THEN import it into CD. 

SO! I've gotten a huge education and a lesson in frustration. Nice way to be introduced to Corel Draw! Find a bug immediately, and waste 20 sheets of transfer paper and ink, LOL. Honestly I think Corel should be ashamed. I'm just glad that I didn't pay $400+ for this software bc I would've been REALLY PISSED. The Academic version was only ~ $65 on Black Friday, which is probably what it's worth. BTW, I hear the academic version IS IDENTICAL to the full version, so if the bug is in this, then it's in the full commercial version too.


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> The other print issue I had was I used the Crop Tool to crop a photo. I only wanted the bottom part of the image on the ornament. In the design space it did not show. But DID show up when I printed it. I assume it's the same bug. That's what my Google Search indicates. So, until my software is updated to correct that bug, I will just crop it in Elements, save it, THEN import it into CD.
> 
> SO! I've gotten a huge education and a lesson in frustration. Nice way to be introduced to Corel Draw! Find a bug immediately, and waste 20 sheets of transfer paper and ink, LOL. Honestly I think Corel should be ashamed. I'm just glad that I didn't pay $400+ for this software bc I would've been REALLY PISSED. The Academic version was only ~ $65 on Black Friday, which is probably what it's worth. BTW, I hear the academic version IS IDENTICAL to the full version, so if the bug is in this, then it's in the full commercial version too.


I have a love hate relationship with Corel Draw. I have been using it since version 4 and Windoze 3.1.

The only reason I use it for printing to inkjets and lasers that lack a RIP or Postscript. I have the full Adobe CS 6 suite including AI, but isn't designed for cheap non-postscript printers. It can print but color in photos get FUBAR using it.

I would rather use AI as it is relative bug-free, but things are what they are.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Right now, I'm doing mostly small substrates like ornaments, and I'm doing an occasional cellphone case. Figured it would be more cost-effective and less wasteful to use the custom paper, rather than the letter sized. Plus, I had been hoping to possibly do a holiday flea market and print on demand, so I thought the custom paper would be a good idea.

I think I've tried it on letter paper before (with all print settings for letter paper) and it did the same thing. 

Would aligning the print head through maintenance help it print straighter or do you think it has to do with how the paper is being grabbed from the paper tray when the guides are adjusted for the custom paper?


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Right now, I'm doing mostly small substrates like ornaments, and I'm doing an occasional cellphone case. Figured it would be more cost-effective and less wasteful to use the custom paper, rather than the letter sized. Plus, I had been hoping to possibly do a holiday flea market and print on demand, so I thought the custom paper would be a good idea.
> 
> I think I've tried it on letter paper before (with all print settings for letter paper) and it did the same thing.
> 
> Would aligning the print head through maintenance help it print straighter or do you think it has to do with how the paper is being grabbed from the paper tray when the guides are adjusted for the custom paper?


If you are not have nozzle check issues that cannot be corrected with head cleaning then leave that alone, it has nothing to do with the feeding crooked problem.

The paper being grabbed crooked is just a consequence of using odd size small paper.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

BTW, in my haste to see if the bitmap work-around would, in fact, work -- I forgot to save the file before converting it! UUGH!!! I can test the "letter-size" theory if I recreate the design yet again. Actually I am interested to see if rotating it is also causing the problem (hence the issues showing up in print tab).


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> BTW, in my haste to see if the bitmap work-around would, in fact, work -- I forgot to save the file before converting it! UUGH!!! I can test the "letter-size" theory if I recreate the design yet again. Actually I am interested to see if rotating it is also causing the problem (hence the issues showing up in print tab).


If you didn't save that file after converting, or if you still have it in CD unsaved just "undo" the changes.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Honestly, I wasn't TOO worried about wasting the custom sized transfer paper for testing. It's only like $4.50 for 100 sheets anyway. I just ordered another 200 for less than $10. I'd rather spend the money now to troubleshoot and know what I've got to do going forward to avoid this headache! For the last 3 nights, I've gotten 3 hours of sleep or less bc of this, so coming to the conclusion was worth a few bucks. It's not like I was doing it with JPSS paper, especially back in the day when it first came out and was $1+ per sheet! LOL!


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> If you didn't save that file after converting, or if you still have it in CD unsaved just "undo" the changes.


Cool! "Undoing" now


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

I set up the page as letter sized. Copied the design into the design space. Rotated it back to the original orientation, then changed all print settings (both Epson and CD) to letter size. Printed, and the output is better than it printed previously, being unbitmapped -- however, it is still moving the image in the printed output -- just to lesser of an extent. There is less adjustment of the image both vertically and horizontally. In original design, hole is on the column behind them and just slightly positioned horizontally toward the right side of my daughter's head. Almost centered between them. In the printed copy, hole is no longer on the column -- it is on the "whitish area" and way off the column. Additionally, the hole is now filled in black...

Conclusion: there is less image movement in letter size and when template has NOT been rotated -- but it IS still happening.

In the picture attached, the letter sized image is on the top, comparing it to the bitmapped image on transfer paper. Interesting... Next I'll try rotating it and printing on letter.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Last test. All settings on Letter. Image orientation changed from original, by rotating counter-clockwise (to the left) and printing. Then bringing design back to original, then rotating it clockwise (to the right).

CONCLUSION: comparing both print-outs, the design rotated counter-clockwise (to the left) has minimal movement to the photo, and seems to have a tiny amount of horizontal movement. The hole had only moved slightly, laterally. There is the same amount of mouse ears showing on my husband's shirt from the original to the printed version so there is no real vertical movement.

The design rotated clockwise (to the right) shows much more horizontal AND vertical movement of the photo. The hole is in my hubby's head (once again) and there's more of the Disney logo showing on my husband's shirt -- not just the ears anymore. 

I will try to remember that if the design needs to be rotated, to do it counter-clockwise for less impact to the formatting of the templated design.

Very interesting!


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

I drew in a circle with a red marker, where the hole should be located --which would be consistent with the image in the design space. As u can see, the hole moves differently with each change in orientation. Rotating to the left yielded much better results than the other two. Something to keep in mind!


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Last test. All settings on Letter. Image orientation changed from original, by rotating counter-clockwise (to the left) and printing. Then bringing design back to original, then rotating it clockwise (to the right).
> 
> CONCLUSION: comparing both print-outs, the design rotated counter-clockwise (to the left) has minimal movement to the photo, and seems to have a tiny amount of horizontal movement. The hole had only moved slightly, laterally. There is the same amount of mouse ears showing on my husband's shirt from the original to the printed version so there is no real vertical movement.
> 
> ...



Ha! Nice experiment. 
Not sure what it means, but I like puzzles.

FYI Depending on how your CD is configured, it writes a file named Backup_YourFileName_.cdr every time you save, so you can open that to get back to what you had before saving. I believe there is an option to turn that on/off and specify where those files are saved (mine are saved in the same directory as the original file).


Been playing with CD since version 3 and Windows 3.0 ... CD X6 is the most stable version I've come across so far. No real issues encountered.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

NoXid said:


> Ha! Nice experiment.
> Not sure what it means, but I like puzzles.
> 
> FYI Depending on how your CD is configured, it writes a file named Backup_YourFileName_.cdr every time you save, so you can open that to get back to what you had before saving. I believe there is an option to turn that on/off and specify where those files are saved (mine are saved in the same directory as the original file).
> ...


Wish I had known that before buying x7... Would've saved me and mgparrish a lot of sleep, lol. But at least I know the "evil" of what will happen with my design BEFORE I print it. I'm gonna try to convert to bitmap at the last moment before printing, and "undo" afterward when possible to avoid errors. And I will crop photos in another program to avoid it suddenly "coming back from the dead" in the print, as well. It just makes me laugh that a company would put a program out with such bugs. They're so quick to spin out the latest version, that they're compromising the integrity of the product and their reputation... I will also do a search today to see what's the latest update to the software and then try to get that remedied ASAP. It's even possible there's NO fix yet. Guess we'll see! At least I know that it's no happening due to user error, and it gave me more experience with the various settings within the program. This newbie is getting a quick education, ha ha!


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Wish I had known that before buying x7... Would've saved me and mgparrish a lot of sleep, lol. But at least I know the "evil" of what will happen with my design BEFORE I print it. I'm gonna try to convert to bitmap at the last moment before printing, and "undo" afterward when possible to avoid errors. And I will crop photos in another program to avoid it suddenly "coming back from the dead" in the print, as well. It just makes me laugh that a company would put a program out with such bugs. They're so quick to spin out the latest version, that they're compromising the integrity of the product and their reputation... I will also do a search today to see what's the latest update to the software and then try to get that remedied ASAP. It's even possible there's NO fix yet. Guess we'll see! At least I know that it's no happening due to user error, and it gave me more experience with the various settings within the program. This newbie is getting a quick education, ha ha!


You can crop the image directly in CD PhotoPaint by double-clicking the bitmap object (you need to config for this) and it puts the image in a regular bitmap editor (like PhotoShop) called CD PhotoPaint. This way you don't have to leave Corel and use another program just for cropping.

This is not the same cropping that is available in the minimal bitmap editing capability available in the regular CD vector editing environment. After the cropping (or any other bitmap editing) then it returns the bitmap back to the Corel vector "Canvas".

Less hoops to jump thru.


Editing bitmaps with Corel PHOTO-PAINT | CorelDRAW


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Wow, thanks for that info, Mike. I'll have to give that a test too and see.

Again, THANK YOU. You have so much knowledge and experience, and I am grateful that you share so much of it.


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Wish I had known that before buying x7... Would've saved me and mgparrish a lot of sleep, lol. But at least I know the "evil" of what will happen with my design BEFORE I print it. I'm gonna try to convert to bitmap at the last moment before printing, and "undo" afterward when possible to avoid errors. And I will crop photos in another program to avoid it suddenly "coming back from the dead" in the print, as well. It just makes me laugh that a company would put a program out with such bugs. They're so quick to spin out the latest version, that they're compromising the integrity of the product and their reputation... I will also do a search today to see what's the latest update to the software and then try to get that remedied ASAP. It's even possible there's NO fix yet. Guess we'll see! At least I know that it's no happening due to user error, and it gave me more experience with the various settings within the program. This newbie is getting a quick education, ha ha!


Before converting to bitmap, copy everything to a new tab/page in the same file, or save the file under a new name. That way you don't have to Undo or Step Backward ... which can become tedious if you continue to make changes. If you copy to a new tab, be sure to select only the desired tab/page when you go to print. Copying to a new tab is a convenient way to try variations on a design without destroying your previous version . . . and you can compare them to see which you like best. Right-click on a tab at the bottom of the screen and a menu will pop up with options to rename it, copy it, etc.

I worked in the software industry for 20 years. All software has bugs. The only horrendous bugs are the ones you can't work around. There are always "corner cases" of certain use scenarios that just don't work right. You found one! 

I once had to rotate a label image 180 degrees in order to get the serialization code to run so the number codes would print (so then we had to rewind the roll so the labels would face the right direction once applied). Of course, I figured that out simply by trying _every_ possible thing, whether it made sense or not. There was no rational reason for that to be needed, just a bug. But we had to ship product the next day, so it had to work one way or another. That was an industry specific program made to print through a specific printer ... our options were limited! The bug was triggered by the complexity of the serialization, which I spent hours programming _before_ running into the printing issue. 18 hour days are not fun.

Adobe Illustrator may well be more stable on average than CorelDraw, but I've used a lot of Adobe owned/made products (mostly not graphics applications), and they are by far the worst company I've had to work with, leaving commonly encountered bugs in place for a decade, or more, while wasting resources giving the UI a new look. 

Enough of my blather  
Good luck in your future projects.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

NoXid said:


> Before converting to bitmap, copy everything to a new tab/page in the same file, or save the file under a new name. That way you don't have to Undo or Step Backward ... which can become tedious if you continue to make changes. If you copy to a new tab, be sure to select only the desired tab/page when you go to print. Copying to a new tab is a convenient way to try variations on a design without destroying your previous version . . . and you can compare them to see which you like best. Right-click on a tab at the bottom of the screen and a menu will pop up with options to rename it, copy it, etc.
> 
> I worked in the software industry for 20 years. All software has bugs. The only horrendous bugs are the ones you can't work around. There are always "corner cases" of certain use scenarios that just don't work right. You found one!
> 
> ...


I didn't think you were blathering at all! It's all very interesting in fact! It's good to hear the other side of the equation... The story about the labels is pretty funny now -- not sure it was so funny then to you, lol. But it sounds like my "experiments" last night to see what effect rotating the template had on the printed output, lol. It was interesting, and good to know actually! Yep, even worth losing some sleep over... I normally like to get more comfortable with a new software before finding a bug, though LOL! I finally broke down and bought CD bc I'm at the point now where I need to be able to create or vectorize designs for plastisol transfers, and have just started doing dye sub which requires an ICC profile -- see last week's frantic post, ha ha -- so using various software that was NOT meant for this, just HAD to go. I chose CD over AI thinking that the UI would be easier (even though I'm usually pretty good at learning software on my own) and it's all pretty intimidating.. I watched a few videos on YouTube, and Powerclipping photos into templates seemed so easy, that when my output didn't match what was on screen, I figured it had to be MY error, that perhaps something was checked off and shouldn't be or vice versa -- but yet I couldn't find it! So frustrating! I'm the type that will keep trying things until I can figure it out, to the detriment of everything else I'm responsible for, but with so many options and things to check, it was overwhelming. I thank God for Mike and the helpful people on this Forum that helped guide me through the steps to figure this all out! To be honest I'm not sure I'll ever need all the bells and whistles that are in the program anyway -- but of course what I DO need it for, has to have bugs!! LOL!!! That's my luck!!


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Ok, so I forgot about upgrading the CD software. Did a design and printed twice with a strange green "mist" that kept appearing under the car. Turns out it was my error (something I did with one of the images), but at least I'm all upgraded now. Upgrade 6.1 supposedly addresses PowerClip issues as well as problems with transparency issues. I printed first on a koozie to check image coloring, brightness, etc. (first time doing dye sub on fabric with my new setup, ICC profile, and CD software upgrades). Came out good, but a little dark. Boosted brightness in the images (not within CD) and then pressed on to a brushed polyester. GORGEOUS!!! It may have taken me some time and effort to get here, but I couldn't be happier!!! My husband is going to be OVER THE MOON when he gets this pillow for Christmas! I still can't believe the level of detail that's possible with dye sub!!!

THANK YOU MGPARRISH AND ALL OTHER MEMBERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME SO MUCH! THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!!! 😊


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## mgparrish (Jul 9, 2005)

AngelicEndeavour said:


> Ok, so I forgot about upgrading the CD software. Did a design and printed twice with a strange green "mist" that kept appearing under the car. Turns out it was my error (something I did with one of the images), but at least I'm all upgraded now. Upgrade 6.1 supposedly addresses PowerClip issues as well as problems with transparency issues. I printed first on a koozie to check image coloring, brightness, etc. (first time doing dye sub on fabric with my new setup, ICC profile, and CD software upgrades). Came out good, but a little dark. Boosted brightness in the images (not within CD) and then pressed on to a brushed polyester. GORGEOUS!!! It may have taken me some time and effort to get here, but I couldn't be happier!!! My husband is going to be OVER THE MOON when he gets this pillow for Christmas! I still can't believe the level of detail that's possible with dye sub!!!
> 
> THANK YOU MGPARRISH AND ALL OTHER MEMBERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME SO MUCH! THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!!! 😊


Nice design and hubby has a nice toy too!


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## 2011scottc73 (Aug 3, 2011)

Did you find out the problem?


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

2011scottc73 said:


> Did you find out the problem?


Yes, it was a bug in the version of Corel Draw x7 I had, straight out of the box. I updated to x7 version 6, and then x7 version 6.1 last night which they SAY addresses the problem, but I didn't have time to verify that. As soon as I can, I will re-create the same design scenario I did last time, and see if it is, indeed, fixed. This is what was on their website:


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

mgparrish said:


> Nice design and hubby has a nice toy too!


Thanks! Yes, that car is his "baby"! He LOVES the koozie, even texted me that he was pissed bc he forgot it at home today (he's been bringing in the stuff I make to show his co-workers LOL). Wait until he sees the pillow! He's gonna FREAK! 

Thanks again for everything, Mike. You're such an incredible font of experience and knowledge!


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## 2011scottc73 (Aug 3, 2011)

It is mind boggling. My cutter used to go heywire because I had it to close to the plug socket. Took ages to work out. Something to do with static I think. There are soooo many variables.


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

2011scottc73 said:


> It is mind boggling. My cutter used to go heywire because I had it to close to the plug socket. Took ages to work out. Something to do with static I think. There are soooo many variables.


So true! And I started "right out of the gate" finding one, LOL! Not to mention the problems I had before that which requires installing the ICC profile! Sublimation seems so easy when you're watching videos on YouTube, but a challenge in "real life", ha ha. I'm hoping I've "dialed-it-in" but I'm pretty sure something else will pop up! LOL!


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## AngelicEndeavour (Aug 12, 2013)

Here's the finished pillow that I made as a Christmas gift for my hubby -- it's sooo soft, he's gonna love it!


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