[Feature Request] printer correction

[ghost]

Some way to inject a correction/offset into the label dimensions, without modifying the actual product template, to correct for the inaccuracy of an individual pronter, at print-time.

So, assume the product template IS correct, and so you don't want to change it. Merely, your printer is slightly not calibrated like the size of a single pixel is microscopically off, so that, maybe labels at the top of the page look perfect, but everything is 1mm off by the bottom of the page. Same goes for left to right.

Similarly, maybe all dimensions are correct, but the paper feed mechanism is simply off a little to one side or another.

You could make much better prints if you could just twiddle a knob at the last second in the print dialog, to insert a static offset for any of the normal values (xsize, ysize, xstart, ystart, xpitch, ypitch...) and also 2 extra values for x-scaling and y-scaling, which would have default values of either 0 or 1 depending on how you want to implement it, meaning either "Scale by 0.000%" or "Scale = 1:1.000". IE, you're telling it to scale each pixel by +0.002 or -0.002 or something.

This could be used to clear up and compensate for a range of printer ills. Like my current HP color laserjet, It needs two corrections. It needs the output to be scaled slightly from the nominal perfect template dimensions, to add about 1 to 1.5MM to the total vertical dimensions for an entire US-Letter page. Not offset, scaled up. And it's pulling the label sheets slightly skewed, rotated. The top of the page has good-enough horizontal alignment. The bottom of the page is skewed about 1mm right, causing the image to print about 1mm off the left edge of the labels, and stop 1mm short of the right edge of the labels. If I could conveniently just insert a small static offset to the right, and a small scaling increase, I could quickly get all labels on the sheet to look good, without actually having to have the software do any actual de-skew. (actually, that would be, injecting a skew (rotation by something like 0.25 degree), to compensate for the printers physical skew, to get a final result that LOOKS like de-skew)

[pkess]

I was looking for such a feature in the past days as well

[bkw777]

I'm the one who submitted this request originally (previous account named after an employer had to be deleted when they were sold) and for the record, I found a menu setting in the printer specifically to adjust X and Y offset. (hp m281). This has nothing to do with the software, but in case anyone else has the same kind of wish, I had no idea the printer might even have such a setting right in it's front panel setup menus, so you might look for that.

Another thing I just didnt know about how to use the software yet at the time, was the "waste" value in the label templates. When creating a new template, set the waste to 1/2 of the space between labels. IE, if there is 0.125in space between labels, define the waste as 0.06in, then when drawing the label, extend any solid filled shapes past the edge of the label, then when printing, the paper can be a little off and it still looks ok.

Between those two things, I was able to get good prints while still using templates that were correct instead of having to make hacked up offset templates. The reason that even matters is it allows me to publish label desigs on github that other people might print on their own printers not mine.