Canon printer problem

I have been making greeting cards - with various software, in various sizes, and with various printers -- for nearly 25 years -- and I have never solved this problem.

The only advice I can give you is learn the quirks of your printer and adjust the creation process to overcome the problems.

Make sure your paper is properly seated in the paper tray, too. The printer grabs the paper and pulls it in. It needs to start that grabbing process from the same point each time.

In your case, make your card design larger so it covers edge to edge. Do not put vital info on the edge - do not outline the edge - do not make designs where the slightest amount of off-centeredness will show.

Getting the top edge perfect is a challenge.

I do not use pre-folded greeting cards. I use double-sided matte card stock so I can create my own folded card to accommodate the design.

I use matte coated card stock because the ink does not wick (run together like on bond paper) -- the matte coating makes the ink stay on top of the paper - providing a crisp print.  I use double sided because then the inside of your card has the same finished look as the outside of the card.

To create a folded card, fold the printed project, then put a sheet of clean paper over the card's edge and use a ruler or something else to finish the fold - rubbing across it to create a crisp edge. (The clean sheet of paper is to prevent any dirt from the ruler getting on your card and to prevent any rub marks from the creasing process)

I have been known to fold the card so the top edge is perfect and then trim overlaps (I have a paper cutter, so the edges are straight and crisp) - and that is why you don't want to outline your front cover because getting an outline perfect is a lesson in futility and this is why pre-folded card stock is difficult to use.

I have pretty much given up creating solid fronts and have gone to designs where a little off-centeredness is not noticeable or is deliberately a part of the design.

You can tweak the parameters of the printer's software, but in my experience, I have not been able to totally fix this alignment problem. However, make sure you have the most up-to-date printer software installed and work with the various choices and find one that works best for you.

You may have to accept the limitations of your printer and accept the quirks and work around them. It's trial and error - make mock-ups so when you are tweaking and printing samples, you are not wasting a lot of printer ink.

As you change settings and try different things -- after your print a sample -- write the changes you have made right on the sample so you can remember what changes you made to software and design.  This is really important because if you go away from card design for a while, when you come back you will have to go back to square one to figure out how to print your card.  

One more thing.  Print from a jpg instead of going through PSE to print. Using a jpg eliminates one more set of parameters from your print settings. 

I totally agree; and, news, book, and magazine printers do just that = put the print exactly where you want it; however, us mere consumers are not treated quite so well.



You have to consider that the printer companies are also in the paper and ink business.


I think a big lot of consumer printer problems are much like the many problems with the various photo editing softwares = they offer way too many bells and whistles and ignore the basics.

cjt,

Don’t give up; you can do it. I believe in you!

Check this tutorial. It guides you step-by-step through the whole process of creating a folded greeting card. Also, it uses a customized Grid to make the layout easier (Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grids).

This tutorial uses 8.5 x 11 inch paper.
You'll fold this letter-sized paper twice to make the card.
Use a thin paper so you can fold it easily.
If you like making the greeting card, purchase greeting-card paper and envelopes.
To make layout easier, create a grid.

Photoshop Elements >Greeting Cards/Invitations

BTW, have you tried the Photo Projects/Greeting Card feature in Elements? If not, you may want to give it a chance.

- You use your own photos.
- Elements gives you several options to add creative designs to your card (Pages, Layouts, Artwork, and Text).
- Once you are done, you can take your card to Expert Edit for further customizing/editing.
- You can print your card from within Elements.

Making photo projects -- Create greeting cards (Help file)

cjt -

I know you are probably tired of thinking about this, but I would like to reiterate the method I have used. It's not perfect, but it gets the job done.

You know what the problem is - you cannot make the top edge print where you want it to print.

After being careful with the paper loading so with each try the paper loads exactly the same - figure out how 'off' the printout is.

Adjust your design to compensate.

If the printout doesn't go all the way to the top and it's, say, an 1/8 of an inch low - make your front cover 1/8 of an inch taller.

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Design your card as a whole.

If your end result is going to be a 5x7 card, you start with a 10x7 project. Ordinarily, you place a guide at the 5 inch mark because you will be creating on the bottom half of that 10x7 project -- beneath the 5 inch mark. But you have a printer that is dropping your print 1/8 inch - so create your bottom half 1/8 inch taller than the 5 inch mark.

Compensate.

And to restate - choose a card design where a slightly off creation won't be as noticeable.

You can also design a card where the background does not go all the way to the edges.  It's easier to get a design centered if you don't have to be concerned about getting all the way to the edge of the card.


Compensating is not ideal and it's not the way you want your printer software to work, and I really know how you want to conquer the problem,
but it's a simple solution --- once you accept the printer as the flawed item it is.

I'm betting you have compensated for other software. Learned a work around and accepted it as the way it works.

Believe me, I'm not minimizing your frustration and I truly, truly know how you feel right now, but I would hate to see you give up on making cards. I know for a fact how much joy a custom made greeting card can bring. And I know the satisfaction of creating something no one else will be giving them.

And besides, the recipient will be so 'blown away' by your personalized greeting card that they will not notice if there is something slightly off about the card. When we create projects, we see every single tiny flaw - but others?? They don't notice.

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And I hear you about Apple. I haven't been playing with the printer's interaction as much since I've been using a Mac, but it does seem a little more 'iffy' then when I was using a PC. 
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Here's another way to compensate -- no top margin - after printing, fold in half

Note: the gray margin is not on the print - it's to differentiate the card from the white background of this post.