printing issue, please help

[bringoutthegimp!]

I've recently embarked on digitizing a number of b&w negatives, which I have scanned using VueScan. I'm now at the point of editing them slightly using Gimp (v 3.0), which has gone fairly well, after climbing the learning curve.

I now want to print them. To do so, I'm first selecting the Image-->Print Size, and selecting (for example) a width (7.0) and and height (4.692), which results in a PPI of 1303 in my case. From there, I'm simply selecting the "Print" option in Gimp and sending the job to the printer (Canon Pixma-100). In the Print dialog, the same sizes and ppi values are reflected (7 x 4.692, 1303). I'm using A3+ paper (I know, it's oversized, but it's what I have at the moment). I used to have the printer installed on a former computer, but that was years ago. This time around, rather than use the installation disks and their bloatware I merely downloaded the current printer driver from Canon's site.

When I print the photo at 300x300 dpi it prints very small on the paper (~3.5" x 2.25"). When I print at 600x600 dpi it seems to prints at the correct dimensions (~7" x 4.7"). When I print at 1200x1200 dpi it prints only a small portion of the image (very large), since the majority of the image would appear off of the page. In each case, it would seem that the image should actually print at 7.0" x 4.692" since that is what I selected...yet, these different sizes are the result. It appears that the DPI setting selected in the Gimp Print option is dictating the image size, rather than the Print Size that I have selected for the file.

I recognize that it might be the case that the printer driver is overriding the Print Size. When I select the printer via my Mac (System Settings-->Printers and Scanners-->Canon Pro 100 Series) there is no option anywhere to un/check a "Fit to Page" or "Scale to Fit" option, which I thought might be the issue.

Does anyone know how I can get images to print at the size I've selected, given my current setup?

Thanks in advance for any help or ideas, I appreciate it.

[gophersnake]

Sorry to say, I'm not familiar with your specific situation (printer, drivers, GIMP version, operating system). However, when I find myself getting what seems like paradoxical results, two things always seem to help:

1. I keep track, in detail, of all the information that I have about the situation -- pretty much as you've done. "GIMP says my Canvas Size is currently X pixels by Y pixels, at Z ppi. The numbers in the Print Resolution dialog do (or don't) agree with that: so many inches by so many inches, at so many pixels/inch. When I go to print, I get all (or part) of my image in an area so many inches wide by so many inches high. That is (or isn't) what I expected according to the other numbers."

2. I experiment, and again keep track of all the relevant information:
"When I change the Canvas Size to such-and-such while keeping the resolution the same, all (or part) of the image prints at such-and-such size."
"When I set the resolution to such-and-such, while keeping the Canvas Size the same, all (or part) of the image prints at such-and-such size."

From the results, I eventually figure out what changes in the settings might give me the result that I'm looking for. I make those changes and try printing again. If the result isn't what I expected, I experiment some more. The purpose of the detailed notes is so that if I find myself doing what seems to be the same thing twice with the same settings but getting different results, I can go back to my notes and see why it might not really have been the same thing twice.

[rich2005]

(03-02-2025, 07:09 PM)bringoutthegimp! Wrote: ...snip....

When I print the photo at 300x300 dpi it prints very small on the paper (~3.5" x 2.25"). When I print at 600x600 dpi it seems to prints at the correct dimensions (~7" x 4.7"). When I print at 1200x1200 dpi it prints only a small portion of the image (very large), since the majority of the image would appear off of the page. In each case, it would seem that the image should actually print at 7.0" x 4.692" since that is what I selected...yet, these different sizes are the result. It appears that the DPI setting selected in the Gimp Print option is dictating the image size, rather than the Print Size that I have selected for the file.

I assume that the MacOS Gimp 3.0 print dialogue is the same as linux (dangerous assumption) Nothing that I can see that has changed since Gimp 2.10 This a Gimp 3.0 RC3 appimage.

(1) Have you set the page size to A3 ? There have been remarks in the past that Gimp will only use A4 but the available sizes do come from the printer driver.
(2) You are correct, the print resolution will override the Image print resolution. In this one I put on 300 ppi which changed to 305.3 ppi to fit the page. It should not crop anything, ( eg 200 ppi is not possible) and increasing the ppi or changing the width / height to set a size works here.

   

Then just the usual: What does http://localhost:631 say about printer settings ?

   

[bringoutthegimp!]

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it.

I agree that taking careful notes helps greatly to track down the differences that make a difference. Unfortunately, I'm still unable to get the result I'm after, which seems so simple...

Regarding the specific questions:
1) The paper setting was A3+13"x19" which is the paper I am using. I tried A4 and A3+ borderless to see if that mattered, but it did not.

2) My issue appears to be that the Image-->Print Size (7" x 4.692") I have set for the photo is being ignored when it comes time to print. The DPI setting (Image Quality, resolution, in the printer interface; 300 v. 600 v. 1200) dictates the actual size of the printed image. Am I mistaken in assuming that the image size (dimensions) I have specified should be the actual printed image size, regardless of the DPI resolution of the print itself? Maybe I'm simply mistaken in that assumption...am I misunderstanding something basic?

I've attached some screenshots, of the printer specs as requested, and of the printer dialog boxes that I'm using.

I really appreciate everyone's time and help, thanks again. 

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

[rich2005]

Quote:...I have specified should be the actual printed image size, regardless of the DPI resolution of the print itself? Maybe I'm simply mistaken in that assumption...am I misunderstanding something basic? ..

That is correct, you should get the required image size, unless the size has to shrink to fit the paper.

From your screenshots the preview looks about right, small non-print margins + two 2.843" + 7.0" = Paper width 13"

   

The image size is quite large, Gimp uses pixels so 7.0 x 4.692 @ 1303 ppi is 9123 x 6115 pix. Is that correct.

The 300 v 600 v 1200 is dots-per-inch, (economy mode <> quality mode) the rate at which the print head spits out ink droplets, not the same as pixels-per-inch which does govern print size. see: https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/dpi-vs-ppi

Looking at the CUPS setup. A4 page size Output resolution 600x600 dpi I think that is a quality setting. Print Area - Use Reduced Printing ????

Why there is a problem with the setup, I do not know. The ultimate solution is not use Gimp for printing. One solution is use, say LibreOffice.

[bringoutthegimp!]

(03-03-2025, 07:06 PM)rich2005 Wrote:

Quote:...I have specified should be the actual printed image size, regardless of the DPI resolution of the print itself? Maybe I'm simply mistaken in that assumption...am I misunderstanding something basic? ..

That is correct, you should get the required image size, unless the size has to shrink to fit the paper.

From your screenshots the preview looks about right, small non-print margins + two 2.843" + 7.0" = Paper width 13"



The image size is quite large, Gimp uses pixels so 7.0 x 4.692 @ 1303 ppi is 9123 x 6115 pix. Is that correct.

... The ultimate solution is not use Gimp for printing.

Thanks again for the reply.

So it seems that I've specified everything correctly and GIMP is ignoring the image size when it comes time to print. This may be a GIMP problem or a printer driver problem, though the printer driver info seems correct. Along those lines, I've now spoken to Canon as well, and verified all of the CUPS settings, etc. Notably, I am not actually using the "use reduced printing" option when printing, as seen in the GIMP printing interface in my screenshot ("Use normal-size printing"), and I've experimented with all of the combinations of the "amount of extension" and "margin type" settings now, to no avail.

It is very unsatisfying that the correct advice might indeed be that "the ultimate solution is not use Gimp for printing"...surely there is a way to make this work, but I cannot find it. 

If anyone has any further ideas, please let me know, thanks.

[rich2005]

Quote:....So it seems that I've specified everything correctly and GIMP is ignoring the image size when it comes time to print. ...

Is it ? Not according to your own screenshot.   looked like 7" x 4.6992" print to me.

It is a shame you are using Gimp 3.0 There is a chance that MacOS has the Gimp Gutenprint plugin available for 2.10  
It Is not mandatory for a graphics program to support printing, Krita for example, which has the philosophy that printing is more trouble than it is worth.

I am a somewhat biased when it comes to Canon. The printer driver for the one I had was terrible, everything centred around Windows. No support for linux.  I used to print from a Win 7 VM

Edit: Maybe another go at explaining. The image size as set in Image -> Print Size is only effective when the image fits in the paper size, otherwise the ppi is adusted to fit.
The user can also adjust the ppi to set the image size, the printer does the scaling. This one straight from my camera,  4896 x 3672 pix and 180 resolution. Then printed 7" wide.

   

[bringoutthegimp!]

(Yesterday, 06:48 PM)rich2005 Wrote:

Quote:....So it seems that I've specified everything correctly and GIMP is ignoring the image size when it comes time to print. ...

Is it ? Not according to your own screenshot.   looked like 7" x 4.6992" print to me.

Yes, it is. That is the whole point of my post (see first post): when printed at 1200x1200 or 300x300 the printed image is indeed ignoring the print dimensions that I've specified (7" x 4.6992"). It looks correct on the screen, as you note, but the printed image is a different beast.

[rich2005]

(Yesterday, 07:03 PM)bringoutthegimp! Wrote:

(Yesterday, 06:48 PM)rich2005 Wrote:

Quote:....So it seems that I've specified everything correctly and GIMP is ignoring the image size when it comes time to print. ...

Is it ? Not according to your own screenshot.   looked like 7" x 4.6992" print to me.

Yes, it is. That is the whole point of my post (see first post): when printed at 1200x1200 or 300x300 the printed image is indeed ignoring the print dimensions that I've specified (7" x 4.6992"). It looks correct on the screen, as you note, but the printed image is a different beast.

ah, ok Did it ever work with Gimp 2.10 ? What exactly are you doing with those 1200 x 1200 dpi settings ?

[bringoutthegimp!]

(Yesterday, 07:08 PM)rich2005 Wrote:

(Yesterday, 07:03 PM)bringoutthegimp! Wrote:

(Yesterday, 06:48 PM)rich2005 Wrote: Is it ? Not according to your own screenshot.   looked like 7" x 4.6992" print to me.

Yes, it is. That is the whole point of my post (see first post): when printed at 1200x1200 or 300x300 the printed image is indeed ignoring the print dimensions that I've specified (7" x 4.6992"). It looks correct on the screen, as you note, but the printed image is a different beast.

ah, ok Did it ever work with Gimp 2.10 ?   What exactly are you doing with those 1200 x 1200 dpi settings ?

No, in fact I just tried that -- removed the dev version and used 2.10.38 r1 with the same (poor) results. Regarding the settings, I'm specifying 1200x1200 dpi (v. 300x300 or 600x600) in the Image Quality setting in the GIMP print interface. This all seems so straightforward, and yet...the results.