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+--- Thread: Can I print multiple projects on one sheet? (/Thread-Can-I-print-multiple-projects-on-one-sheet)
Can I print multiple projects on one sheet? - ForkliftJeff - 03-31-2023
So I'm a super newbie at using GIMP, or any image software for that matter. I just got into making guitar effect pedals and am using GIMP to make the graphics to print onto waterslide paper. I've made one pedal successfully but I pretty much just used a GIMP tutorial and stumbled my way through it. Now I have two more designs made up and my logo and want to print them on one waterslide page. I have printed the 3 separate designs and checked for proper sizing on my pedal enclosure and it's a perfect fit. Last time I'm pretty sure I just copy and pasted from each project onto full sheet size project and printed and it was fine. This time I tried that and the images are coming out a little too big and won't line up with my enclosure.
Here is a picture of my first pedal so you can see what I am talking about. I also put my logo and name on the bottom side under the footswitch.
[attachment=9632]
RE: Can I print multiple projects on one sheet? - rich2005 - 03-31-2023
Quote:...snip...This time I tried that and the images are coming out a little too big and won't line up with my enclosure.
This comes up often. First some general stuff.
While Gimp is a raster editor and works in pixels, printing is the one time where inches or millimeters comes into play.
The default page sizes in Gimp, A4 , USLetter... come with a printing resolution of 300 pixels-per-inch (ppi)
Drop (copy/paste or open as layer) an image and it takes the ppi property from the canvas.
Windows Gimp is not great for printing and it is not the whole story, there is also the printer manufacturers software to consider.
Assuming metric units and A4, your transfer paper might be USLetter, principle is the same.
It is unusual for the print to be larger, more often the print shrinks due to an A4 image not fitting on an A4 sheet of paper. However:
Example 1.
[attachment=9634]
Two images each correct size and 300 ppi dropped into an A4 canvas. Due to margins imposed the printing resolution is not 300 ppi.
Not a complete fix but it helps if you change the Gimp Theme to "System" which shows the "ignore page margins"
Example 2.
[attachment=9635]
The original A4 canvas trimmed to a smaller size, about 30mm off the edges. The images, still correct size and 300 ppi dropped into the canvas. The print resolution is now the same size as the canvas, 300 ppi and the images print at the correct size. Check with the printer software that scaling is off.
In summary, make a canvas a little smaller than your transfer paper. Make sure canvas ppi and image ppi match.
RE: Can I print multiple projects on one sheet? - ForkliftJeff - 03-31-2023
Thanks so much! This time I just printed the images one at a time onto the same sheet of paper. But next time I'll try to get it right.
I believe my limited knowledge and understanding of ppi is what messed me up. I did make a trimmed canvas for printing my last pedal and reused that and just removed my previous images from it. But when I put my new graphics on that canvas they were wrong size. Looks like my canvas is set to 300 ppi and my graphics are 400 ppi. I increased the value because my understanding was a clearer image even though my last one turned out fine. And pretty much the biggest enclosure I will be using is the same as the pic I posted which is 4.5"x3.5" so perhaps I don't need to worry too much about ppi for that size and smaller and just stick with 300 ppi.
RE: Can I print multiple projects on one sheet? - sallyanne - 04-07-2023
Didn't read all of the comments yet but if you are running Windows - Windows printer can.