Exact dimension printing...

Am I expecting too much?

So here's the deal: I have an image I want printed fairly large (24"x24"), and I cropped the image to those specifics, giving the file to my printer. When I got the print back, I saw that the dimensions were off by as much as 3/16ths on one edge, exact on another, and variations on the other two sides. Here's the snag: I plan on floating the image well within the frame mat, with an inch space margin shown around the entire print. As a result, I can't get the print to sit true within the space. I appreciate my framing method complicates things.

I suspect that the printer's roller feed is off a bit, causing the print to be skewed. Okay, 24" is large, but it isn't huge. I plan on taking the print back for another try, but I'm interested in hearing what you folk think.

At my work we have a 100,000$ printer and a 15,000$ RIP and we still have to correct for distortion. The easiest thing for you to do is give yourself a 1/2 inch bleed, 24.5 x 24.5 then cut to fit..

I think your issue is fair. If you are using a pro shop - take it back.

Call your printer? Explain the issue and they may be able to tweak their machine or the input file to get a smaller margin.

When printing our wedding invitations my wife and I had a hell of a time with a printer getting an offset right for their printer. Once it was setup right everything went smooth.

I assumed the printer was yours after having read your problem, if you sent this file out for someone else to print it they should re-print at no cost.

So...after a couple hours working with both my printer and a local frame shop, this is what I did:

So it's important to keep in mind, my printer is an owner of a small print shop, on the corner of Main. I am definitely an extreme to his typical clientele. So, he printed the b&w image on 24" paper, the size of the image itself. I suppose it was a more economical way for him to hold inventory and not charge me more for having used larger paper which would result in more waste. These are assumptions on my part, but I do know he used 24" wide paper and printed as best he could, right up to the paper's edge. He offered to print the image again, free of charge, but he stated he could not make any guarantee that the problem wouldn't reoccur.

So not trusting myself, I decided to take the print to a frame shop where they could properly cut it, and they did so for 20 bucks. I'm more than fine with it. I lost about !/4" around, is my guess. Maybe a bit less. Again the print will be floating within a 8-ply mat cut to 26" square.

I think, going forward, I might talk and possibly use another printer when the image I'm printing is rather large. I had once used a pro-level printer in my area, but I got the impression I was a small fish in a big pond, and the level of care and attention was no where near what I've been getting from the small shop.

I'm glad to say, no feelings are hurt. I'm just learning that there are limits. Starting with me. LOL!

Kevan, printing is something you have to tackle a bit at a time, as you seem to be finding out!

One possible solution for your problem here would be to "expand" your image beyond your "desired" size, but because your printer is printing on 24" paper, your desired size, then you need to make sure that he prints "full bleed", meaning that the print goes all the way "over the edge" of the paper. This is pretty common with printing, I'm not sure why he didn't do that, but that's where when working with outside services you need to make sure to get things "clear".

As far as your other dimension (height?) my suggestion for "extending" the image could come into play: instead of trying for an "exact" 24 inches, you could go a bit beyond, and then cut the print appropriately. This way you could cut the paper to "fit" your matt!

Thanks to all who commented. Cruddy iPhone photo here, but this here is the nearly completed project:

Beautiful image - likey - likey - a lot!