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Problem printing scale 1:1

Started by Marquis78, January 30, 2021, 04:01:56 PM

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Marquis78

Hello,

I want to print my layout to the 1:1 scale. In the print section, I have selected scale ratio 1:1 but the scale printed is not 1:1. For example, a G1 Roco Line section is 23cm but on the paper it's 22,4cm.

In my printer's setup, I have selected "no scaling" and disabled "borderless printing". My printer is Epson XP-640 with Anyrail v6.36.

Enclosed the my example files.test print rail.pdftest print.any

What's the problem ? Can you help me ?

David

Some printers are slightly off, mainly because of mechanical inaccuracies in the x or y direction, but this is too much.

AnyRail simply asks the printer driver about the size of the print area, and scales accordingly.
Could you please check the printer settings once again, and see if you are using the latest printer driver for your printer?
Also, please switch on the grid on the SETTINGS tab. A 5cm grid will do. This makes it easier to measure.

By the way, how did you create the PDF file? I ask because when I measure the length in the PDF document using my PDF viewer, the length is exactly 23cm.
David Hoogvorst. Founder and Owner of DRail Software. Creator of AnyRail.

JeffHurl

Hi, David.

I'm having a similar issue with my layout being shrunken a bit when exporting to PDF

I downloaded and printed your test pdf file, and did find that the piece was exactly 23CM long.  So at least I can rule out my printer as being part of my problem.

However, when I Export my layout to PDF at 1:1 scale, it seems that my layout gets shrunk a bit.

For example, a piece of flex track in AnyRail is 24" but when I print the PDF file, that same section is right about 23.5"  I also assume that I'm aligning the paper correctly by using teh grid lines and the circular pattern in the corners.

That's not much of a difference, but when my layout is 11' x 10', it makes a difference, especially when trying to incorporate bridges into the plan.   I also don't want my minimum radius to end up being smaller than desired.

Wondering if you have any suggestions?


David

When you print the PDF, it's likely to get scaled if you've not set margins for the PDF output.

So what happens is this: you export to pdf at 1:1, with an A4 paper size.

In a PDF viewer you can open the result and in Acrobat or Foxit, you can open the measure tool to check the sizes that should be correct.

Now, when printing the PDF, the page is scaled down by the printer driver just slightly because the printer probably can't borderless until the edges of the paper.

So what you need to do is to set a margin in the PDF export, and make sure you print the PDF without any scaling.

Alternatively, print directly to your printer from AnyRail.
David Hoogvorst. Founder and Owner of DRail Software. Creator of AnyRail.

JeffHurl

That makes sense.

I measured the same section of track usind Adobe Acrobat and it is indeed the correct length.

Would you suggest using AnyRail to print to PDF (using a DPF print driver), or is it better to Export as PDF?  Or is the result the same either way?

Thanks for your help!   Your program is great!

David

Best is to either print directly to a real printer, or to use the 'export as PDF' function with a margin to ensure it can be printed correctly.
David Hoogvorst. Founder and Owner of DRail Software. Creator of AnyRail.