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A
Anonymous
May 25, 2020
Answered

PDF patters not printing to scale (varies by computer with same settings)

  • May 25, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 4872 views

My wife has been printing sewing patters for years on an old desktop running Reader XI. No problems getting them to print to the proper scale by setting to "Actual Size." We just got a new desktop and installed Reader DC. Same patterns, same networked printer (Brother laser), same "Actual Size" setting and they no longer print accurately. They're close, but that's nowhere near good enough for sewing patterns. Stranger still, using a different laptop (also fully updated Win10 and fresh Reader DC to match the new desktop), some PDFs print correctly and others are just that little bit off.

 

I tried removing Reader DC and installing an older XI, but that crashes without fail moments after a PDF is opened (no idea why).

 

All versions of Win10 are fully up to date, the printer drivers are updated. 

 

Anyone have an idea as to what might be going on? I'm at a loss for anything else to try. Thanks!

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer

Okay, after yet another round of banging head against wall, I finally figured it out. I was able to get the pattern to print to scale when I used Adobe Reader DC, but my wife's account on the same new computer was still getting the small prints. We verified a dozen times over that the settings were all the same. Then I noticed the printer itself was listed differently. On my account it was listed as Brother MFC-9130CW Printer; on the other it lacked the word "Printer" but was otherwise the same. No idea how or where this "other" version of the printer came to be, but once we changed the selected printer it worked fine.

 

Don't know if this will ever help anyone else, but there you are.

2 replies

A
Anonymous
Correct answer
September 27, 2020

Okay, after yet another round of banging head against wall, I finally figured it out. I was able to get the pattern to print to scale when I used Adobe Reader DC, but my wife's account on the same new computer was still getting the small prints. We verified a dozen times over that the settings were all the same. Then I noticed the printer itself was listed differently. On my account it was listed as Brother MFC-9130CW Printer; on the other it lacked the word "Printer" but was otherwise the same. No idea how or where this "other" version of the printer came to be, but once we changed the selected printer it worked fine.

 

Don't know if this will ever help anyone else, but there you are.

    C
    Courtney35042589ggg0
    New Participant
    January 25, 2024

    I am a sewer too and was having the same problem as your wife.  I saw your post and noticed my printer didn't say "printer" either so I decided to remove my printer and reinstall it again. Now it's printing my patterns the correct size.  Crazy!!!  Thank you for posting!

    Document Geek
    Document Geek
    Community Expert
    May 26, 2020

    Make sure that in your print dialog box, it's set to Actual Size. It's not the default, but it is sticky, so once you set it on the new computer, it should stay that way.

    A
    Anonymous
    May 26, 2020

    Yeah, that was the first thing we did (from experience). Still not printing to the correct size, though.

    Document Geek
    Document Geek
    Community Expert
    May 26, 2020

    Can you post a screeshot of your print dialog box?

     

    How much off are the patterns printing?

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