Custom Page Size Grayed Out

[thelix]

I upgraded to OS X 12.1 Monterey and and can no longer choose a "Custom" page size

or choose "Separations" when printing to my Epson 7880 printer from Illustrator.  I have downloaded the Epson recommended driver for OS X 12 from Epson and re-added the printer but those two choices remain grayed out.  I contacted Epson support and they tell me that it is an Illustrator problem?

I have been printing films for my screen printing business this way for years. Apparently something in

the newer OS or the newer Illustrator has broken the process.

I'm hoping someone on this forum has run into this problem and found a solution.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @thelix,

Sorry to hear about this experience. Could you kindly confirm if you are able to choose custom sizes when printing from other applications like Photos etc.? If yes, kindly try resetting Illustrator's preferences by following the steps shared in this article (https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/troubleshoot-preference-issues.html) and sharing your observations.
Disclaimer: Please note that resetting preferences will remove all custom settings, and Illustrator will launch with the defaults. You may take a backup of these settings from the location mentioned in the article.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
Anubhav

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse · Accepted solution]

Illustrator requres a Postscript printer to perform separations. The 7880 is not seen as a Postscript printer unless you have a RIP attached (e.g. Colorburst). In which case you need check if you have appropriate drivers and an installation that works with Monterey.

Do you have a separate computer acting a your RIP server?

Did you delete your old printer completeley and then re-add it with the new drivers?

Sometimes Epsons will be "seen" better if you change the connection. e.g USB <> Ethernet or vice versa during the initial setup

[thelix]

Thanks for the response!

We are printing to a Wasatch rip that is hosted on a windows PC that the
7880 is connected to. The rip publishes a hot folder on the network and we
add the printers as LPD using that network address using the 7880 ppd.
We have been printing from our Macs this way for years, but since upgrading
to newer computers running OSX 11 and now 12.1 the ability to choose a
custom page size or print seps is not available. When adding the printer
there is an Epson 7880 choice available with the latest driver but it does
not solve the problem.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

Can you drop Postscript files into this hotfolder?

Because, despite the fact the Epson Driver install package only installs the non-PS driver, it DOES install the correct PPD that the PS driver would use (I just tried it on my Big Sur install), so you can print your Illustrator file to Postscript, which allows you to select the 7880 PPD in Illustrator's Print dialog, which allows you to define custom page size again.

Not the best solution, but a good workaround right now until you sort things out with the Wasatch.

 

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

Another thing you can try is install your Hot Folder IP as a Generic Postscript printer.

This doesn't associate it with a PPD at that point, but you can then select the correct PPD in Illustrator's Print dialog.

[thelix]

Thanks Brad,

Yes, I can drop PS files into the hot folder. I had thought about printing
to postscript but
I did not realize that I would be able to choose the 7880 ppd. I'll give it
a try first thing tomorrow.

Thank you for your suggestion!

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