unwanted 4mm border on 4x6 prints

[mnsh_22812]

My Lightroom 3 suddenly started leaving a white 4mm border at the right-hand edge of 4x6mm landscape prints.  The printer is fine (Epson R2880) because it will print perfect 4x6s from Windows Print, and also from my wife's laptop running LR 3.  I haven't changed any settings, and reading this forum didn't find the answer.  Any advice please?  Thanks, Matthew

[F. McLion]

Do you see this border in the preview in LR as well?

[mnsh_22812]

no, I don't see the border in Lightroom before it prints

[Rikk Flohr: Inactive]

1. Make certain your images is either cropped to a 2x3 in Develop (The same aspect as your paper) or that you have Zoom to Fill checked in the LR Image Settings Panel (RH Side - Print Module)

2. Make certain you have your Epson set to print on the correct size paper and borderless (Page Setup) on LH Side Print Module.

3. Make certain all margins are set to zero in the Layout panel (RH Side - Print Module)

4. Make certain Cell Size is set to 4x6 inch or 6x4 inch in Layout Panel (RH Side - Print Module)

If you have done all this and still have a border, check back with us.

[mnsh_22812]

Rick, I have done all those things 1234 already and still have the border.  If I print portrait the border comes at the top, and the lower end of the photo is left off the print.

The problem began after I had printed some A3 prints with margins ranging from 5 to 7mm to allow for the frames I was using for the photos, could LR somehow have got mixed up over its margins?

Prior to this I have printed hundreds of borderless 4x6 prints using a User Template that I made years ago (been using LR for 5 years)

Thanks, Matthew

[Rikk Flohr: Inactive]

Let's work under the assumption that the template is to blame.

Select one of the other Factory-supplied templates and reengineer it to print your 4x6 borderless and save it as a different User template. Does the problem persist?

[mnsh_22812]

Rick,the problem is the same, even after taking an exisiting LR template and modifying it to borderless 4x6

[Rikk Flohr: Inactive]

The next thing I would try would be to reset Lightroom's preferences file.

1. Exit Lightroom

2. Locate and rename the preferences file (http://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/preference-file-locations-lighroom-3.html)

3. Launch Lightroom and it will rebuild the preferences.

[mnsh_22812]

Rick, I've found and renamed the preferences file - then restarted LR with the same catalogue (2012) which it rebuilt quickly (I have a backup just in case) - but the white border still remains I'm afraid.

[Rikk Flohr: Inactive]

I am out of ideas for easy fixes.  Sorry. I suspect the setup in your Epson drivers but as I don't use Epson any longer, I cannot advise you on what to check next.

[mnsh_22812]

Rick thanks for trying, I'm going for an on-line Adobe chat session now

[Rikk Flohr: Inactive]

Make sure you post the fix (if any) back here in case someone else has the problem in the future. Sorry we couldn't do an easy fix...

First rule of Astronauts... always let the next guy know what killed you....

[mnsh_22812]

Adobe could not help as I do not have a support contract!  I had already tried uninstalling and then re-installing the printer driver.

I supppose I could buy LR4 and hope the problem is not carried forwards.  But I have no use for GPS tagging my photos and am happy with LR3.6

A few other things I have tried are as follows:

While in Lightroom, Edit-in... Adobe CS3 (or Elements 6) / a copy with Lightroom adjustments and then printing borderless 4x6 from there gives the same problem,

BUT

Opening the same photo in CS3 (with LR closed) I can print a perfect borderless 4x6.  Doing this however in Elements 6 still gives the white stripe.

All 3 programmes have the same Espon printer driver dialogue box.

So at least as a work-around I can do my 4x6 developing in LR and then export as a new file, pick that up in CS3 and print it.  By the way, the problem only affects 4x6, it does not happen with 5x7 or A4 or A3

The actual amount missing from the right edge of the 4x6 is 8mm, comparing the preview on screen with what comes out...

Perhaps someone else can advise, thanks, Matthew

[Butch_M]

Are you sure you have selected "4x6 (Borderless)" in page setup?

Epson printers offer the option of borderless printing on 4x6 paper or normal printing to the same size using the default minimum border areas of the specific printer ... even though you have Lightroom set to print borderless, the printer will by default fit the image to the paper size, and allow for the default minimum margins for that paper size unless you specifically choose "4x6 (Borderless)" in the Page Setup dialog ...

[mnsh_22812]

thanks Butch I did chose 4x6 borderless in the Page Setup first.  If it were doing default minimum margins, wouldn't there be a margin on every side not just the right?

[effeegee]

There's an expansion setting in the Epson R2880 driver which manipulates the 'bleed' over the border.  Could this have changed e.g. from max to min? There's a warnign about borders appearing. Personally I've always run away from borderless because of ink at the edge and feeding problems.  Pleased to hear that you have had success hsitorically. 

[mnsh_22812]

thanks effeegee but the expansion settling already is on Max when I just checked, I changed it to 'retain size' and another white border appeared, so I have put it back to Max

[mnsh_22812 · Accepted solution]

Dear Rick and all you helpful others

The problem has gone away, months after it started, as mysterioulsy as it arose!

We had bashed on printing 4x6 with a white stripe and using a guillotine to trim them down.  I delayed posting this for several days in case it came back but have now printed dozens of 4x6 as perfectly as it used to.  It all went right when my wife put a fresh stack of paper in the printer.  Perhaps she has a special touch but I wonder if a roller or something had got jammed or sticky and had finally sorted itself out.  I had not changed any computer settings.  I'd previously tried cleaning the printer rollers by running lots of blank A4 through it - without apparent effect then.

Thanks for listening, everybody.  If anyone else gets the problem then

Matthew

[eos2k1]

Thanks for keeping this thread going Matthew. This gives people here who may have a similar issue multiple solutions as to how to fix this along with everyone else who contributed. Great work! 🙂

[effeegee]

Jonah here.  Has it really gone ...? Seriously that's great news. Curiously enough I bought 4x6" paper today with Damoclean dread (pun intended), perhaps your new year magic has worked for me too.  

[F. McLion]

Just a thought .. I don't have an Epson printer but maybe its about the same as with my Canon.

If set to borderless there are some options to over/underscan and to fit page. Did you check that?

[mnsh_22812]

there is an option in the print settings for the Epson to enlarge / fit page, I have just tried it and it made no difference either

[eos2k1]

FINALLY! Some one has posted the exact problem I have been having for the past 6 months!

I too have had this problem with Lightroom 4.1, 2012 Macbook Pro, OSX 10.8.1 and my Canon Pro 9000 printer.

No matter what I do I get a white border around all my 4x6 prints. I even get the border on my MX340 Canon printer as well.

The problem also exist with Photoshop CS5 and CS6 for me. However Photoshop Elements 10 does not have this problem with getting a white border on 4x6 prints.

Lightroom 3.5 works fine though but 3.6, 4.0 and 4.1 will not print borderless 4x6 prints. I have another issue where anything larger like 8x10 or 13x19 my prints are not aligned.

I had snow leopard and got this problem, Lion had the problem and now mountain lion still has the issue. I have tried deleting the preferences for Lightroom, doing a complete reinstall of my operating systems, using a different printer, making sure all of my margins and stroker boarders are zero'd out. My wife had the same problem with Photoshop CS5. Other software like iPhoto work fine. Now if i download a copy of lightroom trial for windows or photoshop for windows I am able to print borderless.

So it is certainly something related with the apple operating system and adobe. The only work around as I mentioned is to use Lightroom 3.5, Photoshop CS4, or another non-adobe photo program. I would love it if someone found the fix for this.

[mnsh_22812]

Dear eos2k1

That was very interesting.  My problem isn't quite as bad as yours, because I only get the white border at the right-hand edge.  I am on Windows Vista, 32 bit.

I was considering buying LR4 to try and overcome the problem, but after hearing that your problem still exists in LR4, I shan't.

Is there an easy way for me to go back a version from LR3.6 to 3.5?  I still have the downloaded upgrade file for 3.5 but what will happen to my catalogues?

Matthew

[Hal P Anderson]

Go ahead and do it. Your catalogue is usable by any of the Version 3 point releases.

If you're feeling paranoid, take a backup before swapping releases.

Hal